School policies and procedures

COLA is responsible for the content and quality of its program, instruction, assessment, reporting, attendance procedures, student records, and the accuracy of its public representations. The Principal is responsible for implementation, staff training, documentation, annual review, and corrective action.

The school will comply with the Education Act and regulations applicable to private schools, the current Private Schools Policy and Procedures Manual, Ontario Schools: Policy and Program Requirements, current Ontario curriculum documents, Growing Success and its updates, the OSR Guideline, the OST Manual, and applicable Policy/Program Memoranda.

COLA will submit its annual Notice of Intention by the Ministry deadline, provide required statistical information, cooperate fully with validation and inspection, and immediately correct any inaccurate statement about its authority to grant credits.

Assessment and evaluation will be fair, transparent, equitable, ongoing, varied, and tied directly to Ontario curriculum expectations and achievement-chart categories. Teachers will gather evidence through observations, conversations, and student products; provide clear learning goals, success criteria, and timely descriptive feedback; and use professional judgement, with special consideration given to the most recent and most consistent evidence.

For courses beginning in the 2026–27 school year: Grades 9 and 10 final marks will comprise 65% course work, 20% mandatory final evaluation, and 15% attendance and participation. Grade 11 final marks will comprise 65% course work, 25% mandatory final evaluation, and 10% attendance and participation. Excused absences will not negatively affect a mark.

Final evaluations will follow the subject-specific Ministry breakdown for COLA’s six proposed initial courses. FSF1D and FSF2D use a 10% written final examination and a 10% culminating task. CHV2O uses a 20% written final examination. GLC2O uses the Ministry financial-literacy modules and assessment for 5% and a culminating task for 15%, with no separate mandatory written final examination. FSF3U uses a 10% written final examination and a 15% culminating task. HSP3U uses a 15% written final examination and a 10% culminating task.

Homework may be assigned for practice and preparation, but it is not included in the calculation of the mark. Students will receive a mid-course provincial report card and a final provincial report card. Reports will include the percentage mark, credit earned where applicable, learning skills and work habits, attendance, teacher comments identifying strengths and next steps, and the information required by the provincial report-card template. A credit is granted only where the student earns at least 50%, completes sufficient scheduled instructional time and curriculum expectations, and provides authentic evidence of achievement.

For an online course, attendance is recorded by course week. A student who accesses or participates in planned course learning at any time from Monday through Friday is recorded as present for the entire course week; a student with no access or participation during that period is recorded as absent for the entire course week. COLA will verify meaningful learning activity through Google Classroom records and evidence such as lesson completion, work submission, discussion or conference participation, response to feedback, or course-related communication. Merely opening the platform without engaging in learning is not sufficient evidence.

Every course schedule will identify weekly milestones, teacher-contact expectations, deadlines, and a minimum of 110 scheduled hours for a full credit or 55 scheduled hours for a Ministry-developed half credit. Scheduled time includes teacher-student interaction and assigned individual or group learning tied to curriculum expectations; homework is excluded. Teachers will maintain the course-hour plan, activity evidence, and weekly attendance record.

Students must communicate an absence and provide the reason as soon as reasonably possible. Illness, emergencies, religious or cultural observances, and other circumstances permitted by legislation or approved by the Principal may be recorded as excused. After one course week without engagement or explanation, the teacher will contact the student and, for a student under 18, the parent or guardian. Continued non-attendance will result in documented intervention and a re-engagement plan and may lead to withdrawal where the student no longer meets course requirements. The school will retain attendance records and contact attempts.

Beginning in 2026–27, attendance and participation will also form 15% of Grades 9–10 marks and 10% of Grade 11 marks. Under the Ministry rubric, the attendance portion corresponds to Level 4 for 0–2.5% unexcused absence, Level 3 for more than 2.5–5%, Level 2 for more than 5–7.5%, Level 1 for more than 7.5–10%, and below Level 1 for more than 10%. Participation also considers contributions, questions, respectful interaction, and support for a positive learning environment. Excused absences will not reduce this component.

Students must submit their own work and accurately acknowledge all sources and assistance. Cheating includes unauthorized collaboration, copying, contract cheating, impersonation, using prohibited aids, falsifying evidence, or helping another student obtain an unfair academic advantage. Plagiarism includes presenting another person’s ideas, language, media, code, or AI-generated material as one’s own.

Generative AI may be used only when the teacher expressly permits it for the task. Any permitted use must follow the teacher’s conditions and be disclosed and cited in the manner required. AI may not replace the student’s thinking, create work submitted as original, fabricate sources or data, complete a test or exam, or defeat identity-verification or proctoring measures.

Teachers will use preventative strategies, including explicit instruction, staged submissions, drafts, source checks, oral conferences, version history, comparison with earlier work, and supervised assessments. Where a concern arises, the student will be told the evidence and given an opportunity to respond and demonstrate learning. Consequences will be progressive and proportionate and may include instruction and resubmission, an alternate assessment, loss of marks for inauthentic evidence, a mark of zero where warranted, parent contact, or removal from the course for serious or repeated misconduct. The school will document the incident and response.

At enrolment, identity and date of birth will be verified using reliable documentation. Secure individual accounts are required. Teachers will verify authorship through ongoing interaction and review of student work. Consistent with the September 2026 policy permitting private schools to continue secure online proctoring, final examinations and other designated assessments will be proctored online using photo identification, live video, environment checks, controlled access, and oral or written follow-up where needed. Identity documents and recordings will be collected and retained only as permitted by the school’s privacy and records procedures.

Deadlines support learning, feedback, course completion, and credit integrity. Students must contact the teacher before a deadline when possible. Teachers will consider the student’s age, circumstances, pattern of behaviour, accommodation needs, and the importance of the evidence before determining a response.

Responses may include a conference, revised timeline, additional support, completion contract, parent contact, an alternate opportunity to demonstrate learning, or a late penalty where appropriate. A mark of zero may be used only after reasonable interventions have been attempted and the student still provides no evidence of achievement. Late work may not be accepted after the final course deadline where the teacher can no longer assess it fairly or return feedback before final reporting.

Learning-skills concerns will be reported separately from achievement except where current Ministry policy expressly includes attendance and participation in the final mark.

While credit-granting authority is pending, COLA will not grant or record an OSSD credit. COLA will document the student-record arrangement before formal enrolment is finalized. Where another Ontario school holds the OSR, the adult student, or the parent or guardian of a minor, must authorize communication where consent is required, and COLA will provide that school with required academic information. A homeschool applicant without a current records-holding school may express interest; the applicable OSR, OST and reporting responsibilities will be confirmed in writing before enrolment.

Once authorized to grant the applicable credit, COLA will issue mid-course and final provincial report cards and send the records-holding school the final mark, credit earned, and applicable withdrawal or repeat information needed to update the OSR and OST. The records-holding school remains responsible for the OST, OSSD and other credentials, literacy and community-involvement requirements, PLAR and equivalency, substitutions, and overall diploma planning.

COLA will maintain secure course and administrative records required to support instruction, assessment, attendance, credit integrity, reporting, inspection, and legal obligations. Access is restricted to the student, an eligible parent or guardian, authorized school personnel, the records-holding school with consent or legal authority, Ministry officials, and others authorized by law. Retention and secure destruction will follow applicable Ministry policy and law.

Grade 9 and 10 courses are reported after successful completion. Grade 11 attempts are subject to Ontario’s full-disclosure rules. A Grade 11 withdrawal within five instructional days after the first provincial report card is issued will not appear on the OST; a later withdrawal must be reported with “W” and the percentage mark at withdrawal. COLA will provide the required information to the records-holding school for entry on the OST.

Admission is based on identity and age verification, prior learning evidence, prerequisite evidence where applicable, course suitability, technology access, available support, and the relevant student-record arrangement. Founding-cohort participation requires a signed no-fee participation agreement and does not constitute OSSD credit enrolment. Credit admission is not complete until COLA is authorized to offer the credit, the records arrangement is confirmed, the registration agreement is signed, and any applicable payment is received. A prerequisite may be waived only by the Principal where the student has the necessary knowledge and skills; the decision and supporting evidence will be documented and communicated as required.

A student may request one course transfer within 14 calendar days of receiving course access, provided less than 20% of the course has been completed, a place is available, prerequisites are met, and the transfer will not compromise credit integrity. An approved transfer is subject to the published CAD $75 fee. The Principal may waive the fee where the school caused the transfer.

A student may withdraw at any time by written notice from the adult student or the parent or guardian of a minor. Academic disclosure follows the OST rules in Policy 6 and is separate from refund eligibility. The teacher will determine and document the mark as of the withdrawal date.

Before course access is provided, cancellation receives a full tuition refund. Within seven calendar days after access is provided, a student may receive a 90% refund if less than 10% of evaluated course work has been submitted. After that point, tuition is non-refundable except where required by law or approved by the Principal for exceptional circumstances. If COLA cancels a course and cannot provide a suitable transfer, all tuition and school-imposed fees for that course will be refunded. No payment will be accepted before Ministry authorization and a registration agreement containing the applicable fees and refund terms is provided.

Students, staff, and visitors must communicate respectfully; protect privacy; follow teacher directions; use only their own account; and refrain from bullying, harassment, discrimination, hate, threats, violence, sexual misconduct, impersonation, unauthorized recording, malicious software, interference with instruction, or any unlawful activity. These expectations apply in the learning platform, email, video meetings, shared documents, school-related social spaces, and any communication that affects the school climate.

Concerns may be reported to a teacher or directly to the Principal at admin@canadianonlinelearningacademy.com. Reports will be documented, assessed promptly, and addressed using developmentally appropriate, progressive measures. Responses may include safety planning, restorative action, parent contact, loss of platform privileges, conditions for continued enrolment, suspension from synchronous activities, or removal from the course. Immediate threats, suspected child abuse, or criminal conduct will be referred to emergency services, child-protection authorities, or police where required.

School technology may be used only for authorized educational purposes. Users must protect passwords, comply with copyright and privacy requirements, avoid sharing personal information, and report suspected account compromise. COLA may review school accounts and platform records for safety, security, academic integrity, and legal compliance, subject to its privacy obligations.

COLA will provide equal access and individualized accommodation up to the point of undue hardship, in accordance with applicable human-rights and accessibility obligations. A student or parent may request accommodation during admission or at any point in a course. The school may request only the information reasonably necessary to understand functional needs and arrange support.

Teachers will review relevant Individual Education Plans and supporting documentation with consent and provide accommodations consistent with Ontario curriculum policy, such as flexible presentation formats, assistive technology, additional time, alternative response formats, chunking, scheduled check-ins, or accessible materials. Accommodations change how a student learns or demonstrates learning; they do not change curriculum expectations. Any modification of expectations must be expressly approved, documented, communicated, and reported according to Ministry requirements.

Accommodation information will be shared only with staff who need it to support the student. Accessibility concerns may be sent to admin@canadianonlinelearningacademy.com and will be acknowledged promptly.

COLA will collect only information reasonably required to assess admission, deliver instruction, verify identity and authorship, support students, process payments, maintain mandated records, communicate with families, and comply with law and Ministry requirements. Personal information will be used for the stated purpose, protected by role-based access and reasonable technical and administrative safeguards, and disclosed only with consent or legal authority.

Students use an individually verified Google account approved for course access. Account ownership, privacy, identity verification and acceptable-use requirements are documented during enrolment. Sensitive records will not be sent through unsecured channels where a safer method is available. Service providers will receive only the information needed to perform contracted services and will be expected to protect it. Suspected loss, unauthorized access, or disclosure will be contained, investigated, documented, and communicated to affected individuals and authorities where legally required.

Requests for access, correction, consent withdrawal, or privacy concerns may be sent to the Principal at admin@canadianonlinelearningacademy.com. Withdrawal of consent does not affect records the school is required to retain or process by law.

A concern should normally be raised first with the teacher or staff member closest to the matter. If unresolved, or if the concern involves that person, a written complaint may be sent to admin@canadianonlinelearningacademy.com with the subject line “Formal Complaint” and the relevant dates, facts, desired resolution, and supporting documents. The school will acknowledge a formal complaint within three business days and aims to provide a written decision within ten business days. Where more time is reasonably required, the complainant will receive an update and revised date.

A grade-review request must be made within five business days after the mark or report is issued. The teacher will review the curriculum expectations, assessment evidence, accommodations, scoring criteria, and calculation. If still disputed, the student or parent may request a Principal review within five further business days. The Principal may confirm the grade, correct an error, direct reassessment, or require an alternate demonstration of learning. The Principal’s written decision is final within the school.

No person will be penalized for raising a good-faith concern. Records of complaints, evidence, communications, decisions, and corrective actions will be retained securely. If the complaint concerns the Principal personally, the school will arrange review by a qualified independent educator or advisor who was not involved in the original decision.

Students and parents or guardians of minors will receive course expectations, attendance and login requirements, major deadlines, assessment information, teacher contact details, and applicable policies before instruction begins. Teachers will respond to student or parent messages within two business days and will normally return marked assignments with descriptive feedback within five business days. Where an unusually extensive task or an interruption makes that timeline impracticable, the teacher will communicate a revised return date.

With appropriate consent and account setup, parents and guardians of minors may receive Google Classroom guardian email summaries showing missing work, upcoming work, and recent class activity. Google’s standard guardian summaries do not provide access to the Classroom Grades page. COLA will therefore provide a formal progress update at least every four weeks, mid-course and final provincial report cards, and teacher conferences by appointment. Families will also be contacted promptly when attendance, progress, conduct, or academic integrity creates a material concern.

During a platform or service interruption, the school will communicate through its available backup channel, preserve submitted work where possible, extend affected deadlines fairly, provide alternate access to essential materials, and document instructional time. If an interruption materially prevents the school from delivering the course, COLA will provide a recovery plan, transfer, or refund consistent with Policy 7.