Advocating for your child at school can feel like being a hamster on a wheel. You are very busy but getting nowhere.
Filing external complaints has the potential of getting yourself off the hamster wheel and is also a form of systemic advocacy. By entering external complaint systems, you become part of the data collection and potential new case law and other decisions that are posted publicly. They can help shape, move the needle, and inform us of our rights. Complaints can be the ultimate form of protest.
Advocating through a rights-based approach is our strongest form of advocacy. This doesn’t mean by using rights-based advocacy you automatically must file a human rights complaint. Sometimes it is the very thing that helps you to avoid filing a human rights complaint.
Each complaint system is a silo. Different external complaint systems only resolve certain issues, and are connected to their own laws or policies. There are different time constraints for different systems. I offer you all of the tips and information of my lived experience in how to navigate these external complaint systems. I have been testing the fence in all of these systems and pushing boundaries just by advocating to the fullest.
(British Columbia, Canada)
My mission is to empower families with the knowledge and tools to navigate external complaint systems in education.
As a parent or guardian, we will always be our child’s best advocate. My role is not to advocate for you. I provide you with my knowledge of these systems so that you can then take this information and apply it to your own family. You know your family best. Your resources, you strengths and your limitations.
Let me put it like this…you are the one who is fishing. I don’t fish for you. I provide you information and support so you are better off and are more likely to succeed in your fishing.
Nothing in life is guaranteed. I can’t guarantee you success. These systems are complex. What I can offer you is what I would have wished for myself. I would have LOVED someone to sit in front of me and tell me everything I can tell you. It would have saved me so much pain and made these processes so much easier and less stressful to know all of this in advance. There is information about these systems I just cannot post publicly.
This is my goal. I want to make this easier for other people. Navigating external complaint systems have the opportunity for accountability, and change that advocating internally may not provide. When hitting the brick wall, external complaint systems have the potential of knocking it down.
Offering a 1:1 timeslot to sit with me and discuss all of the options.
First 30 min of consultation is free. $40 for 50 minutes.
If finances are a barrier, please email me and I will remove that barrier.
Understanding the Duty to Accommodate is key to a rights-based advocacy.
The power of the Human Rights Code is our strongest source of advocacy. I have broken it down into 6 parts, under the Education Law tab - Duty to Accommodate.
Check out my GET HELP page with links to school advocacy coaches, non-profit organization direct support, lawyer referral links and more!
Explore resources and information on key aspects of education law, including student rights, key human rights decisions, and the legal responsibilities of schools.
My mission is to provide comprehensive support, information and options for parents navigating the complexities of the education system. Seeking accountability in the education system and an equitable education system.
