Parent. Advocacy. Tribunal. Help (PATH)
Navigating external complaint systems in the K-12 education systems for systemic change and accountability.
Rights-based advocacy for children with disabilities and neurodivergent children.
Your internal school advocacy process is important and will impact the next steps of the external complaint systems.
All complaint systems are like silos, each with its own process and connection to different legislation. It is important to know which complaint system will be connected to which issue. Often there are multiple options.
External Complaint Options
Teachers’ Regulation Branch – Teachers’ Complaint (Principal & District staff too)
BC Human Rights Tribunal – Human Rights Complaint
Ombudsperson BC – Fairness/Policy Complaint
Office of Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) – Data and Privacy Complaint
MLA
Media
Understanding the Duty to Accommodate and using rights-based language can be the very tool that may ensure you will not need to navigate these systems.
Children with disabilities are protected under the Human Rights Code.
Mission
My mission is to empower parents/caregivers with knowledge so you feel more confident and informed when making decisions while navigating or considering to navigate any of the external complaint systems. What I offer is a Sunday brunch style of information, and it is up to you to reflect on your own family’s needs, resources and capacity to decide what to select from those brunch items to put on your plate.
What I don’t do
I do not do direct 1:1 internal school advocacy. That means I don’t review emails before you send them out or attend school meetings. I do not provide feedback or comments on Individual Education Plans or if accommoations are appropriate or not. If you are looking for those services, I suggest you find a school advocate on my help directory list.
Method
I don’t fish for you; I teach you how to fish.
Delivery
For those who want to move beyond what is written on my website to talk about any of this content or your individual circumstances, I do offer consultation services. We can email, talk on the phone, or do online virtual consultation sessions. How you want to communicate is up to you.
Location
My focus is in British Columbia, Canada. For parents who are in other provinces in Canada, feel free to reach out. Some of the details will be a bit different, but there is a lot of information I can provide you that parents find very helpful. I do not offer consulting services outside of Canada.