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 ENL1W and CHV2O: final marks comprise 65% coursework, 20% securely administered written final examination, and 15% attendance and participation. Excused absences do not automatically reduce the attendance/participation component; the teacher considers available evidence and provides reasonable recovery opportunities.

Assessment includes diagnostic and formative evidence, self-assessment and reflection, and evaluation of observations, conversations and products linked to curriculum expectations and achievement-chart categories. Identity verification, secure accounts, drafts and version history, oral explanations, conferences, observed performance and securely administered major assessments support authentication. Accommodations do not lower curriculum expectations.

Homework beyond the approved instructional plan is not counted as scheduled instructional time. Midterm and final provincial report cards are issued after Principal review. After written authorization, a minimum final mark of 50%, sufficient scheduled instructional time, completion of curriculum expectations and authentic evidence of achievement are required to earn a credit. No credit result is reported before authorization and the required records arrangements.

Attendance is based on documented meaningful participation in scheduled learning, not login alone. Evidence may include completion of posted instruction, submissions, discussions, individual conferences, oral checkpoints, learning logs, feedback and revision, and substantive teacher communication.

ENL1W provides 110 scheduled hours and CHV2O provides 55. Idle or login time and homework beyond the approved plan are excluded. The teacher reconciles instructional time and participation weekly, records absences, contacts the learner and guardian where applicable, and documents interventions and recovery plans.

Students communicate absences as soon as reasonably possible. Excused absences do not automatically reduce the attendance/participation mark. Reasonable recovery opportunities are provided while preserving instructional time and valid achievement evidence. Persistent non-participation is escalated to the Principal after documented teacher and guardian contact.

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.

When work is late, missed or incomplete, the teacher contacts the learner promptly, identifies barriers, records the reason where known and sets a reasonable revised timeline. Students should communicate a barrier before a deadline when possible.

Supports may include chunking, staged deadlines, additional processing time, an accessible format, additional teaching and a recovery plan, without lowering curriculum expectations. Reassessment may be offered when instructionally appropriate and when it provides valid, authenticated evidence; it is not an automatic replacement of all prior evidence.

Where evidence remains insufficient after intervention, the teacher applies professional judgement. The grade reflects demonstrated achievement, and a credit is not granted without sufficient evidence. Decisions, communication and recovery efforts are documented.

COLA does not automatically hold or establish an original Ontario Student Record merely because a learner takes one supplementary course. For a student concurrently enrolled at another Ontario school, COLA securely provides the required report card and course-result information to the verified OSR-holding school.

For a homeschooled learner with no verified OSR holder, COLA maintains the required course-level record and establishes the applicable Ontario Student Transcript arrangement, or follows other written Ministry direction, before reporting an inspected credit. COLA will not claim that an OSR or transcript holder exists unless verified.

The secure course file includes admission, identity, consent, placement, attendance, instructional time, assessment, feedback, authentication, communication, reporting and withdrawal evidence. Student information remains confidential. Names, birth dates, addresses, countries, diagnoses and medical information are not public.

No credit result is reported before written authorization and the required records arrangements. Access, retention, correction, transfer, breach response and secure disposal follow applicable Ministry and legal requirements.

Admission requires identity and contact verification, guardian consent for minors, course choice, technology and accessibility review, the relevant student-record arrangement, and signed enrolment terms. The public inquiry form does not constitute admission or enrolment. The inspection cohort is tuition-free, and no payment is accepted for it while authorization is pending.

ENL1W and CHV2O have no prerequisite. Individual ENL1W diagnostics guide instructional starting points, literacy supports, accommodations, scaffolding and opening-unit goals; they do not reduce curriculum expectations. A prerequisite for a future course may be waived only by the Principal where Ministry policy permits and documented evidence demonstrates readiness.

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.

Sarah Abbas is the Principal, course developer and sole teacher assigned to ENL1W and CHV2O for the focused launch. The Principal verifies identity, education and experience, curriculum competence, policy orientation and assignment suitability and retains supporting documentation.

Before instruction begins, the Principal verifies the complete course map, all unit plans, detailed opening-unit lessons, expectation-to-assessment mapping, 110/55-hour plans, gradebook structure, assessment and final-examination plans, accessibility, privacy and authentication controls. Each later unit is reviewed and fully prepared before it opens to students.

During delivery, the Principal reviews instruction, feedback, curriculum coverage, attendance, student evidence, authentication and reporting and documents corrective action. Course outlines for ENL1W and CHV2O have been completed for Ministry review.