A report by Ontario's auditor general, Shelley Spence, reveals that special education programs in the province are failing to meet the needs of students consistently. Over the past decade, while overall student enrollment grew by four percent, the number of students with additional educational needs surged by seven percent. The report highlights issues such as high absenteeism among educational assistants, with nearly one in five absent daily, leading to unfilled positions and increased stress for remaining staff. Furthermore, almost 60 percent of teachers reported having received minimal training on special education topics, which hampers their ability to support students effectively. The report also noted a lack of provincial guidelines on exclusions, resulting in informal and undocumented exclusions for 39 percent of teachers' students, primarily due to behavioral challenges. Although funding for special education increased by 15 percent from $3.1 billion to $3.6 billion between 2019/20 and 2023/24, critics argue that this is insufficient to address the systemic challenges faced by the special education system in Ontario. The government has expressed agreement with most of the auditor's recommendations.