The Truth About Bill 33

It's not about financial accountability

Ontario underfunds schools by $6.3 billion

Provincial funding of education still remains far below the per-student funding levels of 2018—when the Ford government took power. Research from CCPA shows that the Ontario government has underfunded schools by $6.3 billion since 2018.

The supervision of school boards and proposal of Bill 33, Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025 are not about financial accountability. All reports* cleared the TDSB and TCDSB of any financial mismanagement. It is part of a ploy to take attention from chronic underfunding of our schools.

Supervision is an attempt to silence elected trustees from speaking the truth about the underfunding of our schools. It also silences local advocacy to improve student achievement and well-being.

*Ontario Auditor General Report, Deloitte and PriceWaterCopper House report all clear the TDSB and TCDSB of financial mismanagement.

What is Bill 33?

Bill 33, Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025 is an authoritarian power-grab disguised as an attempt to increase school board “transparency” and “accountability.”

It allows the Education Minister to make major decisions about your community without consulting parents, students or local stakeholders. There is no public consultation or accountability, because any investigation will be run by the Ministry itself, not by an independent third party.

You will lose access to your elected trustee on issues like class sizes, bussing, bullying, special education resources, or school safety concerns.

What are our key concerns with Bill 33?

(here are some, but there are lots more)

Sets policing in schools, even in districts that have decided not to participate in police programs.
Makes it easier for the Education Minister to place school boards under investigation. In short, the province could take control of any school board that disagrees with them.
Requires boards to obtain Ministerial approval to change a school’s name.
Gives the Education Minister unchecked power to make major decisions without consulting the public or local communities.

How does Bill 33 impact Special Education?

Without local representation (e.g. trustees) to stand up to the provincial government and without local transparency and accountability, parents of special education students will find less and less support to obtain resources for Special Education. They will lose their local trustee who helps to navigate local bureaucracy to advocate on behalf of students.

Why should we care about this?

If passed, Bill 33 would let the province override decisions made by elected school boards, silence local voices, and set a dangerous precedent where the government can bypass public input entirely.

What can we do to stop this?

Bill 33 is not yet law. We have time to act, but we must act fast as the Ontario Legislature resumes on October 20.

Send a message to Premier Ford, Minister Calandra and your local MPP here: www.fundourschools.ca/take-action

Learn more:

Ontario Legislative Assembly:

https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-44/session-1/bill-33

Ontario Regulatory Registry:

https://www.regulatoryregistry.gov.on.ca/proposal/50616

Ontario Human Rights Commission Recommendations:

https://www3.ohrc.on.ca/en/news-center/ohrc-makes-recommendations-regarding-bill-33

Ontario Public School Board Association Submission:

https://www.opsba.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/OPSBA-Final-Submission-re-Bill-33-reg-posting-June-30.pdf

Ontario Student Trustee Association Statement:

https://osta-aeco.org/news/2025/08/26/osta-aeco-statement-regarding-provincial-supervision/

Ontario Student Voices Submission:

https://www.ontariostudentvoices.ca/post/osv-concerned-over-proposed-changes-in-bill-33-supporting-children-and-students-act-2025

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