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

• disability discrimination: Disability discrimination occurs when a student is treated unfairly, excluded, or denied access to education because of disability. Discrimination can be direct—for example, refusing a student participation in an activity—or indirect, when rules or practices that appear neutral create barriers for disabled students. In schools, disability discrimination often appears when necessary accommodations are not provided or are inconsistently implemented. A student may be disciplined for behaviour related to their disability, expected to meet the same standards without appropriate support, or placed in environments that do not account for their learning, sensory, or regulation needs. Under the British Columbia Human Rights Code, disability is a protected ground. Schools have a legal duty to accommodate students with disabilities to the point of undue hardship. This means schools must take reasonable steps to identify barriers and adjust policies, environments, or teaching approaches so students can access education on an equitable basis. Disability discrimination does not always involve intent. It often arises when systems are designed around a narrow idea of how students should behave or learn. Recognising discrimination is an important step toward ensuring that disabled students can participate fully and safely in school life. Learn more
• disability justice: Framework centring disabled students' rights and dignity. Disability justice recognises ableism as systemic violence, challenges medical model deficit narratives, affirms neurodivergent and disabled ways of being, and demands material redistribution rather than conditional inclusion. Disability justice names accommodation as obligation rather than charity, treats access as collective responsibility, centres the voices of disabled people, and understands educational exclusion as connected to broader structures of marginalisation, incarceration, and abandonment. Learn more
• disability rights in education: Learn more
• disabled parenting: Disabled parenting refers to the experience of parents or caregivers who have disabilities themselves while raising and advocating for their children. When a disabled parent is also advocating for a disabled child, the challenges of navigating systems can be intensified. Disabled parents may face barriers such as inaccessible communication, meeting formats that do not accommodate sensory or processing differences, assumptions about credibility or competence, or expectations that require high levels of executive functioning, travel, or time. These barriers can make participation in school processes—such as meetings, documentation requests, or ongoing advocacy—more difficult. At the same time, disabled parents often bring important lived knowledge about disability, accommodation, and accessibility. Their insights can be valuable in understanding what supports a child may need to thrive. Recognising disabled parenting means acknowledging that accessibility must extend beyond the student to the family’s participation in decision-making. Schools and institutions have a responsibility to ensure that parents with disabilities can engage meaningfully in processes affecting their child, with communication, meeting structures, and expectations that are accessible and respectful. Learn more
• Discrimination: Discrimination occurs when a student is treated unfairly, excluded, or denied access to education because of disability. Discrimination can be direct—for example, refusing a student participation in an activity—or indirect, when rules or practices that appear neutral create barriers for disabled students. In schools, disability discrimination often appears when necessary accommodations are not provided or are inconsistently implemented. A student may be disciplined for behaviour related to their disability, expected to meet the same standards without appropriate support, or placed in environments that do not account for their learning, sensory, or regulation needs. Under the British Columbia Human Rights Code, disability is a protected ground. Schools have a legal duty to accommodate students with disabilities to the point of undue hardship. This means schools must take reasonable steps to identify barriers and adjust policies, environments, or teaching approaches so students can access education on an equitable basis. Disability discrimination does not always involve intent. It often arises when systems are designed around a narrow idea of how students should behave or learn. Recognising discrimination is an important step toward ensuring that disabled students can participate fully and safely in school life. Learn more
• district appeal: A district appeal is an internal process used to challenge a decision made by a school. The appeal is usually made first to the superintendent and, if the issue is not resolved, may proceed to the board of education. Each school district sets its own appeal policy, procedures, and timelines. Many districts require families to follow this internal appeal process before a matter can proceed under Section 11 of the School Act (British Columbia). Because of this, the district appeal is often the first step when formally challenging a school decision. A district appeal can sometimes result in a decision being reconsidered or modified, or in the district directing a school to take specific action. It also creates a written record of the concern and the district’s response. However, district appeals have limits. The process cannot go beyond the board of education, and it cannot award compensation or make findings of discrimination. Districts describe and structure their appeal processes in different ways. This site provides a page for each district outlining the relevant policy and how to start the process. Learn more
• division: Strategies that isolate families or pit stakeholders against each other. Schools cultivate division by sharing different information with different parties, positioning parents against teachers, framing advocates as adversarial, or suggesting other families are satisfied. Division prevents collective recognition of systemic patterns, individualises harm, and ensures families lack the solidarity necessary to demand accountability. Division operates through confidentiality rhetoric, professional hierarchy, and competitive scarcity that positions families as rivals for limited support. Learn more
• documentation: Records, emails, and notes required or demanded by schools. Documentation includes IEPs, behaviour plans, incident reports, meeting minutes, email correspondence, and assessment reports. Schools simultaneously demand extensive documentation from families whilst controlling what gets recorded in official files, often omitting parent concerns, minimising harm, or characterising events in ways that justify institutional decisions. Effective advocacy requires families to maintain parallel documentation systems to counter institutional narratives and establish evidence for complaints. Learn more
• documentation burden: Documentation burden refers to the amount of time, effort, and organisation required from families to gather, produce, and maintain records in order to secure appropriate support for a child. This can include collecting assessments, writing emails, keeping timelines of incidents, attending meetings, completing forms, and repeatedly explaining a child’s needs to different staff members. Families of disabled students often carry a much heavier documentation burden than other families. To ensure that accommodations are implemented or concerns are taken seriously, parents may feel they must keep detailed records of communications, missed supports, behavioural incidents, and school responses. Documentation can become essential for protecting a child’s rights or preparing for appeals and complaints. In many cases, this burden grows not because families choose it, but because systems fail to reliably meet a child’s needs. When supports are inconsistent, decisions are unclear, or incidents are not properly recorded by the school, families may take on the role of documenting what is happening. The result is that access to support can become tied to a family’s ability to sustain extensive record-keeping over time. Recognising the documentation burden highlights the need for systems that reduce unnecessary administrative demands on families. Learn more
• double empathy: The double empathy problem is a concept associated with autistic scholar Damian Milton. It suggests that communication difficulties between autistic and non-autistic people do not arise only from autistic deficit, but from a mutual mismatch in communication style, expectations, and interpretation. In schools, this matters because autistic students are often judged by norms that were not designed around them, while adults may misread distress, directness, withdrawal, or overload as defiance or disrespect. A double empathy lens shifts the focus from “fixing” the autistic student to improving mutual understanding, listening, and adaptation across relationships. This tag is used for content that questions one-sided behavioural interpretations and highlights the relational, cultural, and communicative gaps that can intensify conflict, exclusion, or misunderstanding in educational settings. Learn more
• duty to accommodate: The duty to accommodate is a legal obligation requiring schools, employers, landlords, and other service providers to take reasonable steps to remove barriers related to protected characteristics such as disability. In education, this means schools must meaningfully assess a student’s needs and provide supports, adjustments, or changes that allow the student to access learning on an equal basis with peers. The duty is individualised: schools cannot rely on blanket rules or assumptions about what students need. In British Columbia, accommodation must be provided up to the point of undue hardship. A failure to explore options, implement agreed supports, or respond in good faith may amount to discrimination. This tag is used for content about legal standards, school responsibilities, and disputes about unmet accommodation needs. Learn more
• dyslexia: Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects how the brain processes written language. It primarily impacts reading accuracy, spelling, decoding words, and sometimes writing. Dyslexia is not related to intelligence—many people with dyslexia have average or above-average cognitive ability—but they may require explicit, structured instruction in reading and language skills. In school settings, dyslexia can make tasks such as reading aloud, spelling, copying text, or completing written assignments much more difficult and time-consuming. With appropriate supports—such as structured literacy instruction, assistive technology, and accommodations—students with dyslexia can learn effectively and demonstrate their knowledge. In practice, accessing support can be challenging. Identification often depends on psychoeducational assessments, which may involve long wait times in public systems. Because schools sometimes prioritise assessment for students who are already failing academically, students who are twice-exceptional (for example, gifted and dyslexic) may struggle for years before receiving help. Their strengths can mask their reading difficulties, leading to delayed recognition and support. Families seeking information and advocacy resources may find support through organisations such as Dyslexia BC, which provides education, resources, and community connections for dyslexic learners and their families. Learn more
• dysregulation: Dysregulation describes a state in which a person’s nervous system is overwhelmed and they have difficulty managing emotions, impulses, attention, behaviour, or physical responses. In school, dysregulation may look like shutdown, flight, panic, refusal, agitation, crying, aggression, or an inability to access language and reasoning in the moment. It is not “bad behaviour.” Dysregulation often reflects an unmet need, sensory overload, fear, accumulated stress, or a poor fit between the student and the environment. This tag is used for content about how schools interpret and respond to distress, especially when behaviour is treated as a discipline issue instead of a signal that support, safety, or accommodation is needed. It also includes discussion of prevention, co-regulation, and the consequences of punitive or escalating responses. Learn more
• EA removed: EA removed refers to situations where an Education Assistant (EA) who was supporting a student is withdrawn or reassigned, often after the student begins to stabilise or show improvement. In many cases, the supports provided by the EA—such as help with regulation, communication, transitions, or access to learning—are the very factors that made the improvement possible.When support is removed too quickly, students may lose the structure or assistance that allowed them to participate successfully in school. This can lead to renewed distress, academic difficulty, or behavioural challenges, which may then be interpreted as a new problem rather than a predictable result of losing support. These decisions are sometimes influenced by a belief that students should receive the minimum support necessary and should become “independent” as quickly as possible. While building independence is an important goal, it is most effective when supports are reduced gradually and when the student has developed the skills and stability needed to maintain progress without experiencing distress. Removing an EA simply because a student appears to be coping can unintentionally remove the conditions that made coping possible. Effective planning focuses on maintaining access and stability while supporting meaningful independence over time. Learn more
• early intervention: Early intervention is a term used to describe providing support to children as soon as developmental differences or learning needs are identified. The idea is that early childhood is a period when the brain is rapidly developing, and timely support can help children build communication, learning, regulation, and social skills. However, the phrase is sometimes used in ways that assume disabled children should be made more “typical” through intensive therapy aimed at changing behaviour or suppressing differences. Many disabled adults and advocates have criticised approaches that prioritise normalisation over a child’s well-being, autonomy, and dignity. In education and disability advocacy, many families and professionals instead emphasise early support and accommodation. This means ensuring that children receive the environments, tools, and understanding they need to thrive—such as communication supports, sensory accommodations, accessible teaching methods, and responsive care. Timely support matters because delays can close important developmental windows. When children’s needs are recognised early and addressed respectfully, they are more likely to develop skills, confidence, and a positive relationship with learning. Learn more
• education advocacy resources: Learn more
• education assistant: An education assistant is a school staff member who supports students who need additional help to participate in learning and daily school activities. EAs often assist students with disabilities or complex learning needs, helping them access instruction, manage transitions, regulate emotions, use assistive technology, or participate safely in the classroom. Education assistants work under the direction of the classroom teacher and school administration. Their role is typically to support the implementation of accommodations, support plans, or individual education plans, and to help create conditions where a student can engage in learning alongside their peers. In many schools, EA support is shared among several students and may be adjusted depending on available resources. This means that support levels can change over time, sometimes affecting a student’s ability to access the environment or curriculum. While EAs can play a crucial role in helping students participate meaningfully in school, they are not a substitute for appropriate teaching strategies, accommodations, or accessible learning environments. Effective support usually combines skilled teaching, inclusive classroom practices, and additional assistance when needed. Learn more
• education policy: Education policy refers to a legal, procedural, or accountability concept that can shape how families respond when a child’s needs are not being met at school. On k12complaints.ca, this tag is used for content about documentation, timelines, complaint strategy, decision-making processes, and the formal pathways available when internal problem-solving fails. Depending on the issue, that may include district complaints, human rights processes, Ombudsperson review, access-to-information requests, professional regulation, or questions about evidence and remedies. The tag is not limited to legal theory; it also captures the practical reality of navigating systems that can be slow, technical, and emotionally demanding. Posts using this tag often focus on how procedure affects access to justice, educational access, and the balance of power between families and institutions. Learn more
• educational harm: Educational harm is used for content about the emotional, relational, and embodied effects of educational conflict, exclusion, and chronic institutional stress. On k12complaints.ca, harm is not treated as a side issue separate from policy or legal process. It is understood as part of the evidence of what schools, districts, and systems do to children and families when needs are ignored, support is delayed, or distress is managed through punishment and removal. This tag may appear in posts about fear, grief, burnout, trauma, shame, recovery, or the long tail of educational harm after a crisis has supposedly ended. It also captures how repeated advocacy demands can affect family life, trust in institutions, nervous system regulation, and a child’s sense of safety, dignity, and belonging. Learn more
• emotional labour: Emotional labour refers to the mental and emotional effort required to manage feelings, tone, and behaviour in order to navigate difficult situations or maintain relationships. It often involves staying calm, polite, and measured even when a person is experiencing stress, frustration, fear, or grief. In education advocacy, families—especially parents of disabled children—often carry significant emotional labour. Parents may need to carefully manage how they communicate concerns so they are not perceived as “difficult,” while at the same time advocating for their child’s safety, rights, and access to learning. This can involve preparing for meetings, choosing words carefully in emails, absorbing criticism or dismissal, and remaining composed in situations that are deeply personal. Emotional labour can also include supporting a child who is struggling while simultaneously navigating institutional processes that may be slow, confusing, or adversarial. Because much of this work is invisible, it is often underestimated. Recognising emotional labour helps explain why advocacy can be exhausting even when the visible tasks—meetings, forms, and documentation—are only part of the effort involved. Learn more