Online Learning Graduation Requirement

About the online learning graduation requirement

  • Students are required to earn two online learning credits to graduate from secondary school, beginning with every student who entered Grade 9 in the 2020-21 school year. Adult learners entering the Ontario secondary school system in 2023-24 or later will be required to meet this graduation requirement. The graduation requirement is intended to support students in developing familiarity and comfort with working and learning in a fully online environment, as well as developing digital literacy and other important transferable skills that will help prepare them for success after graduation and in all aspects of their lives.

  • Students in Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board may choose from a wide range of online courses offered across our district and from a catalog of options available from schools across the province. Online courses are also available to all students in summer school.

  • Meeting the online learning graduation requirement should not pose a barrier to graduation for students. As with all learning, students taking online courses will have access to the support they need through their school, (e.g., guidance, nutrition programs, extra-curricular activities and services for English-language learners). If a student has an Individual Education Plan, the plan should be shared, when appropriate, with the educator instructing the online course.

  • Parents/guardians and adult students may choose to opt their child or themselves out of the mandatory online courses required for graduation. Opting out of the graduation requirement does not prevent a student from being eligible to take an online course. Parents/guardians and adult students may also choose to opt back in to the online learning graduation requirement should their decision change.

To opt out online:

  • Parents or Students who are 18 or older may complete this online form.

To opt out in person:

  • Parents or Students who are 18 or older can download, print and sign the Opt-Out Form and take it to the school office.

  • Parents or Students who are 18 or older can obtain an Opt-Out Form from the school office. Sign it and return it to the school.

To opt back in:

  • Contact the school office by telephone.