Page 10 - Ontario Schools: Kindergarten to Grade 12

Since 1999, expanded opportunities to meet the secondary school diploma require- ments have been introduced through PPM Nos. 127, 139, and 146, allowing students more choice in the courses they can take to meet the compulsory credit requirements and more flexibility in the ways in which they can meet the secondary school literacy graduation requirement. Program choices have also been expanded, with the introduction of Specialist High Skills Major programs and dual credit programs. However, these opportunities have not altered the requirements for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) established under OSS. Consequently, in the present document, the diploma requirements are referred to as “the require- ments under OS/OSS”.
Many of the policy and program requirements outlined in OS are described in detail in other, dedicated policy documents. In such cases, OS gives a brief description of the policy or program requirements in question, and provides references to the relevant documents (see, for example, section 1.3, “Environmental Education”). Policies that are not represented in separate documents are described fully in the present document (see, for example, section 6.1, “The Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD)”).
Where appropriate, references to relevant legislation, regulations, policy/program memoranda, and/or policy documents are provided in a box at the end of a text section. Resources identified in policy documents as necessary for implementation are also included. (The online version of OS provides active links to these reference and resource documents.) Where possible, a link is also provided to the main page for the topic on the ministry website.
8 OntariO SchOOlS, Kindergarten tO grade 12