{"id":78057,"date":"2025-11-05T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T13:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=78057"},"modified":"2025-11-05T07:47:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T12:47:23","slug":"ontario-autism-coalition-opposes-bill-33","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/05\/ontario-autism-coalition-opposes-bill-33\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario Autism Coalition Opposes Bill 33"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>The Ontario Autism Coalition (OAC) is warning that Bill 33 would give Ontario\u2019s Ministry of Education sweeping powers to take control of local school boards\u2014silencing communities and eroding families\u2019 ability to advocate for students with special education needs.<\/div>\n
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If enacted, Bill 33 would allow the Minister to assume \u201csupervision\u201d of boards, for any reason, with no investigation, thereby sidelining elected trustees and centralizing decisions about budgets, programs, and supports. The OAC says that for families already fighting chronic underfunding and gaps in inclusion, losing local accountability would be devastating.<\/div>\n
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\u201cBill 33 sets a dangerous precedent,\u201d said Kate Dudley Logue, VP with the OAC. \u201cIt tells families that their voices don\u2019t matter and concentrates power in the hands of the Minister, and that they have no input into the legislative process for the bill, since the government will not hold public hearings.<\/p>\n

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The OAC points to the Ministry\u2019s recent directive from Minister Paul Calandra\u2014banning the livestreaming of Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) meetings in boards under supervision\u2014as proof of what happens when control is centralized. These public meetings are vital for transparency and collaboration. The ban cuts families off from decisions and discussions that affect their children. In-person attendance isn\u2019t a reasonable alternative because it\u2019s often impossible for parents with children with special needs at home to go out for an evening without considerable planning and expense. Requiring someone to devote an entire evening to hear the one agenda item that concerns them, rather than a few minutes on a livestream is not a choice at all.<\/div>\n
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In response, the OAC will livestream two upcoming SEAC meetings<\/b> on its YouTube channel (https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@OntarioAutismCoalition) so parents can stay informed:<\/div>\n
    \n
  • Ottawa-Carleton District School Board: Wednesday, November 5, 7:00 p.m.<\/b><\/li>\n
  • Toronto District School Board: Monday, November 10, 7:00 p.m.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    <\/div>\n
    \u201cThese livestreams are about restoring transparency and standing up for families\u2019 right to know,\u201d said Dudley Logue. \u201cIf the Ministry won\u2019t keep these discussions open, we will.\u201d<\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n
    The OAC is calling on Minister Calandra to withdraw Bill 33, reverse the SEAC livestream ban, and commit to an education system that values transparency, accountability, and the voices of families.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Ontario Autism Coalition (OAC) is warning that Bill 33 would give Ontario\u2019s Ministry of Education sweeping powers to take control of local school boards\u2014silencing communities and eroding families\u2019 ability …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":61584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-provincial"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-10 23:42:26","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78057"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78058,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78057\/revisions\/78058"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}