Aug 31, 20266 min readUpdated September 5, 2026

Ontario Special Education Placement Options and Transition Planning

The five Ontario special education placement options, what the IPRC must consider first, and what a transition plan has to contain to be worth anything.

Placement is the word Ontario uses for where your child learns, and it is decided by a committee, not by a teacher and not by you alone. Parents usually arrive at the question sideways, after somebody says the words "congregated class" or "resource withdrawal" in a meeting. What follows is what the five options actually mean, what the committee has to consider before it can choose the more restrictive ones, and what a transition plan needs to contain to be worth the paper.

Who decides placement, and what they must consider first

An Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) decides whether a student is identified as exceptional and where the student is placed. Before it can consider the option of a special education class, the committee must consider whether placement in a regular class with appropriate special education services would meet your child's needs and is consistent with your preferences as a parent. If, after weighing the information, it is satisfied on both counts, it shall decide in favour of the regular class (O. Reg. 181/98, s. 17).

If the committee decides on a special education class instead, it has to state its reasons in the written statement of decision (s. 18(2)). Those reasons are worth reading closely, because they are the board's own account of why the regular class was ruled out.

One limit surprises most families. The committee decides identification and placement. It may discuss and recommend special education programs and services, and it must discuss a proposal at your request or at the request of a student who is 16 or older, but it shall not make decisions about programs or services (s. 16). Staffing, minutes of support and strategies are set later, in the IEP.

The five placement options

Ontario describes a range of options for students whose needs cannot be met entirely in the regular classroom (ontario.ca):

Regular class with indirect support. The student is in a regular class for the entire day, and the teacher receives specialized consultative services.
Regular class with resource assistance. The student is in the regular class for most or all of the day and receives specialized instruction, individually or in a small group, inside the classroom, from a qualified special education teacher.
Regular class with withdrawal assistance. The student is in the regular class and receives instruction outside the classroom for less than 50 per cent of the school day, from a qualified special education teacher.
Special education class with partial integration. The student is in a special education class for at least 50 per cent of the school day and is integrated with a regular class for at least one instructional period daily.
Full-time special education class. For the entire school day.

Other routes exist outside this list. Ontario names Provincial Schools for students who are Deaf, blind or deafblind, Demonstration Schools for students with severe learning disabilities, and facilities that provide care or treatment appropriate to a student's condition. Boards use their own local names for their classes, so read your board's parent guide alongside the ministry's list.

Questions to ask about any placement on offer

How does this placement address the strengths and needs written in the statement of decision?
Who teaches the specialized instruction, and what are their special education qualifications?
How many minutes a day, and where does the instruction happen?
How much of the day is spent with the regular class, and in which subjects?
Will the subjects be accommodated only, modified, or alternative in this setting?
What access is there to peers, recess, clubs and extracurriculars?
How will progress be monitored, and how will I hear about it?
What transportation or timetable changes come with it?
What would prompt the team to revisit this placement?

Ask for the answers about the actual class in the actual school, not the program description on the board's website. Programs with the same name run differently in different buildings.

What happens after the decision

The board implements a placement decision once you consent to it in writing, or once the period for filing a notice of appeal expires without one being filed (s. 20). If you disagree, you have 15 days from the statement of decision to request a follow-up meeting with the committee, and 30 days to file a notice of appeal with the secretary of the board, or 15 days from the decision after a follow-up meeting.

Once placement happens, the clock starts on the plan. Within 30 school days after placement in a special education program, the principal must ensure the IEP is completed and a copy sent to you (s. 6(8)).

Reviews run on two different cycles, and it helps to hold them apart. A review IPRC meeting is normally held once within the school year, and you can waive it by giving written notice to the principal. Separately, once a placement has been in effect for three months, you can request a review in writing at any time, no more often than once every three months, and the principal must make the referral (s. 21). The IEP itself is reviewed at least once every reporting period, which is the faster of the two loops and usually the more useful one.

Transition planning is not just a Grade 12 thing

A transition plan must be developed for every student who has an IEP, whether or not they have been identified as exceptional, and including students identified solely on the basis of giftedness (PPM 156). It is developed as part of the IEP. It covers entry to school, moves between grades, moves from one subject or program to another, school to school, elementary to secondary, and secondary to the next pathway. Regulation 181/98 adds a separate requirement for students 14 or older: a plan for transition to post-secondary activities such as work, further education and community living, unless the student was identified solely on the basis of giftedness (s. 6(4), 6(5)).

Every transition plan must identify specific goals, the strategies and actions required to achieve them, the person or agency responsible for each action, and timelines for implementation. It is developed in consultation with you, with your child as appropriate, with the post-secondary institution where relevant, and with community agencies as necessary. It is reviewed whenever the IEP is reviewed, and stored in the Ontario Student Record documentation folder. If your child needs no support through transitions, the plan should say that no actions are required rather than sit empty.

Around any real move, the practical work is the same: visit the new setting if you can, confirm which technology and routines travel with your child, and get the name of one person at the receiving end who will answer questions in September.

Go deeper

Our guide to what happens at an IPRC in Ontario covers the meeting, the statement of decision, the follow-up meeting and the appeal route in full detail, including who sits on a special education appeal board. If the placement is settled and the question is now about what the plan says, start with how to get an IEP in Ontario.

Frequently asked questions

Can the IPRC put my child in a special education class without considering the regular class first?

No. Before considering the option of a special education class, the committee must consider whether placement in a regular class with appropriate special education services would meet your child's needs and is consistent with your preferences. If it is satisfied on both counts, it must decide in favour of the regular class. If it decides on a special education class instead, it has to state its reasons in the written statement of decision.

Does the IPRC decide what support my child actually gets?

No, and this surprises many parents. The committee decides identification and placement. It may discuss and recommend special education programs and services, and must discuss a proposal at your request, but Ontario Regulation 181/98 says it shall not make decisions about programs or services. Those decisions are made by the school and board, and they appear in the IEP that follows the placement.

How soon can I ask for the placement to be reviewed?

You can make a written request to the principal at any time after the placement has been in effect for three months, and the principal must then refer your child to a committee for a review. The request can be made no more often than once every three months. A review meeting is also normally held once each school year, unless a committee proceeding was already held that year or you waive it in writing.

Who has to have a transition plan?

Every student with an IEP, whether or not they have been identified as exceptional by an IPRC, and including students identified solely on the basis of giftedness. The plan is developed as part of the IEP and covers the key transitions in a student's education, from entry to school through to the pathway after secondary school. If your child needs no support through transitions, the plan should state that no actions are required.

What has to be in a transition plan?

Four elements. Specific goals for the transition, the strategies and actions required to achieve them, the person or agency responsible for each action, and timelines for implementation. It is developed in consultation with you, with your child where appropriate, with the postsecondary institution where relevant, and with community agencies as necessary. It is reviewed whenever the IEP is reviewed and stored in the Ontario Student Record.