Start with the province’s inclusive education policy and your school district’s website. District documents may be listed under “Board of Education”, “Policies”, or “Administrative procedures”. Also check our Resources page.
If the school says a decision is required by policy, ask for a link or copy, the relevant section, and an explanation of how it applies to your child. You do not need to find every document yourself before asking for support.
What is the difference between a law, a policy, and a procedure?
Legislation and ministerial orders set legal requirements. Provincial and district policies set expectations and guide decisions. Administrative procedures explain how a district carries out particular tasks or responsibilities.
For example, the Individual Education Plan Order contains requirements about IEPs. Your district may also have procedures explaining who coordinates the process locally.
For more about the difference between law, policy, and a procedure, see Policy – “Soft Policing”
Which district documents might help?
Search using the issue you are trying to resolve. Useful terms may include inclusive education, learning support, IEPs, student safety, bullying, attendance, suspension, personal care, transportation, complaints, and appeals.
Check the document’s date and whether it has been replaced. If you cannot find it, ask the school or district office to provide the current version.
What if I am told “that is our policy”?
Ask what the policy actually requires and what discretion it allows. A routine practice and a written requirement are not necessarily the same thing.
A general rule does not, by itself, answer whether your child needs disability-related accommodation. The BC Human Rights Tribunal explains that service providers, including schools, have a duty to take reasonable steps to accommodate protected needs. Ask how the school has considered your child’s individual barriers and possible accommodations.
Please send me the policy or procedure being relied on, identify the relevant section, and explain how it applies to this decision. Please also explain how my child’s disability-related needs have been considered and what support will be provided while this is being resolved.
Do I have to read all of this before raising a concern?
No. Start by describing what is happening, how it affects your child, and what needs attention. Policies can help you ask questions and check a response, but families and caregivers do not need to become policy experts before seeking help.
See Rights-based advocacy in education and Who should I contact when the school is not resolving the problem?
Policy is known as “soft policing”.
Kim Block, Parent Advocacy Tribunal Help
Policy is not law.
It is literally a group of people coming together and making stuff up. Sometimes policy is based on evidence, and sometimes it is not.
