The Ontario government is proposing new measures aimed at improving safety for students with medical conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes, asthma, and severe allergies.
Proposed changes would standardize care plans across school boards, expand requirements for field trips and school transportation, and provide more consistent staff training.
Advocates say the updates strengthen existing policies by making key safety measures mandatory rather than recommended.
Public feedback on the proposed changes is being accepted until July 12.
In 2015, a private member’s bill proposed by Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Jeff Yurek was adopted at Queen’s Park.
Known as Ryan’s Law (Ensuring Asthma Friendly Schools), it is named after Ryan Gibbons, who died Oct. 9, 2012, after suffering an asthma attack during recess at Straffordville Public School.
The school had not allowed him to keep his puffer with him, despite repeated efforts by his mother and a doctor’s note.
Written by Ian McCallum
