What is Bill 33?
Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, is a piece of legislation introduced by the Ontario government that significantly expands provincial oversight of the education system…..
See/Read the PDF below – our summer student was able to do some research and create this resource for the network on Bill 33 – now is the time to start organizing around this, and we hope this resource serves as a support! It will be in our Zine and Archive Project launch as well! See PDF nd download below. Full text is below the PDF.
Bill 33, Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025
What is Bill 33?
Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, is a piece of legislation introduced by the Ontario government that significantly expands provincial oversight of the education system. The bill gives the Minister of Education new powers to investigate and take control of school boards, mandates the reintroduction of police officers in schools, and imposes government regulation on student fees at colleges and universities. This includes authority over ancillary fees, which fund vital student services such as mental health support, food banks, and student advocacy initiatives.1 This concern is especially timely given that the 2025 Ontario Budget confirmed a decline in government funding for the post-secondary sector. As public investment shrinks, student-led services become even more critical in filling the gaps, making the regulation and potential restriction of ancillary fees not only short-sighted but harmful to the well-being and success of students across the province.2
Additionally, Bill 33 allows provincial officials to override local decision-making and mandate the return of School Resource Officers in schools, despite these programs having been previously removed due to their discriminatory and harmful impacts. These measures do not address the underlying causes of safety concerns in schools and instead contribute to the criminalization of young people in environments that should prioritize learning and support. The reintroduction of School Resource Officers raises serious concerns, as past evidence shows that such programs target and discipline racialized students. A report prepared for the Ontario Human Rights Commission found that school discipline policies have had a disproportionate effect on Black, Tamil, Indigenous, and Latino students.3 Granting the province authority over decisions like these increases the risk of embedding police presence in schools, which risks deepening existing inequities instead of fostering safe and supportive learning environments.
How does it impact OPIRG?
Bill 33 directly threatens the autonomy and sustainability of OPIRGs by imposing government regulation on ancillary fees, which are critical to funding their operations. These fees, typically approved through democratic student referenda, support a wide range of community-based programs and social justice initiatives led by OPIRGs. By granting the province authority to control or restrict these fees, Bill 33 risks defunding OPIRGs, undermining their capacity to provide vital advocacy, education, and research services on campuses across Ontario. This not only jeopardizes OPIRGs’ organizational independence but also diminishes student-led efforts to promote equity, environmental sustainability, and social justice within post-secondary institutions.
How is it similar to the Student Choice Initiative (2019)?
Introduced in January 2019 by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the Student Choice Initiative (SCI) aimed to make previously mandatory fees for student-run groups and organizations optional. By eliminating collective membership dues, the initiative threatened to defund student services, with the greatest impact on those supporting equity-seeking groups and students from lower-income backgrounds.4 Although this policy was unanimously struck down in November 2019, Bill 33 reflects a similar attempt to interfere with student governance by limiting student autonomy. By targeting the regulation of ancillary fees, Bill 33 gives the provincial government sweeping authority over how student associations operate. Many of these fees are determined through democratic referenda and directly support essential services such as mental health care, peer support, campus food banks, and equity-focused programming. Stripping student associations of the autonomy to manage their own funding undermines campus democracy and threatens the survival of programs that many students depend on to thrive both academically and personally.
Ways to push back on Bill 33? (What was learned from SCI resistance)
- To push back against Bill 33, OPIRG Provincial will gather written, audio, or visual testimonials from students and staff who have engaged with OPIRG chapters. These personal accounts can highlight the critical role of student services and be shared through social media campaigns such as “Testimony Tuesday” or compiled into accessible formats like zines.
- Collaboration with faculty and advocacy organizations, including the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (CFS-Ontario) and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), can strengthen outreach and policy influence.
- Monitoring government calls for public consultation on Bill 33 will ensure that student perspectives are formally represented in the policy development process.
References
1. Ontario Student Voices. 2025. “OSV Concerned Over Proposed Changes in Bill 33: Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025.” Ontario Student Voices. Retrieved June 26, 2025 https://www.ontariostudentvoices.ca/post/osv-concerned-over-proposed-changes-in-bill-33-supporting-children-and-students-act-2025.
2. Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation. 2025. “University and College Workers Raise the Alarm on Proposed Changes in Bill 33.” Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation. Retrieved June 26, 2025 https://www.osstf.on.ca/news/university-and-college-workers-raise-the-alarm-on-proposed-changes-in-Bill-33.aspx.
3. Ruck, Martin D., and Scot Wortley. 2002. “Racial and Ethnic Minority High School Students’ Perceptions of School Disciplinary Practices: A Look at Some Canadian Findings.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 31(3):185-195. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015081102189.
4. McGinn, Shauna. 2019. “Ontario Court Strikes Down Controversial Student Choice Initiative.” University Affairs. Retrieved June 26, 2025 (https://universityaffairs.ca/news/ontario-court-strikes-down-controversial-student-choice-initiative/).
Ontario. 2025. Bill 33, Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025. 1st Session, 44th Parliament.
