Regulation 181/98 requires that all school boards set up an Identification, Placement
and Review Committee (IPRC). An IPRC is composed of at least three persons, one of
whom must be a principal or supervisory officer of the board.
The IPRC will:
- decide whether or not the student should be identified as exceptional
- identify the areas of the student’s exceptionality, according to the categories
and definitions of exceptionalities provided by the Ministry of Education
- decide an appropriate placement for the student
- review the identification and placement at least once in each school year.
IPRC routines will vary from board to board. Remember to follow the board’s procedure
regarding Identification, Placement and Review Committees. Ensure that you distribute
Parent Guide To Special Education as per board policy
Special Education Appeal Board
If a parent is dissatisfied with decision of the IPRC, they may file notice of appeal
with the secretary of the board requiring a hearing by a Special Education Appeal
Board (SEAB). The SEAB includes one member selected by the school board, one
member selected by the parent and a chair selected jointly by the parties or, if the
parties cannot agree, the appropriate regional manager of the Ministry.
The SEAB, the parent of the student and the adult student, must meet to informally
discuss the matters under appeal within 30 days after the chair of the SEAB is selected. The SEAB then sends a written statement of its recommendations with
reasons to the parent, the adult student, the chair of the IPRC, and the board.
Within 30 days of receiving the SEAB’s statement, the board must consider the
recommendations, decide what action to take with regards to the student and notify
all of above persons in writing of the decision. The SEAB implements a decision
when: a parent consents in writing to the board’s decision; 30 days have passed from
receipt of the board’s written decision and the parent has not appealed to the Special
Education Tribunal; or, an appeal to the Special Education Tribunal has been
dismissed or abandoned.
The Ontario Special Education Tribunal
Where a parent of a student has exhausted all rights of appeal under the Regulations
(e.g. IPRC, SEAB) regarding the identification or placement of an exception student
and is dissatisfied with the decision, the parent may appeal to the Special Education
Tribunal (Tribunal) for a hearing about the matter. The parent must request a hearing
by writing to the Tribunal within 30 days of receiving the school board’s decision
based on the SEAB’s recommendations.
The Tribunal is an independent decision-making body created under section 57 of
the Education Act. The chairs and members of the Tribunal are appointed by the
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and are experts in dealing with exceptional students,
special education, the education system and the adjudicative process.
An appeal at the Tribunal is heard by three members and one of the member acts as
the chair. The hearing at the Tribunal is a formal procedure and is governed by the
Statutory Powers Procedures Act and the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure.
The Tribunal may dismiss the appeal or grant the appeal and make any order it
considers necessary regarding the identification or placement of the student. The
decision of the Tribunal is final and binding on all of the parties.
A Range of Special Education Placements
School boards are to provide as full a range of placements as possible to meet the needs of
exceptional students. These might include:
• regular class placement with monitoring
• regular classroom with consulting support to the classroom teacher
and/or direct support to the student
• regular classroom with withdrawal support for one-on-one or small group assistance
• part-time regular classroom and part-time special education classroom
• full-time special education classroom
• a special day school
• full-time placement in a provincial or demonstration school