Ministry Publications
Transition Planning: A Resource Guide (2002)
"This guide presents a range of suggestions from which educators may select ideas that would be useful in their particular local context."
Creating Pathways to Success (2013)
This document, in combination with section 2.4 of Ontario Schools, Kindergarten to Grade 12: Policy and Program Requirements, 2011(often referred to as OS), supersedes Choices Into Action: Guidance and Career Education Program Policy for Ontario Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1999.
Individual Education Plan (IEP): A Resource Guide (2004)
"This guide is intended to help teachers and others working with students with special needs to develop, implement, and monitor high-quality IEPs. A five-step process is recommended. Suggestions and examples are provided, but IEPs, by their very nature, will be individualized on the basis of the particular requirements of the student."
Effective Educational Practices for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders 2007
"This resource guide is designed to support educators in elementary and secondary schools in Ontario in planning and implementing effective educational programs for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). It contains information, strategies, and practices that can be put to use in the school and the classroom. It also includes a collection of sample materials reflecting current practices in schools, as well as lists of references and resources for further reading."
Special Education Transformation 2006
In a transformed system, special education programs and services would support a learning environment that enables students to acquire, demonstrate, and apply the knowledge and skills necessary to maximize their potential for success in school and beyond. Based on their individual learning needs and abilities, all students would receive supports in schools that foster a culture of commitment to achievement.
Shared Solutions
The Shared Solutions Resource Guide is intended to help parents, educators, and students with special education needs work together to prevent conflicts, resolve them quickly, and allow students to develop their full potential and succeed in school.
Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario Schools (2010)
Beginning in September 2010, assessment, evaluation, and reporting in Ontario schools will be based on the policies and practices described in this document.
This document aims to maintain high standards, improve student learning, and benefit students, parents, and teachers in elementary and secondary schools across the province.
Ontario Schools, Kindergarten to Grade 12: Policy and Program Requirements, 2011 (OS) sets out the requirements of the Ministry of Education that govern the policies and programs of all publicly funded elementary and secondary English-language schools in Ontario.
Making a Difference: For Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Ontario Schools
"The Ministers’ Autism Spectrum Disorders Reference Group was established in September 2006, and worked from September 2006 through January 2007, with a mandate to produce a report and recommendations to the Minister of Education and the Minister of Children and Youth Services in January 2007."
Learning for All (2013)
"Learning for All, Kindergarten to Grade 12 is a resource guide outlining an integrated process of assessment and instruction for elementary and secondary school educators across Ontario that is designed to help raise the bar and close the gap in achievement for all students."
Planning Entry to School (2005)
"This resource guide is intended as a resource for school boards to use with their professional staff, parents, and community partners."
Education For All (2005)
This report provides Ontario teachers with specific strategies that will help them teach literacy and numeracy more effectively to students with diverse strengths and needs; show them how to develop a learning profile of classrooms and of individual students; provide assessment, evaluation, and planning strategies; and provide detailed information on instructional support and assistive technology.
Special Education Companion
The Special Education Companion is intended to assist teachers designing instructional units using the Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner . It is part of the Planner’s Teacher Companions database, which includes the following components:
Teaching/Learning Strategies
Assessment Companion
ESL/ELD Companion
Special Education Companion
Explanatory Notes
Creating Pathways to Success: A Preview For Grades 10 to 12 of The New Education And Career/Life Planning Program For Ontario Schools 2012
This document presents key elements of a comprehensive Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education and Career/Life Planning Program designed to support students in becoming competent, successful, and contributing members of society.
Ready Set Green! Tips, Techniques and Resources from Ontario Educators 2007
Ready, Set, Green! was prepared by the Ontario Ministry of Education to support effective environmental education and environmentally sound practices in Ontario Schools. Based on current programs and practices in schools and boards across the province, Ready, Set, Green! is intended to stimulate discussion of this increasingly important issue, and provide practical tools and strategies that can be put to use in boards, schools, and communities.
Equity and Inclusive Education in Ontario Schools (2014)
Equity and Inclusive Education in Ontario Schools: Guidelines for Policy Development and Implementation has been revised and updated to reflect the progress made since Realizing the Promise of Diversity:Ontario’s Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy was released in 2009, including amendments to the Education Act made through the Accepting Schools Act, which was passed on September 1, 2012.
Supervised Alternative Learning: Policy and implementation (2010)
This document, Supervised Alternative Learning: Policy and Implementation, 2010, is a guide that provides support for the consistent implementation of policies and programs that are intended to re-engage young people who are not attending school and who are therefore at risk of not graduating.
Achieving Excellence: A Renewed Vision for Education in Ontario (2014)
Ontario is committed to the success and well-being of every student and child. Learners in the province’s education system will develop the knowledge, skills and characteristics that will lead them to become personally successful, economically productive and actively engaged citizens. Ontario will cultivate and continuously develop a high-quality teaching profession and strong leadership at all levels of the system. Our education system will be characterized by high expectations and success for all. It will be responsive, high quality, accessible and integrated from early learning and child care to adult education.
Building Pathways to Success Grades 7-12: The Report of the Program Pathways for Students at Risk Work Group (2003)
This handbook is one of the companion documents prepared by our committees for use in English- and French-language schools across the province of Ontario. It represents the Final Report on literacy of the Expert Panel on Students at Risk or the Final Report of the Program Pathways for Students at Risk Work Group. The information and resources it contains are intended to support the work of those in a leadership role for the Students at Risk Initiative
Ministry of Education/Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities English-French Glossary 2014
This new April 2014 edition of the glossary contains a list of approximately 2,830 English entries, compiled alphabetically, along with their French equivalents. The list includes terms and other vocabulary associated directly or indirectly with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.
Supporting English Language Learners: A practical guide for Ontario educators Grades 1 to 8
This resource is one in a series written to assist classroom teachers in supporting a growing demographic within Ontario schools – English language learners. The goal is to help teachers understand the kinds of supports that English language learners require to learn the English and content of the classroom. The focus is on making learning visible and accessible for English language learners who face their own unique challenges but, more importantly, who present a rich resource in classrooms throughout the province.
Special Education: A Guide for Educators (2001)
Fresh Starts and False Starts: Young People in Transition from Elementary to Secondary School (2010)
This report presents the findings from all three Phases of the research project through a three-year ethnographic study designed to examine the processes through which Ontario students make their transition from elementary to secondary school. The study was conducted in three Phases spanning 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Education Policy and Program Update to April 30, 2010
The Education Policy and Program Update to April 30, 2010 provides a summary of the changes to secondary school policy, program and diploma requirements currently described in OSS:99. This document also lists other policy and program changes, recent initiatives and resources that impact elementary and secondary schools.
The Ontario Student Transcript (OST) Manual (2013)
The Ontario Student Transcript (OST): Manual, 2013 provides the information and guidelines required for the establishment, maintenance, issue, and storage of the Ontario Student Transcript (OST). It also outlines the regulations and procedures that apply to the recording of information in various situations.
Think, Feel, Act - Lessons from Research about Young Children (2013)
The Ontario Early Years Policy Framework describes how high quality programs have an extraordinary and long-lasting impact on children’s development, and therefore we want to do everything we can to support educators in their continuous professional learning.
Ontario Early Years Policy Framework (2013)
Every day, thousands of children and their families receive quality care and support from early years professionals in diverse communities across the province. Now is the time to build on the positive steps we have taken over the last ten years to ensure we are harnessing the full capacity available to provide the best services and respond to the busy lives of Ontario families.
The Ontario Early Years Policy Framework builds on our collective progress and provides a vision for the early years to ensure children from 0-6 years of age have the best possible start in life. The framework is supported by a set of principles and is meant to provide strategic direction to our early years partners both within and outside of government.
Stepping Stones: A Resource On Youth Development
Stepping Stones: A Resource on Youth Development was created by the Ontario Government in broad consultation with researchers, youth, community leaders and service providers. It is designed to support those who work with youth aged 12 to 25 by providing:
An overview of youth development
A detailed look at the predictable developmental stages of youth aged 12 to 25, and the ways in which we can identify and respond to the needs of youth at each stage of their development.
Ontario Secondary Schools, Grades 9 to 12 Program and Diploma Requirements 1999
Ontario Secondary Schools, Grades 9–12: Program and Diploma Requirements, 1999 (OSS) sets out the policies and requirements that govern the program in English- language secondary schools in Ontario. It outlines the policies of the Ministry of Education and Training for programs in Grades 9 to 12, including the requirements for the awarding of the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).
Standards for School Boards' Special Education Plans (2000)
School boards must comply with the requirements for special education plans set out in Regulation 306 under the Education Act, entitled “Special Education Programs and Services”, and in this policy document. These requirements for standards build on requirements for school boards’ special education plans previously set out in memoranda from the ministry.