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

• formal complaint: Formal complaint refers to a structured process for raising concerns through an official procedure rather than informal conversations with school staff. In education advocacy, a formal complaint usually begins with the school district’s internal process—often called a district appeal—where a parent asks the superintendent or board of education to review a decision or situation. If the issue is not resolved internally, families may pursue other formal pathways. In British Columbia, this can include a Section 11 appeal under the School Act (British Columbia), complaints to the Office of the Ombudsperson (British Columbia) about administrative fairness, concerns about records through the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia, or discrimination complaints to the BC Human Rights Tribunal. A formal complaint creates an official record of the concern and requires the institution or oversight body to review and respond through a defined process. Learn more
• formal complaints: Use of official complaint or legal processes. Includes complaints to superintendents, school boards, provincial ombudspersons, human rights tribunals, and legal actions. Formal complaints become necessary when informal advocacy fails to produce change, when harm is severe or sustained, or when schools refuse accountability. Formal processes require extensive documentation, impose procedural and emotional burdens, and often take months or years to resolve, during which children continue experiencing harm. Learn more
• gaslighting: Distortion of facts to undermine parent credibility. Schools deny events parents witnessed, recharacterise documented incidents, claim parents misunderstood, or suggest parent anxiety is distorting perception. Gaslighting includes altering meeting minutes, claiming emails were never received, describing exclusion as accommodation, or positioning institutional harm as parent overreaction. Gaslighting destabilises families, erodes confidence, and forces them to question their own knowledge whilst schools maintain narratives that absolve them of accountability. Learn more
• gatekeeping: Controlling access to services or information. Schools gatekeep by requiring unnecessary assessments before accommodations, withholding policy documents, restricting communication pathways, demanding professional diagnoses for self-evident needs, or insisting on particular procedural sequences. Gatekeeping delays support, imposes financial and logistical burdens on families, and positions schools as arbiters of legitimacy. Gatekeeping often operates through claims about proper process whilst violating human rights obligations to accommodate. Learn more
• gender diverse students: Gender diverse students are students whose gender identity, expression, or experience does not fit within traditional expectations of being exclusively male or female. This can include transgender students, non-binary students, and others whose gender identity or expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender diversity reflects the reality that people experience and express gender in different ways. In school settings, gender diverse students may need supports such as respect for their chosen name and pronouns, access to appropriate washrooms and change spaces, and learning environments free from harassment or discrimination. Under the British Columbia Human Rights Code, gender identity and gender expression are protected grounds, meaning schools have a responsibility to ensure that gender diverse students can participate in education safely and without discrimination. Learn more
• gender identity: Gender identity refers to a person’s deeply felt sense of their own gender. It is an internal experience of being male, female, both, neither, or another gender, and it may or may not align with the sex a person was assigned at birth. Gender identity is separate from sexual orientation and may also differ from how a person expresses their gender through clothing, appearance, or behaviour. In school settings, recognising a student’s gender identity can include respecting their name, pronouns, and participation in school life in ways that align with how they identify. Under the British Columbia Human Rights Code, gender identity and gender expression are protected grounds, which means students have the right to learn in environments free from discrimination based on their gender. Learn more
• gender-based harm: Gender-based harm refers to harm that occurs because of a person’s gender, gender identity, or gender expression, or because they do not conform to expected gender roles. In school settings, gender-based harm can include harassment, bullying, exclusion, sexual harassment, or punishment for behaviour that is judged differently based on gender. It can also involve the dismissal or minimisation of concerns raised by students because of gender stereotypes—for example, assumptions that girls are exaggerating harm or that boys should tolerate aggression. Gender diverse and transgender students may face additional risks when their identities are not respected or when they are targeted for being different. Gender-based harm can affect a student’s safety, sense of belonging, and ability to participate fully in school life. Under the British Columbia Human Rights Code, discrimination and harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sex are prohibited, and schools have a responsibility to prevent and address these harms. Learn more
• get help: These webinars and educational sessions are valuable before you decide to take legal action because they can help you: ✔ Understand whether your issue qualifies as discrimination under human rights law ✔ Learn what happens when you do file a complaint ✔ Know the roles of the BC Human Rights Tribunal and other bodies ✔ Understand basic procedural fairness concepts ✔ Improve documentation and evidence before filing a complaint They are educational, not legal advice, but are hosted by reputable legal sources involved in the BC human rights system. Learn more
• ghosted: Ghosted refers to situations where a school or school district stops responding to a parent’s communication after concerns or advocacy have been raised. Emails, requests for meetings, or questions about a child’s support may go unanswered for extended periods, leaving families without information about what is happening or whether their concerns are being addressed. Being ghosted can delay problem-solving and increase uncertainty for families who are trying to ensure their child’s safety or access to learning. It may also create pressure on parents to repeatedly follow up in order to receive even basic responses. While delays sometimes occur due to workload or administrative processes, prolonged silence can make it difficult for families to participate meaningfully in decisions affecting their child. Clear communication and timely responses are important parts of fair and accountable school processes. Learn more
• girls: Girls in school systems often experience a distinct set of challenges shaped by both gender expectations and how support is allocated. In systems operating under scarcity, schools frequently prioritise intervention for students whose behaviour is highly disruptive, aggressive, or immediately dangerous. Because social expectations often encourage girls to be compliant, agreeable, and accommodating, their distress may be less visible or less likely to trigger formal support. As a result, girls who are struggling—academically, socially, or emotionally—may be expected to cope quietly rather than receiving timely intervention. This dynamic can be particularly significant for disabled or neurodivergent girls, whose needs may be overlooked if they are masking difficulties or avoiding behaviours that draw attention. When support systems are organised around triage rather than early recognition of need, girls may be under-identified, under-supported, and more likely to carry the burden of adapting to environments that are not meeting their needs. Learn more
• goalpost shifting: Goalpost shifting refers to situations where the requirements for resolving a concern or accessing support keep changing. Families may be asked to complete a series of tasks—provide documentation, attend meetings, try new strategies, or wait for additional assessments—only to find that once one step is completed, a new requirement is introduced before any meaningful support is provided. Each request may appear reasonable on its own, but the cumulative effect can keep families in an ongoing process without resolution. In education advocacy, goalpost shifting can occur when schools delay implementing supports while continuing to ask parents for more information or additional steps. This can leave children struggling in the meantime while families invest significant time and energy trying to meet moving expectations. Recognising goalpost shifting can help families and schools refocus on the central question: what support or change is needed now to ensure the student can safely and meaningfully access their education. Also see bait and switch. Learn more
• good faith: Good faith refers to acting honestly, transparently, and with a genuine intention to resolve a problem or meet an obligation. In school contexts, good faith means that all parties participate in discussions with the goal of finding workable solutions for a student, rather than delaying action, withholding information, or engaging in processes that appear cooperative but are unlikely to lead to meaningful change. Acting in good faith includes communicating clearly, following through on commitments, sharing relevant information, and being open to adjusting plans when something is not working. For families advocating for a child, good faith participation also means raising concerns respectfully and engaging with proposed solutions. When schools and families both act in good faith, collaboration is more likely to result in timely supports and improved access to education for the student. Learn more
• graded privilege systems: Graded privilege systems refer to school behaviour management approaches where students earn or lose access to activities, spaces, or freedoms based on their behaviour or compliance with expectations. These systems often organise privileges in levels or stages—for example, allowing access to recess, preferred activities, or classroom participation only after certain behavioural criteria are met. While intended to motivate positive behaviour, graded privilege systems can create barriers when basic aspects of school participation are treated as rewards rather than rights. For disabled students in particular, behaviours linked to dysregulation, communication differences, or unmet needs may result in repeated loss of privileges, which can increase exclusion and frustration rather than addressing the underlying issue. When participation in learning, movement, or social time becomes conditional on compliance, students may experience school less as a supportive environment and more as a system of rewards and penalties. Learn more
• gradual entry: Gradual entry refers to a plan where a student returns to school on a reduced or partial schedule, with the expectation that attendance will increase over time as the student adjusts. This approach is sometimes used when a child has been absent for a long period, is experiencing significant anxiety, or has recently faced a difficult transition or crisis at school. In practice, gradual entry may involve shortened school days, limited class participation, or attending only certain activities while supports are put in place. When used appropriately, it can help a student rebuild tolerance for the school environment in a manageable way. However, concerns arise when gradual entry becomes indefinite or when it is used instead of addressing the underlying conditions that made school difficult in the first place. Without clear goals, timelines, and meaningful supports, gradual entry can result in prolonged partial access to education rather than a pathway back to full participation. Learn more
• grief: Grief refers to the emotional response to loss, change, or unmet expectations. In education advocacy, families may experience grief when a child struggles in school, when support systems do not respond as hoped, or when the reality of navigating disability-related barriers becomes clear. This grief is not only about loss of opportunity but can also reflect the cumulative impact of stress, advocacy demands, and witnessing a child experience distress or exclusion. Grief can appear in many forms, including sadness, anger, exhaustion, or a sense of isolation. Recognising grief helps acknowledge that advocacy is not only a procedural process but also an emotional one, where families are often processing complex feelings while continuing to support their child and navigate institutional systems. Learn more
• grief and clarity: Grief and clarity describes a stage many families experience after recognising that a school system is not meeting their child’s needs. Grief arises from confronting the gap between what families hoped education would provide and what their child is actually experiencing—loss of trust, lost opportunities, or the emotional impact of repeated barriers. At the same time, this recognition can bring a form of clarity. Parents may begin to see patterns in how decisions are made, how supports are allocated, or why previous attempts to resolve concerns were unsuccessful. This combination of grief and clarity can be a turning point in advocacy: while emotionally difficult, it can also help families shift from hoping the system will change on its own to making more deliberate decisions about documentation, escalation, and protecting their child’s well-being. Learn more
• grievability: Grievability refers to whose harm or loss is recognised as worthy of attention, concern, and response. The concept, developed by Judith Butler, describes how social systems implicitly decide which lives, experiences, or injuries are treated as significant and which are minimised or ignored. In school contexts, grievability can shape whose suffering is taken seriously when harm occurs. Some students’ experiences—particularly those who are disabled, neurodivergent, or marginalised—may be interpreted as behavioural issues, misunderstandings, or unavoidable difficulties rather than harms that require accountability and repair. When a child’s distress is repeatedly reframed as a problem with the child rather than a failure of the environment, their experiences may effectively become less “grievable” within the system. Recognising grievability helps highlight how institutional responses can unintentionally prioritise certain perspectives while overlooking others who are also experiencing harm. Learn more
• hallway placement: Hallway placement refers to situations where a student is directed to work or remain in a hallway or other space outside the classroom for extended periods of time. This may occur when a student is struggling with behaviour, dysregulation, or classroom participation, or when staff believe the student needs separation from the class environment. While short breaks or movement can sometimes help students regulate, hallway placement can become problematic when it effectively removes a student from learning without a clear plan for support or reintegration. Students may be physically present at school but excluded from instruction, social interaction, and classroom activities. For disabled students in particular, repeated hallway placement can reflect unmet accommodation needs rather than a deliberate choice to disengage. When used as an ongoing response rather than a brief regulation strategy, hallway placement can function as a form of informal exclusion from the classroom. Learn more
• Harris and Company: Harris & Company LLP is a labour and employment law firm in British Columbia that frequently represents public sector employers, including school districts. The firm provides legal advice on workplace management, investigations, discipline, and institutional responses to complaints. In education contexts, Harris & Company is sometimes retained by school districts to conduct investigations into incidents involving staff or student safety, or to advise districts on legal risk and policy compliance. Because the firm represents the interests of the employer, its role is typically to advise or investigate on behalf of the district rather than to represent families or students. For parents navigating complaints or investigations, it can be important to understand that when an external law firm is involved, it is usually acting for the school district’s legal interests rather than as an independent advocate for all parties involved. Learn more
• healing: Healing refers to the process of recovery after harm, stress, or prolonged difficulty. In education advocacy, healing may involve helping a child rebuild a sense of safety, confidence, and belonging after experiences such as exclusion, bullying, restraint, or repeated unmet needs at school. Healing can also apply to families who have spent long periods navigating conflict, uncertainty, or advocacy demands while trying to protect their child. Unlike quick fixes, healing often takes time and may require supportive relationships, consistent accommodations, and environments where the child can experience success without fear or pressure. It may also involve repairing trust between families and institutions when that trust has been damaged. Recognising healing acknowledges that the effects of harm do not end when a problem is identified or a policy changes; meaningful recovery often requires patience, stability, and sustained support. Learn more