📣 Public Input Now Open on Key TVDSB Policies / 📌 Update as of June 17, 2025:
CPAL encourages families to read and respond — your voice matters.
The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) is now seeking public input on several important policies and procedures that directly impact school enrolment, attendance areas, and the use of school facilities.
These include:
Pupil Accommodation Policy
Attendance Area Review Procedure
Holding Zones and Holding Schools Procedure
Capping of Schools Procedure
You can review all policies under public input here:
🔗 Public Input Page – TVDSB
🧐 What These Policies Mean for Families
These policies set the framework for how the board manages:
school overcrowding
who gets to attend which school
when and how new schools are built
how students might be redirected to different schools due to development or population growth
While much of the language sounds neutral and procedural, CPAL has identified several concerning trends across the proposed documents:
⚠️ CPAL Key Concerns
1. Parents May Lose Say in School Access
In multiple policies, the Director of Education alone can decide when a school is capped or when holding zones are created — without a public vote or trustee motion. This gives significant power to administrative staff and bypasses community oversight.
📌 Example: In the Capping Procedure, schools can be closed to new students without any requirement for board discussion or parent consultation.
2. Random Lotteries for School Placement
When schools are full, new students could be assigned to schools by a random lottery — not by proximity, need, or family situation.
This approach may lead to emotional and logistical stress for families who expected their children to attend the local school.
3. Developers Are Informed First, Not Families
Across the policies, developers with active planning applications are explicitly notified early of school capacity issues. Meanwhile, there is no guarantee families are consulted or warned in advance.
4. Trustees Have Limited Role in These Decisions
In policies involving holding zones, capping, or even adjusting boundaries, trustees appear to be consulted only after recommendations are made, rather than shaping the decisions from the start.
CPAL believes elected trustees — accountable to the public — must lead, not just respond to administrative plans.
✅ Not All Bad: Some Safeguards Exist
Siblings of current students are prioritized in capped schools
Changes take effect only at the start of the school year
Holding zones are reviewed annually
But these positives do not fix the structural imbalance of power between the public and administration.
👣 What Should You Do?
🟢 Read the policies yourself.
🟢 Judge what is best for your family.
🟢 Give your feedback to the board directly.
📬 Email your comments to:
publicinput@tvdsb.ca
🗓️ Deadline not posted — but don’t delay. The board could vote on these as early as this summer or fall.
✉️ CPAL’s Role
We are not legal experts or education insiders — we are parents. We’ve taken the time to review these policies carefully and are sharing our observations in good faith.
Our recommendations reflect our best effort to highlight risks — but we encourage all families to do their own due diligence and decide whether these policies align with their values and priorities.
If you find a concern, raise your voice. If you see something positive, say so too. Let’s work together for school governance that reflects the needs of students and parents — not just administrators and developers.
📌 Update as of June 17, 2025:
TVDSB has added more policies for public input — including a new Environmental Education and Sustainability Policy (5002) and its related procedure (5002a). As with all others, we encourage you to read these carefully and assess whether the language and direction align with your family's values. CPAL will review and share highlights if concerns arise, but we continue to urge all parents to make their own informed submissions.
🗂️ See the full list here: TVDSB Public Input Page