On November 14, 2005, the Ontario Human Rights Commission reached a settlement with the Toronto District School Board following a commission-initiated complaint against the board in July 2005. On July 7, 2005, the commission initiated a complaint against the board in the public interest and on behalf of racialized students and students with disabilities alleging that the application of the Safe Schools Act and the board's policies on discipline are having a disproportionate impact on racial minority students and students with disabilities. The complaint alleges that the board had failed to meet its duty to accommodate racialized students and students with disabilities in the application of discipline, including providing adequate alternative education services for racial minority students and students with disabilities who are suspended or expelled and that the above amounts to a failure on the part of the board to provide equal access to education services and that it constitutes discrimination and contravenes sections 1, 11 and 9 of the Ontario Human Rights Code. The TDSB accepts and acknowledges a widespread perception that the application of Ontario's school disciplinary legislation, regulations and policies can have a discriminatory effect on students from racialized communities and students with disabilities and further exacerbate their already disadvantaged position in society.
