Summary#
Bill 33 (Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025) changes rules for child and youth services, K–12 school boards, and publicly funded colleges and universities in Ontario. Its main goals are to strengthen oversight, increase transparency, and set clearer standards for safety, spending, and admissions.
Key changes:
- Children’s aid societies and licensed residences must give children, youth, and certain former youth in care clear information on how to contact the Ombudsman and help them do so privately if asked.
- Children’s aid societies must review and update their by-laws and make them public; some major financial deals will need the Minister’s approval.
- Maternity homes will now be treated as “institutions” under the child and family law, bringing them under additional oversight rules.
- The Education Minister can order investigations, issue directions, and, in some cases, take temporary control of a school board to address “matters of public interest.” Boards must also work with local police, including allowing school resource officer programs where available.
- School boards must add internal auditors; the Ministry may appoint its own auditors; the Minister can set rules for board expense policies.
- Boards need the Minister’s approval to name or rename schools.
- Publicly funded colleges and universities must base admissions on merit, publish their admissions criteria, create research security plans, and follow any future rules on student fees set by the province.
What it means for you#
- Children and youth in care, and former youth receiving continued care and support
- You must be told, in plain language, what the Ombudsman does and how to contact them. If you ask, your children’s aid society must help you contact the Ombudsman privately.
- If you live in a maternity home, your residence will now fall under stronger “institution” oversight rules.
- Parents and caregivers
- There is a clearer path for children and youth to get help from the Ombudsman. This may lead to faster attention to complaints about care or services.
- Foster and group home operators (licensed residences)
- You must provide Ombudsman information at set times (e.g., when services start or when a complaint is made) and use language suitable to the child’s understanding.
- Children’s aid societies
- You must review, update, and publicly post your by-laws as required by regulation.
- You will need the Minister’s approval for financial transactions that could affect your ability to stay within your approved budget (as defined by regulation).
- K–12 students and families
- Your school board may see more provincial oversight of finances, governance, and student well‑being. In serious cases, the Minister can temporarily take control to address public‑interest concerns.
- Boards must work with local police to provide access to school premises, allow police participation in programs, and implement school resource officer programs where available, in circumstances set by regulation.
- New school names and name changes need provincial approval.
- School boards and trustees
- Ministry auditors can review your records. Boards must also have internal auditors, and external auditors face higher penalties for not doing their job.
- You must follow province‑wide rules for expense policies, including limits on discretionary spending.
- If the Minister finds a potential risk to the public interest, they can direct actions, require plans, or in some cases assume control until issues are fixed.
- College and university applicants
- Admissions must be based on individual merit. Schools must publish the criteria and process for each program, so you can see how applications are judged.
- College and university students
- The province can set which fees schools can or cannot charge (including some third‑party fees), and require public posting and refund options.
- Researchers and faculty
- Your institution must create and run a research security plan. The Minister can set deadlines, required topics, and ask for reports.
Expenses#
No publicly available information.
Proponents' View#
- Strengthens protections for vulnerable children and youth by ensuring they know about the Ombudsman and can reach out privately.
- Improves transparency and accountability at children’s aid societies through public by-laws and oversight of major financial decisions.
- Gives the province clearer tools to step in when a school board’s actions risk student well‑being, sound finances, or good governance.
- Brings consistent financial controls to boards with internal and Ministry auditors and standardized expense policies.
- Enhances school safety by requiring cooperation with local police and enabling school resource officer programs where available.
- Makes university and college admissions more transparent and fair by requiring merit‑based assessment and published criteria.
- Protects Canada’s research and intellectual property through required research security plans.
- Lets the province regulate student fees to protect students from hidden or mandatory charges they can’t refuse.
Opponents' View#
- Centralizes power with the Minister, reducing local school board autonomy and potentially allowing political interference in board decisions and school names.
- Mandatory cooperation with police and school resource officer programs may increase policing in schools, which some communities say harms racialized, Indigenous, and disabled students.
- “Merit‑based” admissions rules, if narrowly defined by regulation, could limit equity admissions and outreach efforts aimed at under‑represented students.
- New auditors, plans, and approvals may add administrative burden and costs for boards, children’s aid societies, and postsecondary schools.
- Research security directives could chill international partnerships or academic freedom if requirements are too broad or unclear.
- Provincial control over student fees could weaken student unions and campus services that rely on fee funding.