---
title: "Ontario minister will allow Toronto school board trustees to be sworn in by November 15"
description: "Education Minister Paul Calandra reversed an earlier decision and said newly elected TDSB and TCDSB trustees will be sworn in, while board supervisors keep their governing power."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/toronto-2026/news/toronto-school-board-trustees-sworn-in-by-november-15"
last_updated: "2026-10-31T17:06:20.060Z"
---

Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra said on October 30 that newly elected trustees for the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board will be sworn in by November 15. CityNews Toronto reported the reversal after Calandra had earlier said trustees would not be sworn in at all.

The change came after the minister learned that some newly elected trustees were making plans to hold informal meetings with families and community members, even though they hold no governing power while the boards remain under provincial supervision.

## Why the province changed course

Calandra said trustees who planned those gatherings were working outside the code of conduct. Rather than leave them unsupervised, he decided to swear them in so they would be formally bound by the rules.

"What they immediately decided to do was work outside the code of conduct, set aside that they are still responsible and could at one point be responsible for governing a board, and find loop holes around doing the right thing," Calandra said, according to CityNews.

He instructed board supervisors and chief executive officers to complete the swearing-in by November 15, 2026.

## What trustees can and cannot do

Swearing in trustees does not return governing authority to them. Board supervisors retain control of daily operations at both TDSB and TCDSB until the province lifts the supervision orders.

TDSB trustee Alexis Dawson, whose page is at [/on/toronto-2026/candidates/alexis-dawson](/on/toronto-2026/candidates/alexis-dawson), said trustees can still represent their communities in other ways.

"We certainly can have public meetings with our constituents. We can participate in rallies, we can participate in community events. We are still elected by our communities and we're still able to represent them through various channels," Dawson told CityNews.

## Accountability if rules are broken

Calandra said trustees who step outside the code of conduct will face consequences. Any trustee who breaks the rules will have the details sent to the integrity commissioner for investigation, he said.

Residents who want to follow the trustee term can find every elected trustee for all four Toronto school boards on the [Toronto election results page](/on/toronto-2026/results), where promise tracking for each person will be updated during the 2026 term.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/on/toronto-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.