big issues:trustees, the board, and the province

Toronto has four publicly funded school boards, split by language (English or French) and faith (public or Catholic). The English-language boards are the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB). The French-language boards are Conseil scolaire Viamonde and Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir.

Before you read: a note on provincial supervision. The TDSB and TCDSB have been under provincial supervision since June 27, 2025. Viamonde and MonAvenir are not. While supervision is in place, provincially appointed supervisors exercise powers that would normally belong to elected trustees. Unless otherwise noted, this primer describes a trustee's ordinary powers, outside supervision. To read more: Ontario government.

Toronto's publicly funded schools are governed by elected school boards. While many decisions about education are made by the Province, school boards play an important role in local governance and oversight.

Here are four things to know: what a school board is, what trustees can and cannot do, how Toronto's four boards work, and why two of them are under provincial supervision.