This page is for parents in British Columbia whose child has been told they cannot attend their catchment public school — sent home indefinitely, barred from the building, or quietly told “stay home until we figure this out” — without being given a formal written suspension.

If that is what is happening, you have options. This page walks through what the situation is called, what the school district is and is not allowed to do, and what to ask for.

This is general information, not legal advice.

What is actually happening?

What you are describing is usually called an informal exclusion, sometimes also called a soft suspension, an undocumented suspension, or simply being “asked to keep your child home.” It is a school excluding a child from the building without using the formal suspension process set out in Section 85 of the School Act.

Informal exclusion sits outside the official system on purpose. It does not generate a written suspension letter, a stated end date, a review date, or a clear path of appeal. It is administratively easier for the school and procedurally devastating for the family — because there is nothing concrete to appeal, nothing to point to, and no clock running on when your child gets to come back.

That procedural absence is also where your leverage sits.

Is the school actually allowed to do this?

A principal cannot indefinitely exclude a child from a public school without a written suspension, a stated duration, and a review date. The Section 85 suspension framework in the School Act exists precisely so that exclusions are documented, time-limited, and reviewable.

If your child is being kept home with no written suspension, the district is operating outside that framework. That does not mean the exclusion will stop on its own. It means you can ask the district to put on paper what it is doing, under what authority, and for how long — and that request often shifts the dynamic, because informal exclusions do not survive scrutiny once they are written down.

What should I ask for in writing immediately?

Send an email to the principal, with the superintendent and director of instruction copied, requesting:

• the written basis for the exclusion;
• the name and title of the person who issued it;
• the date it began;
• the statutory authority being relied on;
• the stated duration;
• the review date; and
• the name of the district staff member with authority to approve your child’s return.

Putting this in writing matters for two reasons. The district has to answer in writing or refuse to answer in writing — both are useful records. And it forces the question of authority, because families often get stuck in endless meetings with people who cannot actually say yes.

What if my child has a disability?

The school district has a positive legal duty to accommodate your child to the point of undue hardship. This duty comes from human rights law and has been confirmed for BC public education by the Supreme Court of Canada in Moore v. British Columbia (Education).

The duty is triggered by knowledge of need. The moment the school knows, or reasonably ought to know, that your child has a disability-related need affecting their access to education, the duty engages. A formal designation, a Ministry category, an IEP, or a written diagnosis are evidence that can make the duty easier to prove — but they are not what creates it. A child with no designation and no IEP whose disability-related needs are visible to school staff is owed accommodation just the same.

This matters because the children most often pushed into informal exclusion are frequently the ones without formal designations — children on assessment waitlists, children whose disability has not yet been named, children whose needs the school has resisted recognising. The duty to accommodate is not waiting on a piece of paper.

Exclusion is the opposite of accommodation. A district cannot meet its duty to accommodate by sending the child home.

When you ask for a return-to-school plan, frame it as the district fulfilling an existing legal obligation, not offering a favour:

The district has a duty to accommodate my child to the point of undue hardship. That duty is triggered by knowledge of need, regardless of designation status. Full exclusion from the building cannot be the accommodation. Please confirm what accommodations are being put in place to restore access to school.

What about my child’s education while this is going on?

Section 85 of the School Act obliges districts to ensure continuity of education during a suspension. Informal exclusion does not extinguish that duty — if anything, the absence of a formal suspension makes the duty plainer, because there is no procedural justification for the gap.

You can ask, in writing, for:

• tutorial support;
• placement in distance or online learning at district expense;
• home-delivered instruction;
• access to assignments, materials, and assessments; and
• a designated district contact for educational continuity.

Most families do not know to ask for these things, so most districts do not offer them. Ask anyway.

What should the return-to-school plan look like?

Returning a child to school after an indefinite exclusion requires a real plan, not just an open door. A reasonable interim plan can be staged. For example:

• starting with one hour per day in a predictable, low-demand space;
• a consistent support person assigned, with a backup;
• a written support plan focused on accommodation, not behaviour management;
• trauma-informed re-entry that centres your child’s nervous system: predictable people, predictable space, low sensory load, and an explicit right to leave when overwhelmed;
• attendance increasing on a set schedule each week;
• full-time attendance within a defined window — a month is reasonable unless there is clear evidence a different timeline is required;
• actual instruction during any period your child is not yet back full time; and
• weekly meetings to review progress and remove barriers.

Adjust the timeline and supports to what your child actually needs to rebuild trust and manage the return without significant dysregulation.

How do I escalate within the school district?

If the school will not produce a written basis for the exclusion or a return-to-school plan, escalate.

The first step is usually a Section 11 appeal — an appeal to the Board of Education over a decision that significantly affects the education, health, or safety of your child. Indefinite exclusion qualifies. See district appeals and Section 11 for how this works in BC.

Above the district, the BC Ombudsperson can investigate administrative unfairness in public bodies, including school districts. The Ministry of Education and Child Care has limited direct authority over individual cases but can sometimes pressure a district where statutory duties are being ignored.

Also see: Complaint types

When should I file a human rights complaint?

If your child is being excluded because of a disability, race, gender identity, or another protected ground under the BC Human Rights Code, you can file a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal. The complaint must be filed within one year of the most recent incident.

Discrimination does not require intent. A district can discriminate without meaning to — the test is whether the child experiences a negative effect connected to a protected characteristic. Indefinite exclusion of a disabled child without accommodations being exhausted is exactly the pattern the Tribunal was established to resolve.

If your situation is urgent, you can apply to fast-track the process under Rule 17 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, using Form 7.1. You will need to explain why the situation is urgent and how the harm from delay is different from the usual stress of delay. Ongoing exclusion from school qualifies.

Fast-tracking compresses the timeline; it does not get your child back into school by Tribunal order. The BC Human Rights Tribunal does not grant interim injunctive relief while a complaint is pending. Court-ordered interim relief, if needed, is a BC Supreme Court matter and requires legal counsel.

BC Human Rights Tribunal

Do I have to wait for the complaint process?

No. Filing a human rights complaint does not mean sitting quietly while the clock runs.

Once a complaint is filed, the district knows there is a live discrimination issue. They should not be retaliating, escalating the exclusion, or leaving the harm in place while the process unfolds. They should be able to show what they are doing now to reduce the harm and restore access.

Keep asking, in writing, for an interim return-to-school plan. Keep documenting refusals. The complaint is one track; the return is another, and they run at the same time.

What if the district still refuses to let my child come back?

If the district refuses to provide a written basis for the exclusion, refuses to propose a return plan, and refuses to engage with your interim requests, you have several escalation paths running in parallel:

• complete a Section 11 appeal to the Board of Education;
• file a Human Rights Tribunal complaint and apply to fast-track;
• file an Ombudsperson complaint about administrative unfairness;
• consult a lawyer about whether judicial review or an injunction in BC Supreme Court is appropriate; and
• contact the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner, which has systemic oversight authority.

Multiple parallel processes may instigate change. None of these paths are quick. All of them can motivate change and protection for your child.

How do I manage the dynamic with the school?

Two practical suggestions that help any parent in this situation.

Move communication to writing for a defined period. Saying “I am going to communicate by email only for the next two weeks so we have a clear record” is something any reasonable parent might say. It slows the pace, creates a paper trail, and reduces the live-meeting dynamic that schools find easy to caricature.

Bring a third party into every meeting — Family Support Institute, an Inclusion BC family support worker, a paid advocate, or a trusted friend who can take notes. A witness shifts how schools speak and how parents are heard, and it gives you someone to debrief with afterward so the next meeting starts cleaner.

How do I support my family while this is happening?

School exclusion creates a care crisis at home. Even when the district should be responsible, the systems that should respond to that crisis are scattered, gatekept, and slow — but they exist.

Depending on your child’s age, disability, and needs:

• CYSN through MCFD — ask whether there is emergency family support, respite, behavioural support, or child/youth care support available because your child is currently excluded from school.
• At Home Program — for children with significant support needs; provides respite and medical benefits, though eligibility can be narrow.
• Autism Funding Unit — if applicable, can fund support workers, behaviour consultants, counselling, or skill-building, though it should not be expected to replace school.
• Supported Child Development or Aboriginal Supported Child Development — for accessing childcare with additional support.
• Affordable Child Care Benefit — if you need paid childcare because your child cannot attend school; ask whether your situation can be considered for full-day support or special circumstances.

When contacting any of these services, be clear about what is happening: “My child is not being allowed to attend school. I need emergency support because I am being required to provide full-time school-day care due to school exclusion.”

Where can I get help?

Free or low-cost support specific to BC:

• Family Support Institute of BC — peer support, navigation, and someone who has been there.
• BCEdAccess peer support group – peer support group with parents who’ve navigated these issues before.
• Inclusion BC family support line — advocacy and information.
• Disability Alliance BC‘s advocacy access program — direct help with applications and appeals.
• BC Human Rights Clinic (CLAS) — legal advice and, in some cases, representation for human rights complaints.
• Office of the Ombudsperson of BC — administrative fairness investigations.

Document everything. Keep emails. Save voicemails. Take notes after every phone call and email yourself a summary. The record you build now is what the appeal, complaint, or legal process will rest on later.

Learn more about getting help