Blog
-
March back in after spring break
For families of children with disabilities and complex needs, spring break is rarely a break. It is two weeks in which the school layer is stripped away and you are left with what is actually happening: your child’s needs, your capacity, and the gap between the two that school was supposedly bridging. The equinox passed recently, and with it a cascade of thresholds: Nowruz, Eid al-Fitr, the tilting of the hemisphere toward longer light. Spring, in almost every tradition, is supposed to mean renewal. For many of our families, it means something harder. What the break reveals Different families come…
-
The Mother of all Battles
This is a blog about topics that people write large books about. Patriarchy, motherhood, disability, economy, and oppression. All of these topics intersect when we talk about employment —specifically, when it’s mostly women giving up their jobs to fill a gap in government support. All of their stories show a pattern of a single story. “I work in healthcare and hold a master’s degree and currently only work part-time so I can support my child, whose lack of inclusion and supports in middle school makes attending school a significant daily hurdle” – Anonymous How is it that our education system…
-
An Open Letter to Trustees and Advocates in the BC Public School System in Advance of the Upcoming Budget Season
NOTE: This guest blog is written by a fellow parent, advocate and member of BCEdAccess. THANK YOU!! Dear Trustees and Fellow Advocates, We’ve all been told that participation in the district’s budget process is a great way to advocate for more support for students with disabilities, but what exactly does that mean and how can we do that in a meaningful way? As we approach the upcoming budget season, I want to share with you some things I have learned and observed over the past few years while I’ve been following the BC Education system budget process. These observations are…
-
Year in Review – A Collective Scream
While we are nearing the end of 2025, we are still not even halfway through the 2025-2026 school year. In the upcoming year, it won’t be long until we reach spring, and there will be even more talks on how to cut from the budget, which has already been cut so much. For this blog, we wanted to focus on the voices and experiences of our community. Your labour, advocacy and contributions that push for change. Here are parent testimonials from our previous 3 community blogs from 2025, along with additional testimonials and wishes for the education system. To read…
-
Attitudinal Barriers to Equity
There is one key belief system in the general public that people with disabilities have to navigate. Deep down, the general public believes that accommodations are a form of cheating. That we are lying. We are often not believed. This goes beyond just the education system. This involves health care, employment, etc. The underlying belief is that we are getting away with something. We are taking advantage of them or the system. To fight us and our wrongdoing, they must catch us in our lies. “But, you didn’t need this last time.” Like it’s some gotcha moment. I am a…
-
Our Consultation on the Room Clear Tracker
There have been a lot of really important discussions happening on social media, outside of our parent and caregiver Facebook group as well as inside our group. Our first blog on this topic is called Moving the Needle – Needing Change in Education. We were asking for people to share with us their thoughts and concerns about this tracker. Here is a summary of the concerns parents are raising. Some parents were willing to provide their own statements to contribute to this blog. They are below the summary. One of the top concerns we are hearing related to this tracker…
-
Moving the Needle – Needing Change in Education
There has been a lot of discussion about the Room Clear Tracker that was created by the Surrey District Parent Advisory Committee. A lot of disability advocates and parents/caregivers have been digesting the idea and sharing their opinions online. There is a mix of feelings. Very valid concerns and hope for change. It hasn’t been sitting well with a lot of people. Others are hopeful. When we want to create social change, there is never one right way of doing it. We have no manual. As long as we are constantly trying to push the line and create change, we…
-
Is this Systemic Oppression or Systemic Abuse?
Trigger warning: Children’s Self-harm, mental and emotional distress. The division of resources in society is a political decision. When resources become scarce in education, students with disabilities and diverse abilities are severely impacted. Impacts that last a lifetime. The Ministry of Education and Child Care has the obligation to provide every child with a quality, equitable education. They defer this responsibility to school districts. School districts blame the Ministry for not providing them with the funding, policy structure, employment agreements and resources to be able to deliver quality, equitable education to all students. School districts are incredibly underfunded. Children with…
-
Failure by Design – School Start up
School has been back in session for almost three weeks. We put out a call in our Facebook group for people to come forward and tell the public what is really going on inside schools. These stories are very upsetting. We have a school system in BC that is designed to fail students with disabilities and diverse abilities. Which is heartbreaking, as it doesn’t need to be designed this way. We can change it. The government needs a good dose of Whitney Houston, Can we blast this song from all of the schools? “I believe the children are our are…
