OttawaThe Ottawa-Carelton District School Board has cancelled a planned overhaul of elementary programs that had proved polarizing with parents.Provincially appointed school board supervisor says planned review was ‘disruptive,’ promises ‘new approach’ CBC News · Posted: Oct 07, 2025 5:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoThe Ottawa-Carleton District School Board will not proceed with a controversial overhaul of elementary programming, the provincially appointed supervisor has announced. (Gabrielle Huston/CBC)A controversial overhaul of elementary programs at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board will not proceed, the board’s provincially appointed supervisor has said in a surprise announcement.In May, OCDSB trustees approved a plan to phase out alternative schools and middle French immersion, while aiming to dual-track more schools — though not all — to provide both English and French immersion. The plan was to have been implemented for the 2026–27 school year.Now though, the trustee-approved elementary program review will be replaced “with an approach that doesn’t disrupt students and is reflective of community feedback,” OCDSB supervisor Robert Plamondon wrote in an email to parents on Tuesday. The announcement is the latest development in a long-running effort to align programs across the OCDSB to give students access to the same learning at different schools. The issues date back to the late 1990s when the Ottawa and Carleton boards merged and the OCDSB inherited schools with a variety of grade configurations and offerings. Specifically, the board wanted to bring French immersion to 15 single-track English schools to correct socio-economic inequities. The board’s data shows its English program teaches a disproportionate number of children from low-income households whose first language isn’t English, or who have special education needs.But the plan has proved polarizing, with over 12,000 people making submissions on it since the beginning of the year. In particular, many parents with children in alternative schools had opposed the phasing out of those programs.Plamondon was appointed by Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra at the end of June. The province had previously launched an investigation into the OCDSB’s finances, spurred by the previous four years of financial deficits at the board. The province cited financial mismanagement as its reason for installing a supervisor over the OCDSB, though critics have panned the move as a “power grab.”‘A new approach'”The EPR changes would possibly have required thousands of students to change schools due to programming changes, placing stress on families and forcing many to navigate a complicated exemption process just to remain in their current school community,” Plamondon wrote Tuesday. “The OCDSB was also not in a position to implement such sweeping changes fairly or effectively.”Plamondon promised “a new approach” that would gradually reduce the number of program streams without compelling students to change schools. “This new approach will include two elementary program streams, French Immersion and English with Core French, offered as early as grade 1,” he wrote.It was not immediately clear whether the planned closure of alternative schools would be affected. CBC has requested clarification. The OCDSB would not make Plamondon available for interviews, asking instead to receive any queries in writing. Plamondon said he took the decision following consultation with parents, educators and students.”I, along with Board staff, work for students and families,” he wrote. “We are committed to listening, learning, and delivering the best possible education in the province.”
OCDSB cancels controversial overhaul of elementary programs
