Here is a definition of the terminology used on this site.

• health support: Health support refers to the practical help a student needs at school because of a medical, physical, or health-related condition. It can include medication, monitoring, emergency response, personal care, environmental precautions, and staff training. Learn more
• help: Help means practical support that actually changes the conditions a child or family is facing. In school advocacy, help should be concrete, timely, and connected to the barrier, rather than limited to reassurance, referral, or general advice. Learn more
• high-masking children: Learn more
• home life: Home life refers to the way school problems spill into a child’s and family’s daily routines outside school. It can include after-school collapse, sleep disruption, sibling stress, parent work loss, crisis management, and the erosion of ordinary family life. Learn more
• HR investigation: HR investigation refers to an internal investigation conducted by a school district’s human resources department when concerns are raised about the conduct or actions of an employee. These investigations may occur after incidents involving staff behaviour, safety concerns, or allegations of misconduct or negligence. Although schools may present HR investigations as a process that will resolve a family’s concerns or deliver accountability, the primary purpose is to assess employment matters and manage the district’s legal responsibilities as an employer. Families are usually not parties to the investigation and may receive little information about the findings or outcome. As a result, these processes often do not provide direct remedies or a sense of justice for families. However, participating in an HR investigation can still be important because it creates an official record of the incident and ensures that the concern is formally reviewed. In some cases, the process can lead to disciplinary action, changes in supervision, or termination of employment. Learn more
• human rights: Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person simply because they are human. In education, human rights protect students from discrimination and require schools to provide equal access to learning and participation. This includes ensuring that students are not excluded, treated unfairly, or denied opportunities because of characteristics such as disability, race, gender, religion, or family status. In British Columbia, these protections are set out in the British Columbia Human Rights Code, which requires schools and school districts to prevent discrimination and to accommodate students’ needs to the point of undue hardship. Human rights protections recognise that equal treatment does not always mean identical treatment; sometimes different supports or accommodations are necessary so that all students can access education on an equitable basis. Learn more
• Human Rights Code: British Columbia Human Rights Code is the provincial law that protects people from discrimination in areas such as employment, housing, and public services, including education. The Code identifies protected characteristics—called protected grounds—such as disability, race, sex, gender identity or expression, religion, and family status. In schools, the Code requires school districts to ensure that students are not discriminated against because of these characteristics and to accommodate disability-related needs to the point of undue hardship. This means schools must take reasonable steps to remove barriers that prevent students from accessing education on an equitable basis. If discrimination occurs and cannot be resolved informally, families may file a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal, which has the authority to investigate claims and order remedies if discrimination is found. Learn more
• Human Rights Tribunal: BC Human Rights Tribunal is an independent administrative tribunal that decides complaints about discrimination under the British Columbia Human Rights Code. In the education context, families may file a complaint if they believe a student has been discriminated against—for example, if a school failed to accommodate a disability, excluded a student from participation, or treated them unfairly because of a protected characteristic such as disability, race, sex, or gender identity. The tribunal reviews evidence, hears arguments from both sides, and determines whether discrimination occurred. If a complaint is successful, the tribunal can order remedies such as compensation for injury to dignity, reimbursement of expenses, or orders requiring the school district to change its practices. The tribunal does not handle general school disputes or appeals of school decisions; its role is specifically to address discrimination under human rights law. Learn more
• humiliation: Humiliation refers to actions or conditions that shame, degrade, or undermine a student’s dignity. In school settings, humiliation can occur when a student is singled out, publicly reprimanded, mocked, or disciplined in ways that expose them to embarrassment in front of peers or staff. It can also arise when a child is chronically under-supported and repeatedly pushed beyond their capacity to cope. When accommodations are not in place, some students may move quickly from distress to what staff describe as “big reactions” or “flipping their lid,” and these moments can become highly visible and socially painful for the child. In these cases, the humiliation is not only the reaction itself but the conditions that made it predictable and preventable. For disabled or neurodivergent students, repeated situations like this can damage self-esteem, increase anxiety about school, and make participation feel unsafe. Protecting student dignity requires responding to distress privately and ensuring that environments and supports reduce the likelihood of these situations occurring. Learn more
• hyper-empathy: Hyper-empathy refers to an unusually strong sensitivity to the emotions and experiences of others. A person with hyper-empathy may quickly notice shifts in mood, feel others’ distress very intensely, or take on emotional responsibility for maintaining harmony in a group. While empathy is often seen as a positive trait, hyper-empathy can become overwhelming when someone absorbs others’ emotions to the point that it affects their own well-being. In school environments, highly empathetic students may be especially affected by conflict, criticism, or perceived disappointment from adults. Some neurodivergent individuals describe experiencing hyper-empathy, even though stereotypes sometimes portray them as lacking empathy. When not recognised or supported, hyper-empathy can contribute to anxiety, people-pleasing, masking, or emotional exhaustion as students try to manage both their own feelings and the emotional climate around them. Learn more
• hypervigilance: Learn more
• iatrogenic harm: Iatrogenic harm is harm caused by the intervention that was supposed to help. In schools, it can occur when behaviour systems, safety plans, complaints processes, or support models intensify distress, exclusion, surveillance, or family pressure instead of reducing the barrier. Learn more
• IEP: IEP (Individual Education Plan) is a written planning document used in schools to describe the goals, accommodations, and supports a student with disabilities or complex learning needs will receive in order to access education. In British Columbia, an IEP outlines the student’s strengths, areas of need, learning goals, and the strategies or adjustments the school has agreed to implement. It is developed by school staff in consultation with parents or guardians and should be reviewed and updated regularly. An IEP is not the accommodation itself but a record of what the school has agreed to provide so the student can participate in learning on an equitable basis. Under policies connected to the British Columbia Human Rights Code, the duty to accommodate applies whether or not supports are written in an IEP, meaning schools are responsible for implementing necessary accommodations to ensure the student can meaningfully access education. Learn more
• IEP goals: IEP goals are the learning or developmental targets written in a student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) to guide the supports and instruction a student will receive. These goals are intended to focus on areas where a student may need additional support, such as communication, regulation, literacy, social interaction, or functional skills. In practice, IEP goals help schools track progress and organise teaching strategies, accommodations, and services. However, some families and advocates note that the language of “goals” can sometimes frame students primarily in terms of productivity or improvement, rather than recognising their inherent dignity and worth. For this reason, many people emphasise that IEP goals should support a student’s well-being, access to learning, and participation in school life—not simply measure performance. IEP goals should be realistic, responsive to the student’s actual needs, and developed with family input so that they support meaningful participation in education. Learn more
• IEP implementation: IEP implementation refers to the process of actually putting the accommodations, supports, and strategies written in a student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) into practice in the classroom and school environment. While the IEP document outlines what has been agreed to, implementation is what determines whether the student can meaningfully access their education. This can include providing agreed accommodations, adjusting instruction, ensuring support staff are available, and creating environments that allow the student to regulate and participate. When IEP implementation is inconsistent or incomplete, the plan becomes largely symbolic rather than functional. In British Columbia, the duty to accommodate under the British Columbia Human Rights Code applies not only to creating plans but to ensuring that necessary supports are actually delivered so the student can access education on an equitable basis. Learn more
• IEP not implemented: EP not implemented refers to situations where the accommodations, supports, or strategies written in a student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) are not consistently provided in practice. This may include agreed accommodations not being followed, support staff not being available as planned, strategies being applied only occasionally, or staff being unaware of what the IEP requires. When an IEP is not implemented, the document becomes largely symbolic rather than functional, and the student may continue to face the same barriers to learning, safety, or participation that the plan was meant to address. Families often discover non-implementation when a child repeatedly struggles in situations where supports were supposed to be in place. In British Columbia, the duty to accommodate under the British Columbia Human Rights Code applies not only to writing plans but to ensuring that agreed accommodations are actually delivered so students can access education on an equitable basis. Learn more
• iep review: An IEP review is a structured check of whether an Individual Education Plan reflects the student’s current needs and is being implemented effectively. A meaningful review looks at progress, barriers, responsibilities, data, timelines, and what needs to change. Learn more
• IEPs: Learn more
• implementation: Implementation is the difference between a promise, policy, or plan on paper and what actually happens for the student. It matters because rights can fail at the point of practice even when the written document appears supportive. Learn more
• incident report: Incident report is a written record created by school staff after a significant event involving a student, such as an injury, safety concern, restraint, or behavioural incident requiring intervention. The purpose of an incident report is to document what happened, who was involved, and what actions were taken so the school and district have an official record of the event. These reports can help schools review whether policies were followed, identify patterns, and plan appropriate supports. However, families sometimes discover that incidents affecting their child were never formally documented, even when serious events occurred. In those situations, the absence of incident reports can become important in understanding how the school responded and whether proper procedures were followed. Parents may sometimes only learn what documentation exists by requesting records under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (British Columbia). Learn more