Schools have a legal duty to accommodate students with disabilities, learning differences, medical conditions, mental health needs, developmental differences, trauma histories, or any condition that affects their ability to access education.

You do not need a formal diagnosis. If your child’s needs are known or ought to be known to the school, the duty applies.

Discrimination

What it means: Your child was treated differently because of their disability, and this treatment caused harm. You do not need a formal diagnosis to be discriminated against.

Examples:

• Your child was sent home early because the school said they couldn’t manage their behaviour, while non-disabled students with similar behaviour received in-school consequences
• Your child was excluded from a field trip because staff said they couldn’t provide support, while other students attended without question
• Your child was moved to a different classroom or program without your consent because of disability-related needs
• Your child was suspended for behaviours directly connected to their disability
• Your child was placed on a reduced schedule while non-disabled peers attended full days

The legal question: Was your child treated differently because of their disability? Did this different treatment limit their access to education?

Reasonable justification

What it means: Schools can only deny accommodation if providing it would cause undue hardship. Undue hardship is a high bar. Inconvenience, cost, or difficulty are not enough.

Examples of claims that do not meet the bar:

• “We don’t have the staff” (without evidence of genuine recruitment efforts)
• “It would be disruptive to other students” (without evidence of actual disruption)
• “We’ve never done it that way” (not a justification)
• “The budget doesn’t allow for it” (districts have legal obligations regardless of budget preferences)
• “Other parents might complain” (not relevant)

Examples of what might be undue hardship:

• A requested accommodation would pose genuine safety risks that cannot be mitigated
• The accommodation would fundamentally alter the nature of the educational program (rare)
• The cost would be so extreme it would compromise the district’s ability to serve other students (very rare, and must be documented)

The legal question: Has the school actually demonstrated undue hardship with evidence, or are they simply asserting it?

Meaningful inquiry

What it means: Schools must gather enough information to understand your child’s needs before making decisions. They cannot guess. They cannot assume. They must ask.

Examples of failure:

• The school made decisions about your child’s placement or schedule without requesting or reviewing their assessment
• The school ignored recommendations from your child’s doctors, psychologists, or therapists
• The school refused to conduct assessments that would clarify your child’s needs
• Staff made assumptions about your child’s capabilities based on their diagnosis rather than their individual profile
• The school implemented a “safety plan” or behaviour plan without consulting the professionals who know your child

The legal question: Did the school gather sufficient information to understand your child’s actual needs, or did they act on assumptions?

Duty to consult

What it means: Schools must consult with you—the parent or guardian—as part of the accommodation process. Consultation means genuine dialogue, not notification after decisions are made.

Examples of failure:

• The school told you about schedule changes rather than discussing them with you first
• You were presented with a plan and asked to sign it, with no opportunity for input
• Your concerns were heard but not addressed or incorporated
• Meetings were scheduled at times you couldn’t attend, then decisions were made without you
• You asked for specific accommodations and received no response, or a response that didn’t engage with your request
• The school consulted with you once and then stopped, even as circumstances changed

The legal question: Were you meaningfully consulted throughout the accommodation process, or were you informed of decisions after the fact?

Duty to facilitate

What it means: Schools must actively work to make accommodation happen. They cannot place the burden on you to solve their problems. They cannot wait for you to propose solutions.

Examples of failure:

• The school identified that your child needed support but did not arrange it
• You were told to find and pay for services the school should provide
• The school acknowledged your child’s needs but took no action for weeks or months
• Staff said they were “working on it” but nothing changed
• The school expected you to attend daily to provide support they should be providing
• The IEP listed accommodations that were never implemented

The legal question: Did the school take active steps to implement accommodation, or did they leave the burden on your family?

Pulling it together

Most accommodation failures involve several of these elements. A typical pattern looks like this:

1. The school fails to conduct a meaningful inquiry into your child’s needs
2. Without adequate information, they make decisions that discriminate
3. They do not consult you before implementing these decisions
4. They do not facilitate alternative arrangements
5. When challenged, they claim reasonable justification without evidence

When you describe your situation to a tribunal, lawyer, or advocate, identifying which duties were breached—and how—strengthens your complaint.

Working problems out

Not every problem requires a formal complaint. Complaints are for situations where you have made reasonable efforts to resolve the issue directly with school staff and have not found a way forward.

Reasonable effort does not mean endless effort. It does not mean waiting until you have exhausted yourself. It means you have communicated your concern clearly, given the school an opportunity to respond, and either received no response, an inadequate response, or a response that made things worse.

You have made reasonable effort if you have

• Raised the issue verbally or in writing with your child’s teacher, support staff, or administrator
• Stated clearly what response or action you expected
• Given a reasonable timeframe for that response (a few days for routine matters, shorter for urgent safety concerns)
• Followed up when the timeframe passed without response, restating your expectation and giving a brief final window (one additional day is enough)
• Still received no response, an inadequate response, or a response that did not address the problem

This might look like

“I’m writing to request that Maya’s sensory breaks be reinstated as outlined in her IEP. Please confirm by Friday that this will happen.”

Then, if Friday passes

“I expected a response today and have not received one. If I don’t hear from you by end of day Monday, I will escalate this concern to the principal.”

One extra day will not break you, and it removes any suggestion that you did not give the school fair warning.

Working it out at school level

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flowchart TD
    A[Raise concern with classroom teacher in writing<br/>State what you need and by when] --> B{Response<br/>received?}
    
    B -->|No response| C[Send reminder<br/>One additional day]
    B -->|Inadequate response| D[Reply clarifying what you still need<br/>Set new deadline]
    B -->|Issue resolved| Z[Document the resolution<br/>and monitor]
    
    C --> E{Response<br/>received?}
    D --> E
    
    E -->|No response| F[Escalate to principal in writing<br/>State what you need and by when]
    E -->|Inadequate response| F
    E -->|Issue resolved| Z
    
    F --> G{Response<br/>received?}
    
    G -->|No response| H[Send reminder<br/>One additional day]
    G -->|Inadequate response| I[Reply clarifying what you still need<br/>Set new deadline]
    G -->|Issue resolved| Z
    
    H --> J{Response<br/>received?}
    I --> J
    
    J -->|No response| K[Send notice:<br/>If no resolution by deadline,<br/>you will file a formal complaint]
    J -->|Inadequate response| K
    J -->|Issue resolved| Z
    
    K --> L{Response<br/>received?}
    
    L -->|No response| M[File complaint]
    L -->|Inadequate response| M
    L -->|Issue resolved| Z
    
    M --> N[Choose complaint pathway:<br/>District appeal, Section 11,<br/>Human Rights Tribunal,<br/>Ombudsperson, other]

You do not need to

• Attend dozens of meetings before you have standing to complain
• Wait months or years for improvement that never comes
• Exhaust every level of informal conversation before escalating
• Maintain a calm and grateful tone while your child is being harmed
• Accept partial measures that do not actually address the problem

If you have communicated clearly, set a reasonable deadline, followed up once, and still have no resolution—you have grounds to escalate. The threshold is lower than most families assume. Schools often benefit from families believing they must try harder and wait longer before they have earned the right to complain.