Blog
Most parents arrive at this page tired, confused, and quietly questioning themselves. You may have already asked for help — clearly and in good faith — and been met with delay, dismissal, or endless process. You may be wondering whether you’re overreacting, misunderstanding the system, or asking for too much. You’re not!
Recent posts
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Structural problems across district complaint processes
If you read one school district’s complaint process, it can seem reasonable. Start with the teacher. Escalate to the principal. Work your way up. Try to resolve things collaboratively. Keep communication respectful. These…
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When the process becomes the problem in SD40
If you are already struggling—watching your child suffer at school, trying to hold together work, home, and advocacy—the idea of a clear complaint process can feel like relief. There is a pathway. There…
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Humiliation harm: the invisible injury in schools
Many school harms leave no visible mark; they are social injuries, moments when a child’s distress becomes a spectacle and their dignity becomes collateral damage. For disabled students, particularly autistic children, those with…
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The school is ignoring my child’s IEP
Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are meant to translate a child’s rights into daily practice at school. But many families discover that having an IEP on paper does not always mean the supports in…
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My child is being excluded from class: room clears and partial schedules
If your child is regularly sent home early, placed on a shortened day, or repeatedly left alone in a classroom while other children are moved out, they are being excluded from education. Schools…
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Making a Human Rights Complaint in BC (Recorded Webinar)
A 60-minute recorded webinar by People’s Law School, which explains how human rights complaints work in BC, including: Recommended for parents who want an online legal overview of whether discrimination might have occurred and how human rights…
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Why this site exists: when something goes wrong at school
When something goes wrong at school—when a child is excluded, harmed, or unsupported—families are usually told to “work it out with the school first.” On the surface, that sounds reasonable. Most parents want…
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Courthouse Libraries BC — human rights webinars
Courthouse Libraries BC (a trusted legal education provider) hosts webinars including: These sessions are often aimed at both the public and legal intermediaries and are solid introductions to legal processes. Learn more
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When does lack of support become child abuse?
There is a moment — and every parent of a disabled child in a BC school has felt it, even if they could not yet articulate it — when the institutional explanation for…
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Timeline matters in district complaint processes
In many school district complaint procedures, the steps are clear enough. Talk to the teacher. If the issue isn’t resolved, go to the principal. If that doesn’t work, escalate to the district. In…
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Don’t wait for an apology to heal
The apology is probably not coming. It is worth saying plainly, before anything else, because so much of what keeps families suspended in the aftermath of institutional harm is the unspoken anticipation of…
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Solving problems at school: discrimination and rights
This page addresses discrimination in BC schools on the basis of disability, race, gender, and other protected characteristics under the BC Human Rights Code, and the complaint pathways available when a school’s conduct…
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Solving problems at school: institutional harm patterns
This page addresses the patterns of institutional behaviour that compound the original harm — gaslighting, information withheld, goalpost shifting, advocacy punished as aggression, and tone policing — and the complaint pathways available when…
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Solving problems at school: crisis, restraint, and safety
This page addresses physical restraint, isolation, crisis intervention, and unsafe school conditions in BC schools, and specifically their impact on disabled and neurodivergent children, who are disproportionately subjected to these practices. A child…
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Solving problems at school: punitive discipline and behaviour systems
This page addresses punitive discipline and behaviour management practices in BC schools, and specifically their impact on disabled and neurodivergent children, who bear a disproportionate share of their harm. When a school applies…
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Solving problems at school: accommodation and IEP failures
When a school fails to accommodate a disabled child, it rarely announces the failure plainly. The accommodation does not arrive; the IEP goal sits unimplemented through term after term; the education assistant’s hours…
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Solving problems at school: exclusion and removal
Exclusion takes many forms in BC schools, and most of them have been given names designed to obscure what they are. A “gradual entry plan” is a partial schedule. A “room clear” is…
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A parent’s complaint guide for BC schools: when to push and when to escalate
Every parent who has sat across a table from a principal and left the meeting with nothing resolved, or who has spent three weeks drafting a letter that generated a two-line reply, knows…
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BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner — educational sessions
BC’s Human Rights Commissioner periodically hosts free 90-minute webinars on topics like: These are not legal advice but good background on what rights you have under BC law. Learn more
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Using timelines effectively in school advocacy
I send the email and add one line to my timeline: “9 February 2026: asked for update on IEP.” It takes fifteen seconds. The timeline grows with every email I send. A week…