Families will soon be able to escalate matters to new Ontario school board offices

The province announced it will be creating new support offices for the school boards it took over, with all boards expected to have one by next September.

Ontario school boards will soon be required to establish an office to provide parents and guardians with support regarding their child’s education when concerns need to be escalated.

The Ontario government announced the new initiative in a news release on Thursday, saying the province will ensure every school board has a “Student and Family Support Office.”

The new 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 release stated.

“This just made sense to me to have an easier way for parents to access information, have somebody acknowledge that they received a request … and reports back to them so that they know that it is getting done at the at the highest levels of the board,” Minister of Education Paul Calandra told CTV News Toronto on Thursday.

“We want to give another option for parents who don’t necessarily want to always be asking the teacher for something that is that is simple or easy to resolve by somebody else.”

The news release added that the initiative aims to hold schools more accountable. The offices will review concerns raised by families to help resolve matters that need to be escalated after initial conversations with a child’s teacher and principal.

The offices will open in January 2026 at the five school boards currently under provincial supervision - the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, the Thames Valley District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the Toronto District School Board.

Trustees who may have previously fielded parent concerns within those school boards have already had their powers stripped and the province has appointed supervisors who are responsible for the board.

Calandra said the offices are not being used to replace trustees, but would exist regardless of any changes.

“These offices were coming regardless of any governance changes,” he said. “Parents should have a way of asking for help, measuring that help, and knowing that their request is being is being looked after.”

The province said further details on the new offices will be available on each of these school boards’ websites by January 19, 2026.

All other school boards will be expected to submit a report by March 31, 2026, the province stated. The boards will need to outline how they will establish an office by Sept. 1, 2026.

Each office will be led by a supervisory officer. The offices will streamline the feedback process to acknowledge inquiries within two business days and will aim to provide a response within five business days, the government said.

“It would be helpful with the guarantee that trustees are going to remain and furthermore just strengthen the role that trustees have and enable them and empower them to do the work that they should be doing,” Julia Evangelisto, an Ontario mother, told CTV News Toronto on Thursday.

“If we are just using this as smoke and mirrors and put this in place and later removing trustees anyways then that’s all it is. If it’s truly to help parents and students then that’s great, but it looks a little suspect.”