Toronto School Board Drops Lottery for Specialized Programs, Will Switch to Merit-Based Admissions

A Toronto District School Board sign is shown in front of a high school in Toronto on Jan. 30, 2018. The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) says it’s revising its admission process for its specialized programs after “direction” from a supervisor appointed by the Minister of Education.

The school board announced in 2022 it was moving from a merit-based admission system to a lottery system for specialized programs that focus on subjects like math, science, the arts, and leadership. It said the lottery would be more equitable and give students who may not have the means to pay for lessons or tutoring the opportunity to attend a special school program.

The board announced on Oct. 21 it will be returning to a merit-based system as of next month.

“Based on direction from the Supervisor appointed at the TDSB by the Minister of Education, the decision has been made to change the application and admission process for Specialized Programs,” the board said in a notice on its website.

The Epoch Times contacted the Education Minister for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Applications will open during the week of Nov. 10 and will remain open for three weeks, the board said. Elementary students will be admitted beginning in November based on an evaluated portfolio or audition video submitted with their application.

High school students must meet a benchmark on their report cards to be eligible to apply, the school board said. Admission decisions will be based on the overall applicant score, which is determined by their report card grades related to their chosen program and a demonstration of their knowledge and skills.

The board said schools with specialized programs will host open house events next month for families to visit and ask questions about the programs.

Lottery System

The lottery admission process was intermittently marked by criticism and technical issues during its three-year duration.

It was criticized by both parents and students during the 2023/2024 school year after technical errors led to a glitch in the acceptance process, resulting in minorities on the waitlist being excluded from the lottery selection. The school board then offered 89 more seats in the programs for students who were overlooked.

The board then said the lottery system would accept all indigenous applications and siblings of current students for the school year. It said a lottery would be held for 25 percent of the remaining spots and would be focused on students who self-identified as a racial minority, LGBT, or disabled. TDSB said a randomized selection process would be used for any remaining openings.

Then-Education Minister Stephen Lecce said in an April 2024 letter to board chair Rachel Lin that he had “serious concerns” about the updated admissions policy.

Lecce told the board in his letter to review the changes and initiate a “new, open, and transparent” policy review consultation.

He noted that students, parents, and educators had voiced concern, citing the lack of a transparent consultation process. He also said there was an issue with data omissions prior to the board voting on the change in 2022.

The letter was shared on social media by Save Our Schools, a coalition of parents, students, and educators with concerns about the change of policy.

At the time, school board chair Rachel Lin said in an email to The Epoch Times that the lottery process had achieved its goal, adding that the data showed the process “resulted in representation of students that better reflects the overall student population” with more “students from working class families and Black students” enrolled in the programs.