Education and Training Archives

Education minister allows boards to draw on reserve funds to enable more phsycially distant classes

Stephen Lecce did not mandate smaller class sizes. ...

Limit the movement of occasional teachers between schools, experts say

Questions still remain about protocols for occasional teachers. ...

Advocates fear ‘rash of exclusions’ of special needs students when schools reopen

They are calling on the government to give school boards clear direction on when and how exclusions can take place. ...

Ford defends school reopening plan as petition for reduced class sizes passes 125,000 signatures

Opposition and labour leaders say they're unsurprised at the outpouring of frustration. ...

Ford government delays performance-based post-secondary funding amid pandemic

Schools could start to see their funding tied to metrics in 2021 at the earliest. ...

Government announces daily school for elementary and some high school students, mandatory masks for grades 4–12

The province also said it would invest an additional $309 million for the reopening of schools. ...

Doctors, education unions call for mandatory masks in schools

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the government will share its plan for reopening schools next week. ...

Halton school board trustees ask government to abandon hybrid model for young learners from September schooling options

Instead, trustees requested 'appropriate funding' for a full return to school. ...

Premier Ford says streaming ‘leaves students behind,’ announces plan to end practice starting with Grade 9 math

The government is also proposing to stop suspensions of kindergarten to Grade 3 students for non-serious offences. ...

Stakeholders cite ‘questions and concerns’ after government’s announcement on resumption of classes in the fall

A union leader and former deputy minister say the government's announcement should have been made months ago. ...

Government asks school boards to plan for three scenarios for resumption of classes in fall

Stephen Lecce said he expects schooling will start with a mix of in-class and online learning, and cohorting of students. ...

Canada’s ability to attract international students ‘at risk’ due to COVID-19 pandemic: report

The RBC report also says the shift to online learning provides an opportunity to "rethink the delivery of post-secondary learning and credentials in Canada." ...

Confusion among students as OSAP clawed back from federal COVID-19 benefits

Dozens of students have taken to social media to voice confusion and frustration at an opaque system that many feel leaves them shortchanged. ...

‘I’m just not going to risk it,’ Premier Ford says as government announces schools to stay closed

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the province will have to "reimagine education" when schools eventually reopen. ...

Sponsored Content: Collaboration key to our province’s recovery

‘I believe it will help save lives,’ education minister says of program to redeploy education workers to congregate care settings

The program is voluntary. Available positions could include custodial, maintenance, food preparation or children and youth service workers. ...

‘Parental opt-out’ for mandatory e-learning could ‘create further inequity,’ says new education report

People for Education is calling on the government to delay implementation of its e-learning policy until 2021. ...

Some Ontario e-learning doesn’t work for students with disabilities

Screen readers used by people with low or no vision don't work with some TVO and ministry education sites, one expert who tested them said. ...

‘It won’t be school as usual’: stakeholders say there is much to consider before schools reopen in Ontario

NDP education critic Marit Stiles says she's keeping watch on other jurisdictions like Quebec and Denmark. ...

Parties ratify terms of central agreements for ETFO teachers and support staff

The deals include a 1 per cent salary increase per year and maintain $90 million in funding for special education, mental health and other supports. ...

‘We’ve got to continue to build it up, scale it up and improve it,’ education minister says of COVID-19 distance learning plan

The minister and educators also stressed that virtual learning during the pandemic is different than taking online courses. ...

PC government postpones math test requirement for teaching candidates, allows conditional licences

The Ontario Teaching Candidates' Council still plans to challenge the government in court over the math test requirement. ...

Province and high school teachers’ union reach tentative deals

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation was the only teachers' union without a deal. ...

Families can now apply for one-time payments as ‘teacher-led’ home learning begins for students across the province

School boards have released more details on how students will be evaluated during this time. ...

PC government reaches tentative deal with education workers

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said "the time is now to get the two remaining deals done." ...

School is out until May 4 for students, but ‘classes are back in session’

Students will be graded, receive report cards and be expected to put in a certain number of hours each week. ...

Stephen Lecce and union leaders ditch the past and work together on continued learning plan amid COVID-19 school closures

Meanwhile, contract talks between the province and the French-language teachers' union took place every day this week. ...

PC government and ETFO reach tentative deals for teachers and support staff

Meanwhile, the government and the French-language teachers' union have negotiations scheduled for next week. ...

COVID-19 watch: Government rolls out online learning tools for students to use during school closures

The government and school boards are exploring options to provide students without computers access to "necessary technology" if schools stay closed beyond April 5. ...

COVID-19 watch: Government cancels EQAO testing, teaching candidates call for same on math proficiency test

Plus the TDSB said the government "expects to launch a website this week with a single point of access to online learning opportunities" during school closures. ...

The QP Briefing Podcast: With special guest Marit Stiles

The NDP's education critic weighed in on negotiations with teachers' unions and school closures to tackle the spread of COVID-19. ...

Catholic teachers’ union and province strike tentative deal

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said he hopes this agreement will "build momentum for further deals" with other unions. ...

High school teachers’ union and NDP criticize Premier Ford for e-learning comments

The premier has cited examples in recent weeks of students wanting to take e-courses so they can get a job or study for other courses. ...

Educators protest at Queen’s Park as three unions hold walkouts

Education Minister Stephen Lecce called on unions earlier this week to "cancel their strikes." ...

Student trustees’ association ‘pleased’ class size increase lowered to 23, but says 22 is still the goal

Meanwhile, the provincial government and OECTA were back at the bargaining table Wednesday. ...

Stephen Lecce backtracks on class sizes, mandatory e-learning

The education minister proposed average high school class sizes of 23 students. ...

Mental health providers call for funding boost as health minister reveals plan without dollar figure attached

The province will make funding announcements in the forthcoming budget, officials said. ...

Premier Ford links government’s position on teacher talks with COVID-19, says it’s because of ‘rainy day fund’

Ford also accused the Liberals of spending "billions of dollars" in "signing bonuses and pizza lunches." One union called his comments "outrageous." ...

Federal minister says Amanda Simard’s resignation ‘had an impact’ on French-language university moving ahead

Also, the province will have to reimburse the feds if it doesn’t live up to its funding promise for the French-language university. ...

Strike watch: ETFO ramps up work-to-rule, AEFO to proceed with walkout this week

OECTA is also back at the table this week and has cancelled its planned walkouts. ...

‘Demonstration of unity’: province-wide teachers’ strike shuts schools across Ontario

While unions said they wanted the government to 'pull back these cuts,' the education minister said strikes are hurting families. ...

School boards say final average class size needed for planning

In the meantime educators are grappling with uncertainty. ...

Principals’ councils call on province to postpone Grade 10 literacy test amid union job action

The Catholic teachers' union said they don't think their withdrawal of EQAO activities is "negatively impacting the student experience." ...

Four teachers’ unions plan joint strike on Feb. 21 in ‘show of unity’

This will be the first time since 1997 that members of all the major teachers' unions will be out of the classroom at the same time. ...

Six schools for children with special needs to see closures for second week amid strike action

One parent, who is also a teacher, said while finding "appropriate care" is the main challenge right now, she still supports the union. ...

Strike watch: French-language teachers’ union to hold first walkout

All four teachers' unions said they had no new bargaining dates scheduled yet. ...

ETFO president says parties were ‘close’ to a deal when negotiations broke down

The union said it plans to continue its rotating strikes and province-wide walkout next week if no deal is reached. ...

Strike watch: Elementary teachers begin week three of walkouts; OECTA, AEFO head back to negotiations

Walkouts from members of three unions are expected on Tuesday. ...

NDP asks for Elections Ontario investigation into mystery anti-union ads, attributes them to PC ‘brain trust’

A spokesperson for Education Minister Stephen Lecce denied the government is tied to the ads. ...

Ottawa-Vanier and Orléans byelections set for Feb. 27

All four parties have announced candidates for the two byelections. ...

Category: Education and Training