Tribunal also examines whether board’s handling of teacher’s return-to-work process showed discriminatory intent
A missing reactivation form sank a teacher’s disability discrimination claim against an Ontario school board.
The teacher had worked for the Avon Maitland District School Board since 2015, first as an educational assistant and then as a supply teacher. By June 2018, she held spots on both the elementary Supply List and the Long Term Occasional (LTO) List, which allowed her to apply for long-term occasional assignments.
In November 2019, her doctor placed her on medical leave for a stress-related illness. She began a gradual return to work the week of March 10, 2020 - days before COVID-19 shut down in-person schooling across Ontario.
In a decision delivered Oct. 9, 2026, adjudicator Kelly Barker of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario dismissed the teacher’s claim that what followed amounted to disability discrimination.
Each spring, teachers on the LTO List were required under the collective agreement to submit a reactivation form by April 30 to keep their spots for the following year. The teacher testified she believed she had completed it. She had even texted colleagues reminding them to submit theirs.
But the school board’s IT department confirmed she had never started or completed the electronic form.
When the teacher raised concerns in July 2020, the board investigated promptly, producing emails and IT records showing multiple...
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