Families whose children are being pushed out of school are often told that what is happening is temporary, necessary, or simply the result of staffing pressures or safety concerns. A webinar featuring disability lawyer Laya Rafi of ARCH Disability Law Centre helps name those experiences for what they often are: exclusion.

Although the webinar is based in Ontario, it offers practical guidance that will be useful to many families across Canada, including in British Columbia. It does not replace province-specific legal advice, but it does provide a strong overview of the patterns families should watch for and the steps they can take when a child is being informally or formally kept out of school.

What the webinar covers

The webinar focuses on a central question: what can you do if your child is excluded from school?

Laya Rafi explains that exclusion is not limited to a formal written letter. It can also include situations where a school tells a parent to keep a child home for a few days, repeatedly calls for early pick-up, shortens the school day, or pressures a family to move the child to another school. One of the most useful parts of the presentation is how clearly it identifies these less formal practices. Many parents know something is wrong, but do not yet have language for it. This webinar helps put language to what families are already experiencing.

It also explains why exclusion is such a serious issue. Students with disabilities have a right to meaningful access to education, and schools cannot avoid their obligation to accommodate by simply removing a child from the classroom or the school day. The webinar repeatedly returns to that point: exclusion should not be used as a substitute for accommodation.

Why this is useful for families in BC

The legal framework discussed in the webinar is Ontario-specific, and viewers in BC should keep that in mind. The speaker says this directly. Still, many of the practical lessons apply more broadly.

For example, the webinar encourages parents to ask plainly whether the school is in fact excluding their child. It recommends asking for the decision and the reasons in writing. It stresses the importance of keeping a record of emails, notes from phone calls, meeting dates, alleged incidents, accommodation requests, and next steps. It also urges parents to ask for relevant school policies and to seek legal advice early.

Those are useful steps in almost any province. Even where the law differs, documentation matters. A written record matters. Clarity matters.

A strong explanation of informal exclusion

One of the most valuable contributions of this webinar is its discussion of informal exclusion.

Schools do not always use the word “exclusion”. Instead, they may say:

• your child should stay home until things are sorted out
• there is not enough staff
• the current school is not a good fit
• your child should only attend for part of the day
• another school would be better

The webinar explains that these situations can still amount to exclusion, even when the school does not present them that way. That is an important message for families, because many parents spend months being told that what is happening is temporary or informal while their child remains out of school.

Helpful advice on what parents can do

The webinar is especially useful because it moves beyond naming the problem and offers practical next steps.

Parents are encouraged to:

• ask for the school’s decision in writing
• ask for reasons
• ask for copies of policies about exclusion
• review accommodation plans, safety plans, and behaviour plans
• keep a timeline of events
• follow verbal discussions with an email confirming what was said
• continue pressing for a return-to-school plan
• seek legal advice where possible

This advice is concrete and grounded. It reflects the reality that many exclusion situations begin not with a clear formal process, but with a series of phone calls, vague instructions, and shifting explanations.

Important cautions in using this resource

Because the webinar is focused on Ontario, families in BC should be careful not to assume that the specific legal processes described will be identical here. Appeal routes, legislation, and terminology may differ. A parent in BC should treat this webinar as a practical advocacy resource, not as a complete guide to BC law.

That distinction matters. The value of the webinar is not that it gives a province-by-province legal roadmap. Its value is that it helps families recognise patterns, document what is happening, and ask sharper questions.

Why we are sharing it

At k12complaints.ca, we hear from families dealing with shortened days, repeated pick-up calls, denial of accommodation, pressure to move schools, and vague claims about safety or staffing. Many are trying to work out whether what they are experiencing is serious enough to challenge. Many have never been told clearly that schools cannot simply avoid their obligations by sending a child home.

This webinar offers something important: it validates what families are seeing, explains why exclusion is harmful, and gives practical advice on how to respond.

That makes it a useful resource, even outside Ontario.

Watch with this in mind

If you watch this webinar as a BC parent, the most useful questions to carry with you are:

• Is my child actually being excluded, even if the school is not using that word?
• Has the school put its decision and reasons in writing?
• Am I keeping a clear record of what has happened?
• Is the school trying to solve an accommodation issue by limiting my child’s access to education?
• Have I sought BC-specific advice about complaint options and legal pathways?

Those questions can help families move from confusion to documentation, and from documentation to action.