Author: Kim Block

If Nothing Else…It’s Okay to Take up Space

I cannot tell you the number of times I have had someone who works in government tell me this:

“If things were as bad as you say they are, then we would see more complaints being filed.”

Which is BS. As we all know. There is a long list of reasons why parent(s)/guardians aren’t filing complaints.

The reality of this statement is, in terms of “systems”, if no one complains, it’s like it never happened.

When you file a complaint, your complaint becomes part of the data that the external complaint system collects, and annual reports become public-facing. It also informs the individual staff what is happening in education. This is at the micro level of advocacy. People’s stories do change and inform people working in these systems. Filing complaints creates data. It’s one thing if things happen to a few people, then the system blames the individuals. But complaints about the same issue from a lot people, now people take notice. Now the red flags get raised. Data makes our lived experience undeniable. Complaints filed in external processes have the potential to make micro-level and macro-level impacts.

Just like in court, evidence is required. To create public policy, you also need evidence. You can’t just make vague assertions on what you are seeing in the media or hearing through the grapevine from people. Although, this is often what will trigger people’s inquiries into the subject. Governments/organizations need concrete data. They need lived experiences through their own collection. Secondary data, from someone else, in research terms can be called dirty data, when you are using data that you didn’t collect, you need to “clean it”. They need evidence that is reliable and valid.

There are people reading our complaints. It does inform them. It does provide them with information. Information can change how people think and how they approach situations at work.

You can’t unring a bell.

So, if nothing else…even if your complaint doesn’t lead to the outcome you want, filing alone is advocacy.

The Ombudsperson BC investigation into exclusion is an example of how the volume of complaints triggered action. The survey is open until April 1st.

I have had an interesting conversation with a parent recently and they were weighing the pros and cons of filing a human rights complaint. They really liked the idea of someone just reading their complaint. Anyone. The fact that someone was going to find out what had happened to them.

I have to say, I get it. When I was testifying at my child’s hearing it lasted a full day. I was so excited to testify. I couldn’t wait. I remember thinking if nothing else, and this hearing ends after a couple of days, I have had the opportunity to lay everything out in detail to someone and they have had to LISTEN TO ME. It was literally their job to listen to every word I said. They had to really pay attention and not come up with arguments in their head while they were listening to me. Their job was literally to intensively listen to me. I literally felt like I lost 10o pounds after that testimony day. Someone heard me. AND this person is a tribunal member who makes decisions and will be making more decisions in the future about education cases. I wanted them to know just how bad this stuff is. They asked me before the hearing if another tribunal member could observe my testimony day, as they were onboarding new tribunal members. I was like….ABSOLUTLEY! I felt like, hey…you want to invite all the tribunal members, sure! Bring EVERYONE!!!

Some parents have felt that a settlement meeting brings similar peace. It forces the school district to listen to them. Settlement meetings can last all day if needed. Many school districts deal with parents by just ignoring them. Wrong move school districts. Parents with unmet needs are going to find other ways to get them met and I guarantee you, you aren’t going to like it.

If nothing else….

Your child’s experience will count.

Your experience will count.

It won’t be like it didn’t happen.

It did happen!

And someone is going to read about it, and it will be absorbed into their knowledge and awareness of whatever position of power they are in.

If nothing else….someone is going to hear you.

It’s okay to take up space.

Evidence of Harm. Effective Advocacy in Education.

Why is collecting evidence of harm so important?

Part of an effective way to advocate for your child is going to be your ability to communicate with the school.

The information that you tell them is going to impact that effectiveness and also trigger certain human rights obligations.

The Duty to Accommodate is established under section 8 of the Human Rights Code of BC.

In order for you to convince the tribunal that your child has experienced discrimination, the first part of the test will be to prove the 3-part discrimination test.

This is from the website of the BC Human Rights Tribunal

Test for Discrimination

“Moore v. BC (Education), 2012 SCC 61. To prove discrimination, a complainant has to prove that:

  1. they have a characteristic protected by the Human Rights Code [Code];
  2. they experienced an adverse impact with respect to an area protected by the Code; and
  3. the protected characteristic was a factor in the adverse impact.

Once a complainant proves these three things, the respondent can defend itself by proving its conduct was justified. If the respondent proves its conduct was justified, then there is no discrimination. If the respondent’s conduct is not justified, discrimination will be found to occur (para. 33).”

In the context of disability, you will need to prove that they have a physical/mental disability that the school was aware of, that they experienced harm, and that this harm was connected to their disability.

We already have it written in a decision that not all negative experiences are discrimination. Their disability must be a FACTOR in the conduct.

X by Y v. Board of Education of School District No. Z, 2024 BCHRT 72
110] ….I accept that these incidents which X relayed to Y were upsetting to X. I appreciate that the interactions may have fed into X’s general feelings of unease at school, but the fact alone that these events may have happened is not enough, in itself, to establish that X’s disability factored into them. Not all negative experiences are discrimination. Even accepting that these incidents occurred, I did not hear evidence that could establish, on a balance of probabilities, that X’s disability was a factor in the conduct of the adults involved in these interactions.

So….. what does this mean as parents?

We need to document the harm.

Here is my blog Documenting the Harm specifically on how to do that.

We need to be able to communicate to the school and connect the dots for them, that what they are doing is creating harm.

As parents, we need to communicate to the school that our child is struggling and this struggle is connected to their disability. This will trigger MEANINGFUL INQUIRY. They must investigate and come up with solutions to try and decrease the impact of harm.

Meaningful Inquiry

[99]           Next, in B v. School District, 2019 BCHRT 170, the evidence supported that the school district provided the child with the recommended supports and accommodations. The Tribunal found that it was “only with hindsight” that it was possible to say that the child could have benefited from more support: para. 81. It dismissed the complaint in part because there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the school district reasonably ought to have known that the child required more: para. 98. In contrast here, I have found that the District had sufficient information to trigger some kind of inquiry or response beyond asking the Student how she was doing and, assuming the counsellor did this, advising of available supports.

[100]      In short, I agree with the District that the Parent and Student were obliged to bring forward information relating to accommodation. The Parent did that, when she communicated that the Student had anxiety and trichotillomania and that school was taking a significant toll on her physical and mental health. That information should have been enough to prompt a meaningful inquiry by the school to identify what was triggering the Student’s symptoms and what supports or accommodations may be appropriate to ensure she was able to meaningfully and equitably access her education. The failure to take that step was, in my view, not reasonable. As a result, the disability-related impacts on the Student, arising from conditions in her Language 10 class between April 24 and June 27, 2019, have not been justified and violate s. 8 of the Human Rights Code.

We don’t need to necessarily say overtly, that we are considering filing a human rights complaint. We can communicate in a way that shows them we are taking these issues seriously and one way of doing that is to provide them with evidence of the harm.

It may be through pictures of what has happened or video, but it can also just simply be statements the child has made at home about school or drawings they have done or things they have written down. Feel free to quote your child. Emailing this to the school does create an evidence trail so that if things are not resolved and you do decide to file a human rights complaint, all of these emails will form part of your document disclosure and you can bring them to your settlement meeting.

The respondents (the lawyers defending the school district) are going to make arguments that the school’s actions are justified and that reasonable accommodations were provided.

However, if your child is still experiencing harm, how can they argue that reasonable accommodations were provided? That’s why we need evidence of the harm.

The school district also has the final decision-making power with your child’s education. Parents have a duty to facilitate. Even if we don’t agree with their decision we must not become a barrier to their decision or if in the future we file a human rights complaint, it may be dismissed. Here is the case that created the duty to facilitate.

A and B obo Infant A v. School District C (No. 5), 2018 BCHRT 25

[248]      The School District is not the only party with obligations in the accommodation process. Rather, the parents were obliged, as the Child’s representatives, to work towards facilitating an appropriate accommodation: Central Okanagan School District No. 23 v. Renaud, 1992 CanLII 81 (SCC), [1992] 2 SCR 970. If the School District initiated a reasonable proposal that would, if implemented, accommodate the Child, then the Parents were obliged to facilitate that proposal. Failure to do so is fatal to their complaint of discrimination.

So, if their decision is creating harm, we are going to need evidence of that to show that what they decided isn’t working.

I know this piece of collecting evidence can be really hard for parents. They don’t feel that they “should” have to do this. They feel that this is being too aggressive and they don’t want to upset people at their child’s school. I get it. No one wants to feel that they are in an adversarial relationship with their child’s school. Jumping the shark can be really hard.

When you advocate you can still be pleasantly persistent and communication doesn’t need to be adversarial. However, I haven’t known of any effective advocacy when parents put being viewed as “nice” as their priority, over effective communication.

Here is the Inclusive Education Manual created by Incluison BC for helpful information on how to communicate with your child’s school. Here is Family Support Institute’s Toolkit Resources on education advocacy. And I would also just want to add, that if things get intense…which sometimes they do. Please read my blog on 5 Rules on How to be Untouchable

Document

Communicate

Repeat

And if that doesn’t work….

You have external complaint systems

External Resolution Options in Education

New Human Rights Decision – Denied EA Support – Complaint Accepted!

There is a new decision that was posted on the BC HRT website. All these decisions being posted by the BC HRT are so helpful to parents.

It’s always great to have decisions that give examples of the kinds of human rights complaints that get accepted and the public get a peak into the education system when they read the allegations. So many parents are always wondering….is this a human rights complaint? Well, not getting accommodations by failing to provide an EA is an example.

This decision is an interesting read. I encourage you to read it in full.

The Student (by the parent) v. The School District, 2025 BCHRT 17

This is an anonymization decision but check out the first paragraph.

[1] In April 2022, the Parent made a complaint against the School District on the Student’s behalf. The complaint alleges that the School District discriminated against the Student regarding its services based on the Student’s mental disability. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the School District failed to accommodate the Student by not providing him with an Education Assistant in one of his classes.

So…….

For all you parents struggling to get the appropriate amount of EA support for your child…which in recent years is becoming more and more of a struggle…here you go!

The BC HRT has confirmed that in this case the parent who filed a human rights complaint alleging the school district failed to accommodate their child by not providing him with an Education Assistant in one of his classes is an ACCEPTED human rights complaint which is proceeding through the process.

If you feel your child isn’t getting enough EA support, you have a potential human rights complaint.

For situations that are an emergency, you can apply to have your complaint fast-tracked.

Scroll to page 2 near the bottom. This is the form that you would fill out along with your complaint to fast-track your complaint.

General Application
https://www.bchrt.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/876/2023/03/form_7_1_print.pdf

If you are filing a family status complaint for yourself, you can also send in a separate complaint just for you. Here is the human rights decision outlining this as an option.
The Parent v. The School District, 2024 BCHRT 113
Here is the summary page.

If you are curious, here is what the complaint form looks like. You will need to be able to answer these questions. Complaint form.

For those of you who would like some help filling it out, you can ask the Human Rights Clinic or contact the people on this page.

You certainly don’t always need to file a human rights complaint to have human rights needs addressed. You can use human rights law in your own advocating. If things are serious, sometimes people will find a lawyer who can address the issues directly with the school.

Also, what is also very interesting about this decision is that school districts clearly do not like being named. So, you know what that means. Something to consider is…..naming them!
Here is my blog on this topic.

Specifically this case:

Get No Anonymization, TRB Decisions = HRT Decision – NOPE!

This tribunal member of this decision felt this situation was distinct from another case that named the school, but we still have decisions that are in support of school districts being identified. In this situation, the tribunal member wanted to err on the side of caution. I can’t blame the HRT for wanting that. It’s hard to predict what is going to happen in the future. If the mother is already creating online publications and has an internet presence, who knows.

It’s a shame school districts are so focused on fighting parents and not choosing the route of peace and resolution. It seems like they are so willing to spend taxpayers’ money on a ridiculous amount of lawyers’ fees instead of spending a ton less money and giving it to a child who experienced harm. The settlement money goes directly to the child, so even if they absolutely hate the parent, it’s not going to the parent. They really do provide the opportunity for people to sharpen their advocacy skills.


Settlement & Mediation Information

Here is some settlement and mediation information.

Fact Sheet from the BC Human Rights Clinic on settlement and mediation

https://bchrc.net/…/FACT-SHEET-Mediations-and…

Guide to Settlement Meetings from the BC HRT (BC Human Rights Tribunal)

https://www.bchrt.bc.ca/law…/guides/settlement-meeting

How to Prepare for Settlement Talks

https://www.bchrt.bc.ca/…/prepare-for-settlement-talks

Mediation policy and mediation process from the BC HRT https://www.bchrt.bc.ca/law-library/policies/mediation/

If there is no settlement resolution, the respondents may decide to file a dismissal application if they feel they have made you a reasonable offer. https://www.bchrt.bc.ca/law…/guides/dismissal-apps/da-7/

Settlement amounts have been noted by the BC HRT in decisions that settlement amounts are increasing. Just because they may apply, doesn’t automatically mean they will be able to force you to accept the amount. Their offer needs to be in the reasonable range of what the tribunal would award you. See this case below.

Bahrami Ghahnavieh v. SolidCAD, A Cansel Company, 2024 BCHRT 226

https://www.canlii.org/…/2024bchrt226/2024bchrt226.html

[33] However, I accept that the trend in Tribunal awards for injury to dignity is upwards…

[38] In the circumstances of the complaint, I find that SolidCAD’s offer of $4000 to Ms. Bahrami Ghahnavieh for injury to dignity is not within the reasonable range of what the Tribunal might order if Ms. Bahrami Ghahnavieh is successful at the hearing on merits. For these reasons, I deny SolidCAD’s application to dismiss the complaint.

The only person that can give you an idea of what would be reasonable based on the context of your complaint would be a lawyer.

What is the Human Rights Tribunal Take on Exclusion?

The timing of this decision was spot on.

This decision was released January 13th and the Ombudsperson announcement was the day after on January 14th.

Student Y by Grandparent S v. Board of Education of School District No. X, 2024 BCHRT 353

I have added this case to my list under the human rights cases tab. I have picked out some paragraphs, but I really encourage you all to read the full case to get the context of what happened to this child and family. The respondents applied for a dismissal and the human rights tribunal decided the complaint should continue.

School Exclusion

There are a few paragraphs in this decision that got my noodle thinking, but for this blog, I want to focus on this paragraph below. Paragraph #52.

[52] From the materials before me, I am satisfied that the School District was actively and intensively involved in attempting to accommodate Student Y’s disabilities from the time that Student Y was in grade one up until the time that she was excluded from school in grade three. However, the question before me on this application is whether the School District is reasonably certain to prove that it “could not have done anything else reasonable or practical to avoid the negative impact on the individual”: Moore at para. 49 [Emphasis mine]. In my view, there is a lack of information in the materials before me that would allow me to conclude that the School District is reasonably certain to do so.

The author of this decision decided to emphasize the words anything else. It wasn’t me that bolded that in the paragraph.

So, this is my guess.

When the human rights tribunal emphasizes ANYTHING ELSE are they eluding to an alternative learning space?

A lot of districts have alternative learning programs for students who need alternative learning spaces. There has been a recent uproar over the closing of a learning centre in the Surrey district with parents and students very upset over its closing with media coverage and rallies. The school districts report funding issues. There was also another family who was in the media, and their son was in a life skills program, and he was excluded due to lack of resources. Without systemic financial planning from the Ministry of Education to keep these alternative programs running, they end up closing and students are still being excluded.

In the face of complete exclusion for some students from schools, will school districts be required to provide alternative learning spaces as their ANYTHING ELSE or face human rights complaints? The school districts already have the power to choose the education program for the student and choose classroom placement. This is from the Supreme Court decision Eaton v. Brant County Board of Education, 1997 CanLII 366 (SCC), [1997] 1 SCR 241 (Notable paragraphs are: 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81)

What does the tribunal mean by ANYTHING ELSE? They have already acknowledged the school district was “actively and intensively involved in attempting to accommodate Student Y’s disability”.

We are at the brink of having Ombudsperson and possibly the Human Rights Tribunal (if this case goes to a hearing), set forth some expectations around the topic of exclusion.

After you read this case, what is your guess? What do you think anything else means?

Very interesting times ahead. Very!

Here is a case of exclusion from Ontario.

This case led to the Duty to Facilitate.
https://www.speakingupbc.com/duty-to-facilitate-responsibility-of-the-parents-guardians/

Families are Advocating – A Year in Review for Human Rights, OIPC Decisions, and the Media!

It’s been quite a year for tribunal decisions. An explosion of decisions that have advanced the human rights code that I haven’t seen occur in a VERY long time. I hope the school districts are paying attention. They need to stop underestimating people. Families are advocating!

Human Rights Decisions

In the last 365 days we have had the following cases.

Student (by Parent) v. School District, 2023 BCHRT 237 – December 19th, 2023
Key Point Summary Link

This case spread across Canada in over 60 different media outlets into large cities and small towns. Even internationally. Media list blog. Who would have ever predicted that would happen!?!

This case was a partial win by a self-represented parent. There are many key highlights of this case that advance the human rights code. It writes that you don’t need an IEP to be protected under the code, self-advocacy expectations are defined, and the most beautiful part is MEANINGFUL INQUIRY. Anxiety gets pushed under the rug as no big deal in schools. This case elevates the attention and seriousness of how anxiety impacts a student. It also brings up the topic of communicating a diagnosis between staff. It also highlights hindsight and how important it is for parents to be communicating to the school what they are seeing at home.

X by Y v. Board of Education of School District No. Z, 2024 BCHRT 72 – March 8, 2024
Key Points – Summary Link

This case was also by a self-represented parent. It wasn’t a personal win for her, but due to her absolute persistence in completing this case AND waiting 15 months for the decision! It did advance the human rights code and the community as a whole has benefited. The jewel out of this case is that education staff are not allowed to give up. They have to continually keep trying by evaluating and adapting their methods. You would think that parents actually don’t need this in writing, but we do.

The Parent v The School District, 2024 BCHRT 113 – April 2024
Key Point Summary Link

This case was again also by a self-represented parent. It confirms that the human rights tribunal will accept family status complaints from parents in connection to the discrimination or harm that their child experiences in an educational setting. This also links to another family status case that occurred at the BC Supreme Court level that confirmed that the tribunal has the authority to accept family status and education as a valid complaint. A public-facing decision, a turning point for parents with disabilities in education.

Child K (by Ehmke) and another v. Queen of All Saints School and another – May 16th, 2024
Key Point Summary Link

This case confirms that the tribunal is willing to name school districts in human rights complaints. FABULOUS. This case also is clear as a bell in saying to education defence lawyers that using TRB complaints will not be accepted for dismissal reasons. So, parents don’t have to fear that filing TRB complaints will compromise their human rights complaint. If anything, I think they help, as a way to gather evidence that the education staff submit. It’s a gold mine of documents that we can access that we would never even know existed.

SUMMARY: Human Rights Cases are very important advocacy tools to use when communicating with your child’s schools. It is very likely that the staff don’t even know what their legal human rights responsibilities are. These cases need to be APPLIED. Then when we all do this, we move the needle.

OIPC Decisions

We also can’t forget the OIPC decisions that occurred in the past year.

Way to go! Two of them were by parent(s)/guardians!

F24-30 April 15th, 2024 – School District Coquitlam
-Section 14 – lawyer-client privilege

F24-09, February 7th 2024 – School District Coquitlam
– Section 13, Section 22

To read the other previous cases in previous years also by parents, here is the list.

Ombudsperson BC

This case came out this year about there not being an appeal avenue for a section 177. That is huge. Parents who receive these can now ask for what the appeal avenue is and if school districts don’t automatically tell them, then they are not following the recommendations and standard from Ombudsperson BC.

https://bcombudsperson.ca/case_summary/schools-out

Media Articles

We also want to look back and appreciate the media articles that were spearheaded by parents. They brought their issues to the attention of the public via the media. That isn’t easy. Way to go! If parent(s)/guardians aren’t brave enough to do this, the public will assume everything is okay-dookie. We thank you!

August 9th, 2024 – The School System has Failed my Kids – Surrey Mom Speaks out

March 30th, 2024 – Vancouver schools lag on playground accessibility, parents say

March 11th, 2024 – Parents demand fix for staffing shortfall at Vancouver school

March 9th, 2024 – Parents voice concerns over ‘crisis-level’ staffing shortages at Vancouver school

March 8th, 2024 – Parent says school district’s decision comes as a huge relief to parents and students 

Social movements are slow.
And this is what advocacy for disability rights is.
A social movement.
It will always be too slow for anyone’s liking.
Really.
While we wait for change, harm is being done.

Some people feel defeated and think what is the point,
the system isn’t changing.

Change very rarely occurs in leaps and bounds.
Certainly not in human systems.
It’s normal for it to be
2 steps forward,
1 step back,
3 steps forward,
1 step back,

It’s always messy.
Never a straight line from A to B.
More like a zig-zag all over the place.
But this is how humans work.
Especially in large groups.
Societies.
No way to get around that.
Just need to muddle through it.

But we are seeing more advocacy tools pop up.
Decisions and accessibility legislation.
Families are advocating.
More external watch bodies are taking notice.
Change is slow.
But it is occurring.
The roots are growing.

What is scary and dangerous is when the system feels no one is watching.
That they are untouchable.
Then the system will change in leaps and bounds.
It can always get worse.

We need to hold the line.
Send the message that we are here.
We are watching.
We are learning.
We will take action.
And clearly, we have.

Let us focus on this:
Many seeds have been planted this year.
May they take root and grow

To my community of families,
Happy Holidays, and I wish you all the best for 2025.



5 Rules on How to be Untouchable

(Or at least try to be…)

The school district and their lawyers are just waiting for you to do any of the following things listed below…literally sitting back, fingers crossed and waiting. They know what works. They do this all the time.

They can use your own decisions against you in multiple ways. Destroying your credibility at a hearing, filing a section 177 against you, getting your human rights complaint completely dismissed and with costs, shutting down complete communication with you, sending you a cease and desist letter or threatening a defamation lawsuit.

(And before we go any further, trust me, this blog is not from personal experience. For those of you who know which school district I am connected to, please don’t infer, none of these things have happened to me.)

This blog is from reading case law, newspaper articles, finding websites/YouTube videos of pissed-off parents and hearing their stories, hearing stories directly from other parents, and hearing through the grapevine ALLLLL of the multiple other stories floating around our community. This by the way is a national issue, not just a BC issue. So, if you are sitting in a small town in PEI, this stuff still applies.

To the people waiting for you to do any of these things… this is a chess game. It’s not a chess game to us, and its a hard pill to swollow just how strategic navigating the maze needs to be, but we need to realize that this is how its viewed by them. And we need to figure out what the rules are and follow them.

When we follow the rules, we are closer to being untouchable, and we can continue to advocate.

Here we go.

Rule #1 – Always be polite and respectful.

  1. Don’t be rude. Be polite and respectful. Always.
  • Losing your cool and sending in an email that is just blasting them, insulting them, threatening them, etc, etc. is an easy way for them to be all over you and be backed up by the tribunal and court system. This will open the door for them to file a dismissal and get your case dismissed and apply for costs, file a section 177 etc, etc. They are literally hoping you go this route and you make it really easy for them to control you. They can’t wait for this to happen.
  • Sending in your emails doesn’t need to align with exactly how you feel. Your emails need to be written with strategy in mind. Your intent can be to either to document what is happening with the purpose of gathering evidence, to communicate your child’s unmet needs in ways that they can’t claim hindsight later on and trigger meaningful inquiry, to be problem-solving to resolve the immediate issues at hand etc. But making yourself feel better to release the stress valve has the potential of undermining your advocacy and destroying the opportunity for the systemic changes that you are hoping for.
  • It’s a painful part of the advocacy process to think so strategically, but this skill is really really important. I think of it as, we need to become Cheetahs. Cheetahs are loving parents, and affectionate with their young. They are also the most extremely patient and strategic hunters. We need to be cheetahs for maximum efficiency. We can’t let our advocacy efforts be undermined and swept aside because we lose our shit. They will poke us and poke us and just wait for us to explode. We need to have other release values and when we interact with them, we are in cheetah mode.

Rule #2 – No defamation, no naming

2. Don’t name or defame anyone on social media.

  • Defamation is a really easy hook to get you on. Defamation just needs to be said to one other person. It is ridiculous how fast they will jump on this.

See news article below, click to read.

Mom threatened with legal action after questioning B.C. principal who’s now accused of misappropriation
2014 letter from school board lawyer warned against ‘defamatory statements’ about Tricia Rooney
  • That means on any social media site, in conversations with anyone else, you CAN’T name people. You are making yourself way too easy of a target.
  • I took a workshop on defamation. Here are my notes.
  • If you are in a heated battle with the school, keep your circle very small on who you let in. These need to be trusted people in your life. You can talk about your situation, just don’t name anyone.
  • Having fake social media accounts can be ways of interacting with support group FB accounts or posting anonymously can be a layer of protection that will aid in your untouchability.
  • Parents have had human rights cases dismissed and their social media posts were used against them.
  • Trust me, they troll your social media when you become a red flag to them.
  • You never know who is in a Facebook group. Just like it is easy for a parent to make a fake account to protect themselves, it’s easy for anyone to make a fake Facebook account. Facebook groups are public, not private.

Rule #3 – Don’t share confidential information

3. Don’t post content on social media that has the words CONFIDENTIAL on it. This again opens you up to them being able to threaten you with legal action and having the ability to control you.

  • This includes anything from the government that is sent to you in a password protected file or simply has the words CONFIDENTIAL at the top.
  • And yes… this is how the system stays in control and keeps everything hidden. I know. If you want to present this information as evidence in a hearing, that’s a different story. Stuff that is hidden away under privacy laws can still be used as evidence at tribunal hearings and court proceedings. This again is about being strategic about what we do. Be the cheetah. Wait it out. If you play the chess game right, you’ll be able to present the evidence when you need to and maximize your efficiency.

Rule #4 – Don’t protest

4. Do not protest a decision in a school by refusing to leave, or forcing your way into a classroom. Refusing to pick up your kid in the name of protest, I also don’t suggest. You are setting yourself up for a section 177 and you will be accused of not working in good faith with the school, you will not be following your duty to facilitate and your human rights complaint has the potential of being dismissed. If you refuse to pick up your child without good reason in the name of protesting, MFCD may be called.

  • Even if you adamantly disagree with the a decision that the school has made, they have the power to make those decisions whether you agree or not. It’s risky for them if they didn’t meaningfully consult with you, but the School Act and Supreme Court of Canada, do give them the power to make class placement decisions and reasonable accommodation decisions.
  • The only way to maintain your credibility and access to the school is to follow the internal and external complaint systems in a civil manner. I know, that they are the ones controlling the system and this isn’t going to be fair. Totally get it. It doesn’t matter. If you want to give them even more power and have them cut you off at the knees then behaving in a way that makes you non-compliant, or the staff don’t feel physically or psychologically safe around you will end up being a gift to them. It will be so easy for them to file a section 177. Next time you show up at the school the police will be called and you’ll be out the door so fast. Don’t do them any favors. Collect your evidence and nail them in due course. Patience.

Rule #5 – Knowledge and your values are power

5. This rule isn’t a rule on not what to do, this is a rule on what to do. This will also help to make you feel personally untouchable.

  • Know your stuff. That means human rights law, duty to accommodate, and external complaint avenues. Learn as much as you can. Knowledge is power. Ground your arguments in evidence and documentation. Stick to the facts. Don’t over-exaggerate. Don’t lie. Your credibility is everything.
  • This to me personally, is so important. Following your values is the most powerful tool to be untouchable. When you align your advocacy with your values, and how you want to treat people, strength is unlimited. What is your fuel? Unfairness? Systemic oppression? Lying? Even though people may be playing dirty with you, or lying to you, navigating your advocacy with how you want to operate and interact with people can give you a sense of emotional untouchability. It’s called inner peace. And it’s priceless.

Be one with the Cheetah.
Make it hard for them.
Don’t be easy prey.
You’ve got this.

Who Does Society Care About?

This mom speaks the truth. Thank you Ashley Roberts, The Dsylexia Initiative.

ID: A picture of a head with the brain and mental health written inside. Four colour ribbons coming from the head. Text: It's impossible to fight for your child and not have your mental health be impacted. To a Mom her child deserves the world. To have someone invalidate that thought, that feeling, time and time again takes a toll. To sit in a meeting and hear no, or, in my opinion worse yet, the edubabble word salad to mask the no like you're stupid, takes a toll. We are bombarded with the message that to question is to teacher bash, that parents are lazy, worthless, stupid and the children are entitled POS's who need stricteer, better parenting. This masks the whole "spare the rod, spoil the child" mentalility, but of course no one is going to open up and admit that. While we fight an unielding system that absolutely does not care, our children are being damaged, and so we as moms are damaged further. Dyslexia affects the entire family and so mental health of the entire family is impacted as well. There is no way to fight and not pay a price. There just isn't. We must embrace the mental health aspect for our children, and ourselves. Bringing this awareness into the light will empower us all. Hugs xoxox.
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The government distributes society’s resources, and this distribution is not an equitable one. It is based on the wishes of the majority of voters. 27% of people have disabilities in Canada. An article by The Tyee, “Why is Vancouver Funding an Extremely Expensive Private Dyslexia School? questions how these resources are being divided. I question funding for private schools in general, as they seem to be getting a good chunk of taxpayers’ money. Yet, only families who can afford to pay costly yearly tuition fees can access their services, while the schools are escaping human rights violations due to their private business structure. Funded by the government, yet given an escape pod via the “undue hardship” justification test of a limited private business. As this parent feels, some specialized schools are providing the supports that kids aren’t getting in public schools. This option is not available to everyone. You need money. Lots of it. Every year. You need the time, ability and transportation to get your child there. Private schools are an impossibility for most.

Currently, our system is prioritizing some kids over others by how they design teacher education post-secondary programs. Teachers aren’t being properly trained for inclusion. Deciding not to inform teachers about human rights and science-based accommodations is a decision. Surveys internationally are all coming back with the same data. In Canada too, Teachers don’t feel adequately prepared for children with disabilities in their classrooms. And here. And here. And I could go on… and on…. and on.

Children are always going to be vulnerable. They are vulnerable because they don’t have a choice to leave. When children with learning disabilities are not getting proper instruction and support at school they experience levels of shame, embarrassment, chronic stress, anxiety, fear and sometimes bullying. Children are extra vulnerable when they have disabilities. They are in an education prison. They are completely dependent on a society that is ableist, misinformed and sees them as an easy target or easier to sweep aside.

The kids get the message daily that they are a burden to society. Someone who should feel lucky to be tolerated. These messages become internalized.

There are some legislative advancements with the federal and provincial Accessibility Acts.

However, for Canada to become barrier-free by 2040 it would entail a complete culture shift.

Employers post these boilerplate disability statements about being inclusive. However, inviting us to the table just isn’t enough. We need to be included at a level that we are participating in changing the shape of the table. Expecting us to carry on and fit into the same rules, and think the same way, isn’t inclusion. It’s not diversity. It’s performative and useless. For autistic and other neurodiverse individuals it can lead to burnout, mental health issues, and employment issues.

We know that change within society takes time. It’s painfully slow, that is true.

While we are waiting for society to evolve…we need to acknowledge harm is being done. Significant life-altering harm. Let’s take a look at the harsh reality.

Kids are dropping out of school. 30-40% of kids with ADHD drop out of high school.

They are escaping to the streets. 80% of homeless youth have Dyslexia.

They are more likely to engage in self-medicating themselves with drug use.

Their risk of them ending up in prison is higher, leading to the over-representation of people with neurodiversity and disabilities in prison.

From Decoding Dyslexia Ontario
Impacts of unsupported dyslexia: statistics

This is not their individual failure. This is a societal failure. Just how people at the Oscars walk up to the stage to collect their awards, they thank all of the people who helped them along the way. They recognize that they didn’t get to that stage by themselves. Well, guess what folks, the kids dropping out, on the streets, self-medicating and ending up in prison didn’t get there by themselves either. We are failing them. Our education system is failing them. Society’s norms are not inflexible laws of gravity. We can change the structures of human systems. We can operate, function, interact and live differently. Our schools don’t need to function this way.

So, when we make our decisions…our laws, our policies, our education training programs…who are we willfully ignoring?

This question needs to be asked EVERY SINGLE time the government makes a decision.

Who is benefiting from this policy or law? Certain people are. It won’t be everyone. So who? Name them. Write it down.

Who is going to be potentially harmed by this policy or law? There will be people harmed in some way by everything they do. So who? Name them. Write it down.

  • Crowded classrooms push kids with disabilities out the door.
  • Underfunding schools pushes kids with disabilities out the door.
  • Lack of proper training of teachers and support staff pushes kids with disabilities out the door.

Adults are pushing kids with disabilities out the door.

Advocating for children with disabilities is hard work, but worthy work. However, I want to acknowledge there is a weathering process parent(s)/guardians all experience. We are slowly eroded by the constant dripping in the advocacy process and/or we become stalagmites building ourselves up by the constant dripping process. These two realities are often braided together.

We are desperate for adequate teacher training. I am not talking about workshops in universal design. I am talking about adequate training in specific disabilities and neurodiversity. We need early screening for dyslexia. We can’t wait for kids to fall behind in literacy skills in grade 3 or 4 and then to be on an assessment waitlist for 2 years that costs $5,000.00. That wait-and-see philosophy is pushing them out the door. It is a disaster. The inaction of our government is failing children and families. There was such hope with the Supreme Court Decision that there would be

How a Dyslexic Student Could Change Canada’s Schools by The Tyee (Nov 12, 2012)

“A momentous change for Canadian schools

If I read the Court’s decision (and the School Act) correctly, this and future provincial governments are now bound to provide funding that will ensure that all B.C. students, regardless of talents or disabilities, receive the kind of education set out in the School Act.

That would be a momentous change for schools across Canada as well — perhaps comparable to Brown vs Board of Education, the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down racial segregation in the schools.”

The United States has legislation. Where is Canada?

The government is failing children and families. It doesn’t make any friggen sense to not support children with neurodiversity and disabilities. When supported, kids with ADHD can thrive as adults. Dyslexic thinkers are also incredibly diverse thinkers. It makes no sense as a society to not help these kids flourish because it is possible. Kids with ADHD don’t even have a designation and dyslexia isn’t even a label that schools are allowed to use. “The term dyslexia is not commonly used in the educational system. It has been removed from legislation, policies, procedures and most teacher training programs.” Talk about erasure. We can’t ever shut up about this.

Even if you want to make the argument that the government has limited resources, it doesn’t even make any economic sense to be ignoring such a huge group of people.

We have 1.8 million Canadians with ADHD.

10-20% of people in Canada have dyslexia.

As a country do we want this or this? What on earth is our country doing??

For the good, the bad, and the ugly, no one gets to where they are in life by themselves.

No one.

Here are some helpful organizations in BC

ADHD Society of BC

Dyslexia BC

BCEd Access Society

Inclusion BC

Family Support Institute