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accommodations
Supports or adjustments required for a student to access education on an equal basis under human rights law. Schools often treat accommodations as optional favours rather than legal obligations, rationing them through assessment gatekeeping, delaying implementation, or offering symbolic gestures that fail to address the actual barrier. True accommodation removes the environmental or instructional obstacle; performative accommodation creates the appearance of effort while leaving the child excluded.
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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 ADHD, and those navigating trauma or anxiety, humiliation…
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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 it actually happen. This guide explains what an…
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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 in BC sometimes present these arrangements as support…
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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 your child’s suffering stops making sense. The school…
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What does success actually look like in school complaints?
Success in school complaints rarely looks like the resolution families imagined when they began. There is almost never an apology. There is rarely an admission that something went wrong. The school will not, in most cases, say plainly that your child…
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Universal design is helpful. Individualised accommodation is a human right
School districts often respond to individualised accommodation requests by pointing to universal classroom strategies: flexible seating for everyone, movement breaks built into the schedule, visual schedules on the wall, calm corners open to all students. These strategies are often described as…
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What does duty to accommodate mean?
The duty to accommodate is the strongest legal protection parents have when a disabled child is struggling at school in British Columbia. It comes from the BC Human Rights Code, not from school policy. This guide explains: You do not need an IEP, a designation, or…
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Letter template – accommodation request
This letter template is designed to help you advocate for your child’s educational needs in BC schools. It balances clarity and firmness with a collaborative tone that’s more likely to get positive results from school staff.
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How do I know if my child actually needs accommodation?
If your child is regularly stressed, exhausted, struggling to learn, or unable to participate even with support at home, that is a sign they may need accommodation. Accommodation is about removing barriers—not waiting for a crisis. What accommodation is for Accommodation…