Ontario Certified Teachers get this question from almost every parent who asks about private tutoring: can you tutor my child, given that you already teach at a school? The honest answer depends on one detail, whether that child is currently your own student.
No. An Ontario Certified Teacher cannot accept payment to tutor a student currently enrolled in their own class or under their direct instruction. The same teacher holding grading authority over a student while also receiving money from that student's family creates a conflict of interest, and Ontario school boards write this prohibition directly into policy. York Region District School Board's Conflict of Interest policy, most recently revised in December 2025, states that staff must not tutor students from their own school or work location for remuneration, and that private tutoring cannot take place during the instructional day or on school property (York Region District School Board, 2025). The exact wording and scope vary across Ontario's 72 district school boards (Government of Ontario, 2025), so always check your own board's policy.
Why It Counts as a Conflict of Interest
The concern isn't really about the tutoring itself. It's about what payment does to a grading relationship that is supposed to stay free of outside influence. The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario frames it around judgement: a member's professional judgement, even unconsciously, could be affected once a student's family is also a paying client, and it becomes hard to avoid the appearance that private financial interest is clashing with the employer's interest (Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, current member guidance). A parent paying you privately has more reason to expect favourable treatment in class, and you have more reason, even without meaning to, to give it. That is the standard definition of a conflict of interest, and it applies regardless of how well-intentioned the arrangement is or how good a tutor you would genuinely be for that student.
Can a Teacher Tutor a Student They Don't Currently Teach?
Yes. Once a student is not your current student, meaning you don't teach, grade, or supervise them directly, tutoring them privately for pay is generally permitted. That usually covers a student at a different school in your board or anywhere outside your board. A student in a colleague's class at your own school depends on your board: York Region, for example, bars staff from tutoring any student from their own school or work location for pay. Two firm limits still apply everywhere: you cannot use school property, school time, or school communication channels to arrange or advertise the tutoring, and you cannot begin tutoring a student while you hold any grading or supervisory role over them, even an informal one.
Board Policies Add Detail on Top of the Core Rule
Because Ontario has 72 separate district school boards, the exact wording and enforcement mechanism differs from board to board (Government of Ontario, 2025). Some boards require staff to disclose outside tutoring work as part of a broader conflict of interest declaration. Others focus narrowly on the payment-plus-grading combination and leave general outside work alone. York Region's policy is explicit that staff who tutor privately are not indemnified by the board, a detail worth confirming with your own board before you take on a paying student (York Region District School Board, 2025). If your board circulates an annual conflict of interest declaration or an outside-employment form, private tutoring income is exactly the kind of detail it is asking about. The Connect Education teacher help centre covers what else to check before you accept your first student.
Tutoring with Connect Education
Once you know where the line sits, finding students to tutor doesn't need to mean advertising through the school, which is off-limits anyway. Connect Education works exclusively with licensed teachers, matching you with families who are actively searching for a certified teacher rather than searching your own school community. You set your own rate, subjects, and availability, online, in person, or at a public library. See the realistic income picture in tutoring as side income for OCT teachers, check details on the platform FAQ, or go straight to start tutoring to build a compliant, separate roster of your own.