Ontario to give education minister power to more easily take over school boards

Education Minister Paul Calandra speaks during Question Period at Queen's Park in Toronto on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Ontario is set to give the minister of education power to more easily put school boards under supervision and require more boards to put police officers in schools.

Education Minister Paul Calandra introduced broad legislation Thursday, following weeks of warnings to boards that he would implement tougher oversight.

“We have some boards that are working very well...they’re focused on the main mission, and other boards where I have trustees who think that they’re supposed to be writing curriculum, trustees who think that it is their job to mediate global conflicts,” he said before tabling the legislation.

“What I want trustees to do is to focus on putting the resources that we provide them...into educating our kids. Teachers shouldn’t have to be going to Dollarama to buy pencil cases or crayons for their classes, and when boards take trips and waste money and do things that is not in their mandate, I think parents rightfully get upset. Teachers get even more upset, and it’s time for the Ministry of Education to step up to the challenge and take its responsibility a bit more seriously.”

Calandra announced in April that the province had taken control of one school board by appointing a supervisor due to financial “mismanagement” and was launching financial investigations of three others, describing his actions as putting all boards “on notice.”

Even with one board where four trustees racked up $190,000 of the public’s money for a trip to Italy to buy art for schools, Calandra said under the current rules he relies on third-party investigations and recommendations and could not yet step in.

The legislation is set to expand the reasons for initiating an investigation or putting a board under supervision beyond just financial ones, to include matters of public interest and allow Ministry of Education staff to conduct school board audits.

The bill would also give the minister power to direct school boards to publicly post expenses of trustees, the director of education and others, and would give the minister power over school names when boards open new schools or want to change an existing name.

Calandra said he does not want boards using a lot of time and money to debate school names.

“We’ve seen specifically in the city of Toronto, in the Toronto District School Board, they have wasted thousands of dollars trying to ascertain whether they should change the name of three schools, whereas at the exact same time they’re telling me that they have to maybe close school pools down, or they have to fire teachers,” he said.

As well, Ontario would require school boards to implement a school resource officer program if the local police service offers one.

Some school boards have such programs on a voluntary basis, while others ended their programs several years ago, after some students reported feeling uncomfortable or intimidated and some racialized communities raised concerns.

Calandra said it is a valuable service and boards should not have withdrawn those programs.

“I firmly believe that having school resource officers in the classroom is extraordinarily important,” he said.

“I disagree with those who suggest that it’s not...I think it builds not only safety and security in a school, but also mutual respect.”

The legislation also contains measures directed at the post-secondary system, including requiring post-secondary admissions policies to be merit-based and requiring colleges and universities to provide detailed breakdowns of how tuition fee revenue is used.

As well, the bill would allow the government to “require transparency and increased oversight of ancillary fees at post-secondary institutions,” reminiscent of a court battle from the early days of the Doug Ford government.

Ford’s government enacted its “Student Choice Initiative” in 2019, which made some post-secondary fees optional, such as for student unions, but the province’s top court struck it down.

Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn said this legislation is different from the Student Choice Initiative because it builds in collaboration with those involved.

“We’re going to consult thoroughly with the sector, understanding that they’re going through challenging times right now,” he said.

“So we’re going to take our time and ensure that we get this right and interact with all post-secondary institutions so that we understand which ancillary fees are critical for the student education, as well as ones that can be opted out of.”

Children’s aid societies have also been under the Ford government microscope, with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services launching a review of them in the fall. They, too, are subject to increased scrutiny in this bill.

The legislation would increase the government’s oversight of certain financial decisions, to be “outlined in future regulations.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2025.