In May of this year, the Ontario government passed Bill 101, entitled “the Putting Student Achievement First Act”, but surprisingly, or maybe not, there isn’t a lot about student achievement contained within the bill.
Central to the bill is the increase of oversight powers of the Ministry of Education (OLA, 2026). Items that may be considered related to student achievement include:
- Student assessment and evaluation policies. Some key changes include mandatory written final exams, attendance, participation and,
- Educational and instructional materials, including digital resources.
Items that don’t appear to be related to student achievement but are included in the bill include:
- School board expense policies.
- School board public communications.
- Land acquisition and school construction projects.
- School board governance and executive leadership structures.
Bill 101 serves as a reminder: you can’t judge a book by its cover. What really stands when looking past the very palatable title is that Bill 101 isn’t really about student achievement, it is about Provincial control.
What does control look like?
- Treating all students the same, regardless of their circumstance.
- Deciding what should/can be taught in class.
- Controlling what can be communicated to parents, students and families.
Bill 101 highlights that its authors don’t particularly care what affected parties think about the changes. Part of the bill eliminates the requirement for school climate surveys, which are often used to gather input on topics such as:
- Student well-being.
- Sense of belonging.
- School safety.
- Bullying and inclusion
In fact, Bill 101 all but prohibits these types of communication if it isn’t authorized by a central body.
With Halloween around the corner, it follows that, Bill 101 is just another wolf in sheep’s clothing. Sure, the language of student achievement is appealing. Who would want students to fail? But the scope of the legislation extends well beyond assessments and academic outcomes. It reaches into governance, communication, instructional materials, school operations, and the ways schools gather input from their communities.
If education is truly about meeting the needs of students, then the voices of students, families, educators, and local communities should remain an essential part of that process. Bill 101 therefore deserves to be questioned, not simply by its title or stated purpose, but the powers it places in the hands of the provincial government.
Reference: Bill 101
