OttawaOntario’s Ministry of Education is ordering school boards across the province to open special offices to address issues previously raised by parents with their children’s educators. Offices will address ‘complex issues that need to be escalated,’ province saysGuy Quenneville · CBC News · Posted: Nov 13, 2025 12:41 PM EST | Last Updated: 44 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Ontario Minister of Education Paul Calandra visits children at the Blessed Chiara Badano Child Care Centre in Stouffville, Ont., on May 2. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press )Ontario’s Ministry of Education is ordering school boards across the province to open special offices to address issues previously raised by parents with their children’s educators. The provincial government made the announcement Thursday. Five school boards that were placed under the province’s control earlier this year due to alleged mismanagement are required to open the offices this coming January: The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, the Thames Valley District School Board, the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board.All other school boards must do so by Sept. 1, 2026.Each office will be led by a supervisor, acknowledge inquiries within two business day, and aim to provide a response within five business days, according to a news release from the ministry.”The offices will act as an additional way to help families get answers on broader community concerns, as well as contentious or complex issues that need to be escalated after speaking with the school,” the news ministry said.More details about the offices at the five school boards under supervision will be posted to those boards’ websites by Jan. 19, the province added.The “student and family support offices” are part of an ongoing effort to overhaul “an outdated school board governance model,” Minister Paul Calandra stated in the release. “[They] will give families clear answers and timely solutions when it comes to their child’s education,” Calandra added. The Progressive Conservative government is also fast-tracking a bill that would allow the minister of education to more easily place school boards under supervision.Calandra has suggested that once the bill passes, the government will take control of more school boards.With files from The Canadian Press
Ministry orders school boards to launch new ‘student and family support’ offices
