Before filing an OSET appeal

If you are not satisfied with the identification and/or placement decisions made by your child’s school board regarding their special education, there are steps you must take at the school board level to try to resolve your concerns before filing an OSET appeal. These include bringing your complaint to an Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) and, if you are still not satisfied, appealing to a Special Education Appeal Board (SEAB).

Representation

You can represent yourself at your hearing, or you can choose a lawyer or paralegal to help you prepare for, and participate in, your appeal and represent you. If you need help finding a lawyer or paralegal, see getting legal help.

If you have a legal representative, the OSET will communicate with you through your representative. For more information, see the information sheet on representation .

Who can file

After you have exhausted all rights of appeal through the Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) and Special Education Appeal Board (SEAB) processes you can file an OSET appeal if you are:

• a parent or guardian of a child with exceptional learning needs who does not agree with the school board’s decision on the child’s exceptionalities or placement of the child
• an adult student with exceptional learning needs who does not agree with the school board’s decision about identification or placement

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Steps and timeframes for an appeal

The OSET Rules of Procedure set timelines for completing certain steps in the appeal process. These steps are summarized in the list below:

1. Parents or adult students can file an appeal with the OSET within 30 days of receiving the school board’s decision on the SEAB recommendations. Download Form A: Notice of Appeal or call us at 416-326-1356 and we will send you a form.
2. Within 20 days of receiving Form A: Notice of Appeal, complete and submit the form to the OSET.
   Ensure you include all important details and attach a copy of the IPRC decision and SEAB report.
   For information about how to send your appeal, visit Forms & Filing.
3. Within 1-2 business days of receiving Form A: Notice of Appeal, we will send the completed form and required documents to the school board.
4. Within 10 days of receiving the copy of your completed Form A: Notice of Appeal and required documents, the school board must complete and submit to the OSET Form B: Response to a Notice of Appeal .
5. An option to participate in mediation is included on both Form A and Form B. Within 20 days of receiving Form B: Response to a Notice of Appeal, if the parties agree, a mediation is scheduled. If mediation is not successful, a pre-hearing conference will be scheduled.
6. If a hearing is scheduled, parties are required disclose their documents list of witnesses to the OSET and to each other.
   • Parents are required to provide documents at least 30 days before the hearing date.
   • The school board is required to provide documents at least 15 days before the hearing date.
7. The OSET decision will be sent to all parties within 90 days of the hearing.

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Language services

French language services

If your appeal is against a French Public or Catholic school board, please see OSET – French for how to file an appeal in French.

Tribunals Ontario is committed to ensuring that French language services are clearly visible, easily accessible and publicized, and of equivalent quality to services offered in English. Read the French Language Services Policy for more information.

OSET documents and forms are available in both French and English.

Mediations and hearings can be conducted in English, French or in both languages. If an appeal or the response is filed in French, a bilingual adjudicator will be assigned. If you applied in English but would prefer to continue in French, please notify us as soon as possible, well in advance of your hearing or mediation.

Languages other than English or French

The OSET can provide interpreters for languages other than English and French, including sign language. Request an interpreter as soon as possible, well in advance of your hearing or mediation.

All correspondence submitted to the OSET must be in either English or French. The OSET does not provide translation services, including translating correspondence from French to English or English to French.

Mediation

Mediation is voluntary and the goal is to help the two parties reach an agreement that resolves the issues in your appeal. You are encouraged to consider mediation. The parties can agree to mediation by ticking the box in the “Mediation” section on the Form A: Notice of Appeal or Form B: Response to a Notice of Appeal. If you agree to participate in a mediation, the OSET will send a Notice of Mediation to both parties.

At the mediation, a mediator with the OSET will facilitate the mediation. Both sides will have a chance to tell the mediator what happened and discuss potential solutions. The mediation will take place in private by video proceeding.

If the issues in the appeal are resolved at the mediation, you can withdraw the appeal and the file will be closed. If you reach a settlement agreement during the mediation, the parties can request a consent order from the OSET. See the Practice Direction on Consent Orders .

If some or all the issues in the appeal remain in dispute after mediation, or if both parties do not agree to mediation, a pre-hearing conference will be held.

Confidentiality at mediation

Mediation is confidential so parties can speak openly about their concerns and possible solutions. Unless the parties specifically agree, nothing that is said or discussed in mediation can be used in an OSET hearing or any other proceeding.

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The pre-hearing

The purpose of the pre-hearing is to:

• discuss the procedures that will be followed at the hearing
• define the issues
• identify any preliminary issues such as:
  • whether the appeal relates to identification or placement, or is really a dispute about programming (which is not within the OSET’s power to resolve)
  • whether the appeal was made within the required timelines
• discuss potential dates for hearing the preliminary issues and for the appeal
• discuss the documents and other potential evidence the parties will need to share with each other and the OSET. These documents disclosed could include:
  • Assessment information
  • Report cards
  • Individual Education Plans
  • Letters and reports
  • Information about the placement, special education programs and services that are most likely to meet the student’s needs
• discuss dates you are required to share documents with each other and the OSET. Usually, you will be required to share documents at least 30 days before the hearing, and the school board will usually need to share their documents at least 15 days before the hearing
• identify witnesses who will appear at the hearing
• identify any accommodation requirements

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Witnesses

A person who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard or experienced is called a witness. A witness may be called by either party to provide information related to the appeal. You must identify your witnesses before the hearing begins and provide a written summary of the evidence each witness will give.

You must make sure that your witnesses will attend the hearing and that they know the date and time.

If your witness is unwilling to attend or requires an official request to attend the hearing (to justify an absence from work, for example), you can complete a Request for Issuing a Summons form .

For more information, see:

• Information Sheet: Witnesses
• Practice Direction on Issuing a Summons

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The hearing

An adjudicator will hear your appeal and make a decision. The adjudicator will determine what documents will be considered as evidence. Evidence must be relevant, current and help the adjudicator understand the strengths and needs of the student.

In most cases, hearings are open to the public. Hearings typically last one to five days. For more details about the hearing, see Information Sheet: At the Hearing .

Student participation at the hearing

Students generally do not attend OSET hearings. However, it may be appropriate for the student to attend the hearing at your or the school board’s requests. The age, maturity, intellectual, emotional, and physical capabilities of the student should be considered.

Before the hearing, the parties should discuss with the adjudicator:

• whether the student will be present for part, or all, of the hearing
• the purpose of the student attending
• how the student will participate

A student who is 16 years or older can decide whether to attend the hearing and/or appear as a witness without parental approval. For more information see Information Sheet: Role of the Student .

The decision and orders

The OSET will issue a decision with reasons in writing to you and the school board within 90 days of the hearing.

The OSET can make orders about the special education identification and/or placement of a student from the categories and options set out in the Education Act.

• Identification: The five categories and definitions of exceptionalities
• Placement: The range of placement options in which exceptional students are provided with a special education program is included in your child’s school board’s Special Education Plan

The OSET cannot order a school board to provide medical or therapeutic services such as Intensive Behaviour Intervention (IBI) for a student.

The decision of the OSET is final and legally binding. Parties cannot appeal the OSET’s decision or apply to the OSET for a re-hearing. However, in limited circumstances, you may apply to the Divisional Court for judicial review of the decision. The Divisional Court’s website provides some information about the judicial review process.

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Remaining seized of the case

The OSET may decide to continue to be involved with the implementation of its decision for a period of time. This is called “remaining seized of the case.” See Practice Direction on Seized Cases for more information.

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Privacy and confidentiality of decisions

The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act prevents the disclosure of personal information about someone without their consent. Because of this legislation, and the sensitive and confidential nature of information about students with special needs, OSET decisions are written in two formats:

• The parties involved in the appeal (you and the school board) will receive the official version of the decision
• A second version, which has all student’s identifying information removed (name, date of birth, etc.) will be posted on the Canadian Legal Information Institute website (CanLII) where anyone can read it

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Closing an appeal after the hearing

The OSET will close an appeal when:

• it has issued a decision but has not remained seized of the case
• the time period for which the OSET has remained seized of a case has expired
• a parent, guardian or adult student withdraws the appeal
• the OSET considers it appropriate

Application and processing timelines

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