Blog
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Exclusion Tracker Expands Nationally
Family Support Institute has put out a press release about the exclusion tracker expanding across Canada. “Exclusion of children with disabilities is a national crisis, and the Exclusion Tracker is a tool to ensure every child can belong in school,” said Dr. Gordon Porter, Executive Director, Inclusive Education Canada.” “The provincial Tracker has been cited by the BC Ombudsperson, as well as by Canadian researchers in the Civil Society Parallel Report for Canada to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities Committee (UN CRPD). Now, the Tracker’s national rollout—and the first childcare exclusion tracker of its…
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Rights-Based Advocacy in Education
BCEdAccess is a fully volunteer-run non-profit organization. We are a rights-based organization. Our mission is to ensure that all children with disabilities and diverse abilities have access to an equitable education. We do this by empowering, educating and supporting their parent(s)/guardians in advocating in the public education system. We have a parent(s)/guardian peer support group that has over 6,500 members. We provide information and support to families, as well as advocating for systemic change. We are in a chronically underfunded school system. Resources are spread very thin. We will need human rights law now more than ever to ensure our…
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Parent Advocacy Letter to the Ministry of Education and Child Care
I have heard from people in positions of power that if people don’t complain, the system assumes everything is fine. If people are not happy, they are certain they will hear about it. Well, the education system is not fine. By making our stories and experiences known to those in positions of power, it can make our experience count. Otherwise, to the system, it’s like it never happened. The Ombudsperson investigation into exclusion is an example of how filing complaints is a form of advocacy. Writing letters to the Ministry of Education and Child Care can be very powerful. We…
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June – the Month of Exclusion
We are coming up to the final month of the school year, June. June is a well-known month in our community as exclusion skyrockets. Countless parents and guardians receive last-minute phone calls or emails telling them that the school cannot support their child, or that it is in the best interest of their child not to join their class on the field trip. June has a celebratory feel to it. With warmer weather, classes are heading outside more often to benefit from outdoor learning. Students are excited and looking forward to sports day activities, class field trips, overnight camps, and…
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EAs Are Essential for Equitable Education
The education system is in critical condition. After decades of chronic underfunding and COVID, we still haven’t recovered. The lower-hanging fruit on the tree was picked years ago. There is nothing left. So now we need to go deeper into – and higher up into – the tree. What does that actually mean? What does that look like day to day? It means districts are closing programs that support equitable learning for children who are neurodivergent, like CORE in Vancouver, MACC in Burnaby, learning centres in Surrey, etc. It also means education assistants (EAs) who are retiring or leaving are…
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Scarcity in Education = Harmful Work & Learning Environments
Our education has been chronically underfunded by our provincial government for decades. There are multiple points of impact. “According to that 2021 data, BC allocates just 3 percent of its GPP to K-12 education, while Manitoba allocates 4.9 percent, Nova Scotia 4.4 percent, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island 4.2 percent, Quebec 4.1 percent, New Brunswick 4 percent, Ontario 3.8 percent and Alberta 3.3 percent. This smaller percentage means BC school boards have less funding available for student support and to provide up-to-date, adequate and safe school buildings.” As stated by Patti Bacchus in her article for CCPA Feb 5th, 2025. Beyond the…
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In the Media
The Tyee, wrote an article that was posted today April 8th, 2025. BCEdAccess was invited to weigh in on a subject that parents have been struggling to see changes in from school districts across this province, with previous suggestions for changes in the survey often being ignored or justified to parents. We thank the parents who contact The Tyee. It was time to bring this issue out into the public. “Ranking spending decisions for children with disabilities and diverse abilities against infrastructure maintenance in a public voting system is offensive and should not be socially acceptable,” wrote Kim Block, chair…
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BCEdAccess Extends their Gratitude to the BCSTA
On March 18th the BC School Trustee Association released a new resource guide. This is the first of its kind. From the BCSTA website: “[Vancouver, BC – March 18, 2025] – The BC School Trustees Association (BCSTA) is pleased to announce the release of its report, Improving Student Outcomes: For Students with Disabilities and Diverse Abilities, developed by the BCSTA’s Inclusion and Accessibility Working Group. This report is an essential tool in educating school boards about inclusive education, providing critical insights into the current challenges and opportunities in supporting students with disabilities and diverse abilities.” This is a big deal. It’s not just…
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Lived Experience as Evidence of Systemic Neglect
The parents who are part of our BCEd Access community are all wanting an equitable education for their children. Our goals are just like all parents. We all want our kids to learn, play and thrive at a school with their peers, just like everyone else. The report that was released on January 29th at 11 am by the Office of The Representatives for Children and Youth, exposes the reality that our families are facing. This report should be shocking to society, but it is not shocking to us. Our Facebook group is a space where parents post questions and…
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Investigation by Ombudsperson BC – Exclusion
BC Ed Access is deeply appreciative of the announcement made by the Office of the Ombudsperson BC today. This is hope. A piece of the puzzle, that offers hope of awareness. The investigation is questioning whether the exclusions of students with disabilities were “fair”. With a public report to come. Judith Heumann, the late disability activist has said “Change never happens at the pace we think it should. It happens over years of people joining together, strategizing, sharing and pulling all the levers they possibly can. Gradually, excruciating slowly, things start to happen, and then suddenly, seemingly out of the…
