Stephen Lecce said Ontario's chief medical officer of health will provide final school-reopening advice later this week, after which the province will make an announcement.

The new policy will allow for principals to begin hiring based on "merit, diversity and the unique needs of the school, while providing strict protocols to avoid concerns of nepotism," a press release said Thursday.

"They are often the most precarious of all educational workers because they are often earlier in their career and don't always have permanent contracts."