Parents and school trustees are raising concerns about the provincial government’s Student and Family Support Offices, following the province’s announcement last month that the offices would be expanded to all school boards across Ontario.
Anjali Rego, a mother of two with children attending school in Mississauga, is one of those parents. She said that last December, after losing her child-care spot following a school transfer, she sought assistance through the Student and Family Support Office.
“I contacted the Student and Family Support Offices … My outreach to them was very simple … I didn’t really get any support from them and I haven’t asked them for any more support,” said Rego.
Rego said the only response she received was an automated message.
“I got an automated reply from them. That was it.”
Rego said that before the province placed the PDSB under provincial supervision, the issue was something she would have taken to her trustee. She didn’t contact her trustee in this case because she believed the trustee’s powers had been diminished under provincial supervision and would not be able to effectuate real change.
Public may be unaware of offices
Rego said the offices have not been adequately publicized.
“A lot of people don’t know about it … The school hasn’t let us know, ‘hey there’s this new thing.’ ”
Leah Rosolak, a parent with children attending school under the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, also said that she and the vast majority of parents she knows within the board were unaware of the offices.
Last month, the provincial government launched Student and Family Support Offices at all Ontario school boards with the stated goal of helping families address unresolved education issues amid concerns about the diminishing role of elected school trustees.
This measure, the province said, is intended to provide families with an additional way to navigate complicated issues and receive additional supports they might require.
Families are directed to first raise concerns with the school and principal. Then, if they feel the issue necessitates further action, families could submit an inquiry to the Student and Family Support Office where the matter will be brought to the appropriate staff member.
In a media release last month, Education Minister Paul Calandra said, “Parents should have a clear and consistent way to raise concerns and get answers when it comes to their child’s education.”
School boards under supervision
Initially, the offices were only in effect at eight school boards placed under provincial supervision in 2025 and 2026, including the Peel District School Board and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.
David Green, PDSB chair and trustee for Brampton wards 1 and 5, has been critical of the offices, questioning whether they can provide meaningful and timely support.
“While parents may continue to reach out to trustees, concerns will still need to be referred to the designated office for review and action. As a result, families could face longer wait times before receiving answers or solutions to their concerns,” said Green.
The province says the offices are not meant to replace existing processes.
John Fraser, MPP and Liberal education critic, said the extent to which the offices are an additional avenue rather than taking on responsibilities previously held by trustees “remains to be seen.”
“If you take a look at the way the government has legislated changes … to trustees and governance, it’s diminishing the role of trustees even beyond those boards that they put under supervision,” said Fraser.
“If the government was going to work with trustees as another level of governance and that was the direction they’re going in, I’d say this (the Student and Family Support Offices) looks like something additional … But that’s not the way this government works,” added Fraser.
Trustees still being contacted
The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association said trustees are still regularly contacted by people in their communities, even those in supervised boards.
The Ministry of Education did not respond to a request for comment.
Brad MacDonald, PDSB trustee, called the expansion “a terrible solution.”
MacDonald believes recent provincial legislation weakened trustees’ role and shifted responsibilities to the offices.
After PDSB supervision, parents increasingly directed concerns to the supervisor or director, creating a need for another complaint channel.
“Let’s put it this way, they eliminated trustees,” said MacDonald.
He questions the offices because they remain within the school board system, unlike elected trustees.
“When you just keep it in the same system … it will not solve the problem. That’s why you need someone independent. Trustees are truly independent,” he said.
MacDonald argues that remaining within the same system may limit the offices’ ability to effectively address concerns, while trustees can independently advocate for parents.
Fraser and MacDonald’s arguments about the role being centralized in the offices echo Green’s feedback.
“The decision to place the responsibilities of 12 trustees onto one individual has created confusion, delays, and frustration for both parents and staff. This concentration of authority is causing operational havoc, leaving families without proper representation and leaving staff without the support and oversight they require,” said Green.
The issue is not just whether parents have an additional place to submit concerns, he said, but whether the avenue can provide the same representation and ability to remedy issues that parents previously relied on trustees for.
“This is what I am hearing while out knocking on doors. Parents across our community are experiencing significant challenges. There is a clear lack of transparency, as calls are not being answered, concerns are not being acknowledged, and parent issues are not being addressed in a timely manner,” added Green.
Response to parent inquiries
The province said 95 per cent of family inquiries at boards where the offices were previously operating were acknowledged within two business days, while nearly 90 per cent received a response within five business days or an estimated response date for complex matters.
The province has not clarified what “acknowledged” means or what proportion of inquiries are ultimately resolved.
The Ministry of Education said information is collected regularly from all 72 school boards to identify patterns and trends in concerns and improve processes.
In Peel, both English-language boards are under provincial supervision, meaning trustees’ role in board administration has been affected and they have less power. Some parents rely on the offices for education matters that previously would have gone to a trustee.
Bruce Campbell, general manager of Communications and Community Relations at the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, said the board has a more favourable view of the offices as a way to respond to basic parent questions and concerns.
Under DPCDSB, Campbell stated, the trustee role is limited exclusively to denominational matters and trustees do not respond to parent inquiries, making the offices the main avenue.
“From the board’s perspective, the Student and Family Support Office has proven to be an effective portal through which parents can communicate questions or concerns and receive assistance in navigating board processes,” said Campbell.
“The board views the SFSO as one component of a broader customer service approach that includes schools, board departments, and other established channels of communication, all working together to support students and families,” added Campbell.
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Bridget Potasky, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Mississauga.com.