School boards must allow local police to access campuses and school resource officer programs for nine prescribed activities

A new regulation under the Education Act sets out the specific circumstances in which school boards must permit local police services to access school premises and participate in school programs. Nine categories of activities are covered, including school resource officer programs, emergency preparedness drills, road safety programs, career days, and community events. Where a local police service offers a school resource officer program in the board's primary language of instruction, the board must enter into a memorandum of understanding with that service, inform students and families about the program, and engage the community in its implementation. Boards cannot condition police participation on prior approval of program materials, though they may request to review materials in advance. If a board makes good-faith efforts to collaborate with police but the police service does not reasonably participate, the board is deemed to have met its obligations.

Ontario Place zoning order updated: Block 3 expanded with new Theatre Parcel and East Plaza zones, bridges and uses added

The zoning order for Ontario Place has been significantly amended to expand and redefine Block 3, splitting it into two distinct sub-areas: the Theatre Parcel (where a building footprint of up to 15,250 sq m and a maximum height of 40 metres is permitted) and the East Plaza (up to 4,000 sq m of building coverage, maximum 6 metres and one storey, with exceptions near certain lot lines). Block 3 no longer has a gross floor area cap. New permitted uses on Block 3 include automated banking machines, performing arts studios, and production studios, and both Block 1 and Block 2 may now accommodate uses ancillary to Block 3. Up to two bridges may connect Block 3 to Block 1 or Block 2, with specific width, height, enclosure, and use restrictions for each bridge. Site plan control under the City of Toronto Act now also excludes Block 3. The term 'seasonal buildings and structures' has been renamed 'seasonal buildings, structures and vehicles' and take-out eating establishments are now listed separately from eating establishments throughout the permitted-uses list. Operators and developers planning activity on Ontario Place land should review the updated block boundaries, building coverage limits, height rules, bridge provisions, and permitted-use lists to ensure compliance.

Ontario puts scholarship fund for public-safety officers' survivors on a statutory footing

Ontario has enacted a stand-alone law to continue and govern the Constable Joe MacDonald Public Safety Officers' Survivors Scholarship Fund, which previously existed only by Order in Council. The fund provides scholarships—covering tuition and living allowances—for post-secondary education to the surviving spouses and children of police officers, First Nation Officers, firefighters, correctional officers, probation officers, and parole officers who died in the line of duty or in other circumstances set by regulation. The Solicitor General is responsible for granting scholarships, with input from a volunteer advisory committee that reviews applications and makes recommendations. Applicants must apply in a form approved by the Minister and meet criteria set by regulation; recipients must also continue to meet eligibility requirements to keep receiving the scholarship. The existing fund balance—including the original $5 million principal and accrued interest—transfers automatically to the new statutory fund, and Treasury Board can top it up as needed.

New rules set out how Ontario's CODE bargaining committee is structured, governed, and how it ratifies collective agreements

A new regulation establishes the formal structure of the CODE Bargaining Committee, which represents school boards as employers during central collective bargaining under the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act. The committee will have 16 elected members drawn from chief executive officers of CODE-represented school boards, plus any Minister-appointed members and a non-voting executive director who acts as secretary. The regulation spells out how members are elected and replaced, how meetings are run (including quorum and voting rules), and how the committee exercises its powers by resolution. On ratification of central bargaining settlements, the committee must first approve a memorandum before a weighted vote of affected school board chief executive officers is held—abstentions and non-votes count as votes in favour. Financial rules require that employer-association fees be kept in a separate account and used only for collective bargaining functions. A transitional 'interim committee' applies until the committee itself, with Ministerial approval, fixes a date to move to the permanent structure, with initial membership reflecting current provincial supervisory appointments at several named school boards.

Six union central bargaining tables formally established for Ontario school board negotiations

The regulation now designates six employee bargaining agencies — CUPE, ETFO, OSSTF, OPSEU, EWAO-ATEO, and OCEW — as the official representatives for central bargaining covering all school board employees in their respective bargaining units. For each union or union council, a matching central table is established, and employer-side bargaining agencies (councils drawn from francophone public, francophone Catholic, and English-language school board associations) are designated where required. Each central table will conduct province-wide bargaining on behalf of the affected employees and school boards. School boards and unions covered by these designations must engage through these central tables for the 2026 round of collective bargaining. Individual school boards and local union affiliates should verify which central table applies to their bargaining units and coordinate with their designated employer or employee bargaining agency accordingly.

School board central bargaining fees: 'trustees' associations' renamed to 'employers' associations,' English-public boards to pay CODE

This amendment makes two main changes to the central bargaining fee rules for Ontario school boards. First, all references to 'trustees' association' have been replaced with 'employers' association' throughout the regulation, covering fee payment obligations, financial statement requirements, and consequences for non-payment. Second, for English-language public district school boards, the fee recipient is changing from the Ontario Public School Boards' Association to the Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE), with school authorities also directed to pay their annual $1,000 fee to CODE instead of OPSBA. A future amendment (taking effect September 1, 2026) will also remove the separate paragraph covering English-language separate district school boards from the fee schedule. School boards and their finance teams should update their records to reflect the new payee names and terminology when making fee payments and processing financial statements.

Employer bargaining agency for designated school boards renamed from OPSBA to CODE

The regulation has been updated to replace the name of the designated employer bargaining agency for four small northern and separate school boards. Where the Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA) was previously named as the employer bargaining agency for these boards, that role is now assigned to the Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE). The four affected school boards are the James Bay Lowlands Secondary School Board, the Moose Factory Island District School Area Board, the Moosonee District School Area Board, and the Protestant Separate School Board of the Town of Penetanguishene. Administrators and labour relations staff at these boards should confirm that collective bargaining processes and related communications now flow through CODE rather than OPSBA.

Ontario school boards' capital funding eligibility list updated to January 2026 version

The regulation now references a January 31, 2026 version of the eligibility list that determines which school board capital projects qualify for funding under the Capital Priorities, Land Priorities, Child Care Capital, and EarlyON Child and Family Centres Capital programs. Previously, the regulation pointed to the June 30, 2025 version of that list. This updated reference applies across all four funding streams — school construction, land purchases, child care capital, and EarlyON centres — and affects how funding caps are calculated for each approved project. School boards with active or pending capital projects should confirm their project details against the updated January 2026 list to ensure their reported costs align with the amounts now specified for funding eligibility.

Minister gains new power to support child care operators; parents can now request Ontario education numbers for their children

Two practical changes were made to Ontario's child care law. First, the Minister is now explicitly authorized to provide services that support child care operators and service system managers in carrying out their responsibilities under the Act — this is a new, distinct power added alongside existing funding and financial assistance powers. Second, the rules around assigning Ontario education numbers to children have been expanded: previously, a number could only be assigned when a child was registering in a licensed child care or early years program; now, a parent can also request a number for their child independently of any program registration. The list of who is authorized to collect, use, and disclose personal information for number assignment purposes has also been updated — the Minister (rather than ministry officers and employees) is now named, and program operators are only authorized to handle personal information in connection with children registering in a program. Child care operators, service system managers, and parents of young children should be aware of these changes.

Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE) replaces OPSBA and OCSTA as central bargaining employer agency for English-language school boards

The CODE (Council of Ontario Directors of Education) is now designated as the employer bargaining agency for all English-language public district school boards, English-language separate district school boards, and boards established under section 68 of the Education Act—roles previously held by OPSBA and OCSTA respectively. A new internal bargaining committee within the CODE will oversee and direct its collective bargaining activities, with authority to make by-laws governing its processes; the Minister can override those by-laws by order. Transition provisions require OPSBA and OCSTA to co-operate with the CODE's assumption of these functions, and the Minister can order transfers of rights, contracts, employees, records and other assets to the CODE. The Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association retains a defined observer role at central bargaining tables for English-language separate district school boards and keeps the right to raise denominational rights concerns. The law also now explicitly states that nothing in it makes any party other than a school board—including an employer bargaining agency or the Crown—an employer of school board employees under any legislation or at common law. School boards, union bargaining agencies, and the CODE's predecessor associations (OPSBA and OCSTA) all need to understand revised roles, obligations, and liability protections.

Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario is being wound down and will be dissolved

The legislation governing the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) has been amended to put the organization on a path to dissolution. The board size minimum has been cut from five to one member, appointment authority has shifted from the Lieutenant Governor in Council to the Minister alone, and the restriction barring post-secondary institution insiders from board membership has been removed. A new winding-up process requires the board to prepare a dissolution plan under Ministerial direction, transferring all of HEQCO's assets, liabilities, rights, and obligations to the Crown or a Crown agency. New liability protections for current and former Council members, employees, and Crown officials have been added, and proceedings against those individuals in respect of their duties under the Act are broadly barred. The Act itself will be repealed and HEQCO fully dissolved on a date set by the Lieutenant Governor in Council; a final annual report covering the period up to dissolution must be tabled in the Assembly.

Ontario College of Teachers gains stronger regulatory control over professional teacher education program design at universities

The regulation-making authority for teacher education has been split into two streams: professional teacher education programs at post-secondary institutions are now governed under a separate provision, distinct from ongoing professional development programs. New rules explicitly allow regulations to set the timing, duration, required areas of study, delivery methods, and practical experience components of professional teacher education programs. Critically, these accreditation requirements override any conflicting university senate or academic governance decisions, and apply even where another Act grants the institution authority over its own programs and curricula. Post-secondary institutions that offer Ontario teacher education programs should review their current program structures against any regulations made under the new provisions. Ongoing education programs for teachers remain covered under a separate, parallel provision unchanged in scope.

School board salary-disclosure rule updated to cover 'employers' associations' instead of 'trustees' associations'

The Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act now refers to 'employers' associations' as defined in the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014, replacing the previous term 'trustees' associations.' This means the organizations now captured by the salary-disclosure obligation are those formally designated as employers' associations under that Act. Any such association that pays an employee $100,000 or more annually must disclose that information under the Act. Organizations that previously identified as trustees' associations should confirm whether they now fall within — or outside — the updated definition. The change is a terminology correction aligned with the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014.

Definition of 'Commission' in Ottawa-Carleton French-Language School Board Act flagged for future repeal

A note has been added to the Act signalling that the definition of 'Commission' — which refers to the Languages of Instruction Commission of Ontario — is scheduled to be repealed on a date yet to be set by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. No other substantive provisions of the Act have changed at this time. The amendment record has also been updated to reflect this pending change. Organizations or individuals relying on the Commission's role under this Act should monitor for the order that will bring the repeal into force.

Ontario's Education Act substantially amended: board governance, property oversight, liability shields, and structural changes

A large set of amendments to Ontario's Education Act reshapes how school boards are governed and overseen. The Minister and Lieutenant Governor in Council gain broader direct authority over key regulatory matters — including board estimates, school board controlled entities, dealings with property, and several regulation-making powers — replacing a prior model that required Ministerial approval subject to the Lieutenant Governor in Council. New liability protections bar most lawsuits against Crown officials and appointed supervisors acting under the Act, while making boards vicariously responsible for those individuals' conduct. School board size for district school boards is capped at 12 elected members (down from 22), the director of education of English-language district school boards becomes a non-voting member by office and must be re-titled chief executive officer, and a new chief education officer role is established for a future proclamation date. Several other changes take effect now or on a future proclamation: boards must get Ministerial approval before acquiring land or dismissing their director of education; the Languages of Instruction Commission's dispute-resolution role is being transferred to the Minister; Division C (board-set taxes) and Division F are repealed; and digital materials are confirmed to be included wherever the Act refers to educational materials such as textbooks. Boards and their officials should review how these changes affect governance processes, budget approvals, property transactions, and communications policies.

Engineering licence experience requirements will shift to a 24-month post-degree minimum plus competency assessment

The regulation sets out two staged changes to the experience requirements for obtaining a professional engineering licence in Ontario. Under the current rules, applicants must show 48 months of engineering experience overall, with up to 12 months allowed before completing their degree. The incoming rules replace this with a requirement for at least 24 months of post-degree experience, eliminating the provision that allowed some experience to be counted before graduation. Alongside the reduced time requirement, the incoming rules also replace the existing practical-skill standard with a competency-based assessment approved by the Registrar, shifting the evaluation framework from a time-and-opinion model to a structured competency review. Applicants currently in the licensing process, and those planning to apply, should consider how these changes may affect how they document and present their experience.