BC Ombudsperson

If you feel you are being treated unfairly, you can file a complaint with the BC Ombudsperson. You have one year to file your complaint, but I have heard from other parents they have extended the deadline and accepted later complaints.

Ombudsperson is designed to be the last resort. If the school district refuses to discuss the issue with you, that meets the requirement for Ombudsperson to step in.

IF the school district is not following their own policies, you can file a complaint with Ombudsperson.

Here is their most recent Administrative Fairness Guide.

Keep all of your documentation. You will need to submit evidence. This process can take months before a resolution is reached. Feel free to contact me to ask me questions regarding any specifics in the process.

Ombudsperson only realizes there are general/systemic issues if people file complaints. Even if you don’t think you’ll get anything out of filing with Ombudsperson, they track where the complaints are coming from and what they are about. When they get enough of them it will trigger an investigation on a wider scale. They also post public statistics about how many complaints they get per school district.   

https://bcombudsperson.ca/

Education Case Summaries

Topic: Section 177 – Appeals Process

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

Topic: Section 11 Appeal Denials

https://bcombudsperson.ca/case_summary/oh-tell-me-why/

Topic: Medical Exclusion & Appeal Process

https://bcombudsperson.ca/case_summary/transparency-helps/

Topic: Communication during suspension & Medical Exclusion

https://bcombudsperson.ca/case_summary/not-making-the-grade/

Topic: Appeal Process and Advocates Involved

https://bcombudsperson.ca/case_summary/advocates-allowed/

Topic: International Student Fees

https://bcombudsperson.ca/case_summary/overlooking-key-information/

Topic: District Catchment Boundary Policy and Communication

https://bcombudsperson.ca/case_summary/a-lesson-learned/