Overview

Starting in September, 2026, eligible elementary teachers in publicly funded schools have access to $750 each year to buy classroom supplies. If you’re eligible, you can order supplies online through an approved vendor and they will be shipped directly to your school. 

This funding builds on existing funding that school boards already receive for classroom supplies. 

Teachers will not have to pay out of pocket for supplies purchased through this program, and students will have consistent access to classroom materials across publicly funded schools across Ontario. 

Eligible teachers will receive a plastic “Classroom Supplies Card”. These cards are for information purposes only and are not needed to make purchases.

If you find a product on the ordering site that is priced higher than the same product available through Staples in-store or online at staples.ca, contact Staples Canada at 1-866-839-9901 to request a price review and match.

Who is eligible

You are eligible to access full funding if you are an elementary teacher (Kindergarten to Grade 8) and have primary responsibility for either a:

If you are a CTEP teacher with primary responsibility for a classroom and teach both elementary and secondary students, you will have access to a spending amount of $550.

You are not eligible if you do not have primary responsibility for an elementary classroom. This includes teachers who provide preparation time coverage, support students across multiple classrooms or schools or are not assigned to a specific elementary classroom during the regular school year.

Teachers will continue to have access to supplies through the core education funding that goes to each school.

Purchasing process

Following a competitive procurement process led by Supply Ontario, Staples Canada was selected as the vendor for the Classroom Supplies Fund.

On the Staples Canada ordering website, your spending amount is referred to as your “budget”.

Once your school board confirms your eligibility, Staples Canada will set up your account and give you your login information.

Your school board will handle the invoice when you make an order.

Order supplies now

Accountability

Principals do not approve the supplies you choose. You will need to attest that your purchases are for classroom use only and that the supplies remain school property. A primary account coordinator at your school board will be able to view your purchase history and account balance. In some cases, a school-level secondary account coordinator will be assigned at your school to support this as well.

How funding works

Each year you will have access to $750 (including taxes) to spend on classroom supplies through the ordering website.

During the school year

Class reorganization and new classrooms

To help ensure students are supported equitably across the province, there is 1 spending amount per classroom per year. If classroom assignments change during the school year:

  • any purchased supplies stay in the classroom
  • the spending amount stays with the classroom and the classroom’s new teacher can access any remaining funds unspent by the original teacher

This means, if you move to a different classroom during the school year:

  • supplies you purchased remain in your former classroom
  • any unused funds from your former classroom are reassigned to the teacher who takes over that classroom
  • you will receive access to the supplies and any remaining funds associated with your new classroom

If you are assigned to a newly created classroom that has not yet received funding, you will have access to a new $750 spending amount.

Sharing a classroom

If 2 eligible teachers share primary responsibility for a classroom, the school board can recommend that they either:

  • share a login with access to a single $750 account and decide how to spend it between them
  • each have their own login with access to 50% of the spending amount (the amount must be divided equally and not be based on percentage of classroom responsibility)

Long-term occasional teachers and leaves

If long-term occasional teachers are assigned:

  • at the beginning of the school year, they may get access to $750 at the start of the year if their assignment is longer than 3 months
  • during the school year, they can use the permanent teacher’s remaining funds if their assignment is longer than 3 months.

If a permanent teacher goes on leave and returns in the same year, they can use any remaining funds not used by the long-term occasional teacher who replaced them.

At the end of the school year

Any unused supplies stay at the school for future classroom use. Schools are responsible for making sure leftover supplies are used to best support students, while following board policies. For example, supplies meant for a specific grade should continue to be used for that grade.

Carrying over funds

If you remain eligible, you can carry forward up to $750 of unused funds to the next school year. This means your total available amount can be up to $1,500.

You cannot carry funds forward if you:

  • move to a different school board
  • move to a role that is not eligible
  • are a long-term occasional teacher

What you can buy

We consulted with elementary teachers and school administrators (through a survey and focus groups) to determine the product categories that would best support student learning.

Regularly priced and discounted supplies can be filtered by grade and include:

  • Writing tools, such as pens, coloured pencils, chalk and whiteboard markers.
  • Paper products, such as notebooks, binders, chart paper and construction paper.
  • Art supplies, such as paint, paint brushes, glue sticks and modelling dough.
  • Classroom organization products, such as bins, trays and caddies.
  • Classroom décor, such as posters, magnetic alphabets, and seasonal decorations.
  • Classroom essentials, such as facial tissues and paper towels.
  • Student incentives, such as stickers, certificates and achievement awards.
  • Learning resources, such as calculators, flash cards, teaching clocks and magnifying glasses.
  • Life skills and student well-being resources, such as fidget toys, stuffies and calming colouring books.

To make sure available supplies stay relevant, we will monitor ordering patterns and make changes to the catalogue as needed.

If you find a product on the ordering site that is priced higher than the same product available through Staples in-store or online at staples.ca, contact Staples Canada at 1-866-839-9901 to request a price review and match.

Order supplies now

Shipping, delivery and returns

Shipping and delivery

Orders of $50 or more qualify for free shipping. For orders under $50, shipping is $9.99 (which is taken from your account balance).

In-stock products will generally arrive within 5 business days of your order date. Deliveries to remote locations will arrive within 7 business days, which is standard for those locations.

Your school may choose to manage shipments. For example, they may choose to only have packages shipped once a week, so they are not receiving parcels every day.

Packages are delivered to schools and addressed to the teacher who ordered them.

Returns

Most unused products can be returned within 30 days. Sometimes this varies depending on product type and circumstances.

Roles and responsibilities

Ministry of Education

  • sets policy and eligibility rules
  • provides funding to school boards

School boards

  • identify eligible teachers who meet program requirements

School-board-level primary account coordinators

  • are the school board contact for program and policy information
  • work with Staples Canada to process the teacher account set up and changes
  • monitor account balances and spending information
  • review and authorize changes to primary and secondary account coordinator roles, teacher accounts and submit them to Staples
  • review account changes made by Staples

Secondary account coordinators

  • continue to use school-board-level funding to purchase classroom supplies for general school use
  • submit requests to set up or change teacher account access to their school-board-level primary account coordinator, who will then work with Staples Canada to implement the update
  • monitor account balances and spending information at the school level

Staples Canada

  • runs the ordering website
  • fulfills and delivers orders
  • addresses technical account issues
  • works with school-board-level primary account coordinators to:
    • set up and update accounts for eligible teachers based on requests from authorized school board staff
    • update account spending amounts in accordance with program rules
  • provides support with a dedicated help line at 1-866-839-9901 or teachers@staples.ca

Teachers

  • select and order supplies for their classroom
  • use the funding to support student learning

Training and support

School boards can find detailed information on the Education Finance Information System (EFIS 2.0) (login needed).

Account coordinators and teachers can find training and support information in the classroom supplies fund resource centre, after logging into the ordering website.

Contact

Price-matching, ordering, delivery and returns:

Account management, reporting and policy: ClassroomFundsPMO@staples.ca

Program questions: Contact your principal or school board office.