Under the Education Act and the regulations made under the Act, a school board is required to do the following:

  • implement procedures for early and ongoing identification of children's learning needs (Education Act, s. 8(3)(a); detailed procedures are outlined in PPM No. 11)
  • provide, or enter into an agreement with another board to provide, special education programs and services for its exceptional students (Education Act, s. 170(1))
  • establish Identification, Placement, and Review Committees (IPRCs); follow specified processes in the identification and placement of exceptional students; and provide a mechanism whereby parents can appeal decisions of the IPRCs (Ontario Regulation [O. Reg.] 181/98)
  • provide Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for children identified as exceptional (O. Reg.] 181/98, ss. 6 and 7)
  • establish a Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) (Education Act, s. 57.1(1); O. Reg. 464/97)
  • create, maintain, and review special education plans, and prepare reports on special education programs and services (Reg. 306)
  • not exceed the maximum enrolments established for self-contained classes for students with different types of exceptionalities (Reg. 298, s. 31) (See the box below for details on special education class sizes and the section below for the categories of exceptionalities.)
  • provide for a shortened school day for exceptional students in a special education program (Reg. 298, s. 3(3))
  • employ teachers with the appropriate qualifications (Reg. 298, s. 19(4))

According to Regulation 298, section 31, the maximum enrolment in a special education class shall depend upon the extent of the exceptionalities of the students in the class and the special education services that are available to the teacher, but in no case shall the enrolment in a self-contained class exceed:

  • 8 in a class for students who are emotionally disturbed or socially maladjusted, have severe learning disabilities, or are below compulsory school age and have impaired hearing
  • 10 in a class for students who are blind, are Deaf, or have developmental disabilities or speech and language disorders
  • 12 in a class for students who are hard of hearing, have low vision, or have orthopaedic or other physical disabilities
  • 12 in a class for students in the primary division who have mild intellectual disabilities, and 16 in a class for students in the junior and intermediate divisions who have mild intellectual disabilities
  • Regarding gifted students in elementary school:
    • 20 in a class if it consists only of students in the primary division
    • 23 in a class if it includes at least 1 student in the primary division and at least 1 in the junior or intermediate division
    • 25 in a class if it consists only of students in the junior or intermediate division
  • 6 in a class for aphasic or autistic students, or for students with multiple handicaps for whom no one handicap is dominant
  • 16 in a class of exceptional students consisting of students with different exceptionalities