Author: Researcher
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One Rule, 72 Boards, 4,861 Schools: How a Ministry Policy Reaches the Classroom
A rule from the Ministry of Education reaches a classroom only after a school board and a school act on it. This article follows one rule, the sign PPM 128 requires at school entrances, from the Ministry to the door. The code of conduct documents of six of 72 boards require it. The article also…
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Who Funds Trustee Campaigns? What 849 Statements from 2022 Show
Two in five of the 2022 trustee campaign statements are nil, half of the campaigns that gave a total cost less than $2,185, and candidates paid for most of it themselves. One in seven of the statements checked does not add up.
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Good Governance: In Their Own Words
School Board Research asked Ontario’s trustee candidates one question about governance. Of the 122 who answered, the most common idea was that a policy has to work in practice, not only on paper. New candidates answered far more often than sitting trustees.
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Outside the Room: How Ontario Parents Have Changed Provincial Education Policy
Several of the most consequential changes to Ontario education in the past fifty years began with parents working outside the formal channels built for them. This article looks at ten of those campaigns, from 1977 to 2022, and what they had in common.
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About $14 Million in 2024-25: What Ontario’s Trustee Associations Received and What the Public Sees
Every year, Ontario school boards and the Ministry of Education send money to four provincial trustee associations. In 2024-25 it came to an estimated $14 million, the cost of about 137 teachers. This article sets out where the money comes from, what is published about where it goes, how a parent can find what their…
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Promised to Parents, Not Provided: Reporting Paths, Contacts and Communication at 72 School Boards
Ontario’s rules for school boards promise parents a way to report, a person to contact and communication they can read. School Board Research drew together thirteen requirements from three reviews of all 72 district school boards. No board’s code of conduct names a role and a method for reporting, five boards’ bullying documents say where…
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Said, Not Shown: Ontario School Boards Say They Deal With Bullying. What They Publish Says Less.
Ontario school boards publish documents saying they deal with bullying. School Board Research read those documents at all 72 boards against the province’s memorandum, PPM 144. No board met all fourteen requirements tested. Twenty-five boards publish neither the plan nor the policy the memorandum describes, most keep their bullying rules in an administrative procedure that…
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Updated, Not Implemented: What 72 School Board Codes of Conduct Still Leave Out
School Board Research read the code of conduct documents of all 72 Ontario school boards against the province’s memorandum, PPM 128. No board met all eight requirements tested. The requirements added in 2024 are the ones most often missing, and at most boards it is not clear which document is the policy and which is…
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Every Student, Every Year: Ontario Schools That Bring Whole Classes to the Standard
A common reply to criticism of Ontario’s EQAO results is that no school can bring every student to the standard. EQAO’s own data shows otherwise: each year hundreds of schools have every Grade 3 or Grade 6 student at the standard in a subject, including large schools and schools in higher-poverty neighbourhoods, and the leading…
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Not Readable, Not Current, Not There: Accessibility Documents on Ontario School Board Websites
Ontario’s accessibility regulation refers to four documents a school board makes public about accessibility, and to telling the public that accessible formats are available. We walked all 72 board websites on 6 October 2026 looking for them. Four in five of the files boards post fail basic checks a screen reader needs, most of the…