Skip to content

Parent. Advocacy. Tribunal. Help

Home
About Me
Services
Duty to Accommodate
Education Law
Legal Blogs
Contact

Author archives: Kim Block

Posted byKim BlockMay 18, 2024August 15, 2024Posted inBlog

PATH Parent Advocacy Tribunal Help

PATH Parent Advocacy Tribunal Help

Bluesky @kbpath.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/kbpath.bsky.social

P.A.T.H

parent.advocacy.tribunal.help

Human Rights. Education. K-12. Disability.

New Blog: Who Does Society Care About? This one is

New Blog: Who Does Society Care About?
This one is a little heavy with a load of links.
The disability focus for this blog is: ADHD & Dyslexia
https://www.speakingupbc.com/.../who-does-society-care.../
#Advocacy #Disability #ADHD #Dyslexia #HumanRights #DyslexiaBC #Education

We are heading into the time frame when districts

We are heading into the time frame when districts start posting their SOFIs. Statement of Financial Information.
This is the history of their spending and budget information from the previous school year. So posted soon will be the 2023-2024 (till June) school year. They should be posting these before the end of this year. December 31st, 2024.
Some of the most interesting things to look up, for me, are the expenses. I focus on their legal fees. There are about four different law firms in BC who I am aware of, who have been connected to education legal services. One way to know if its a law firm is that some of them will have LLP at the end of the name. You can take the name and plunk it into Google and see what company shows up. If anyone needs help in finding out what law firm is connected to their district, send me a PM. I'll help you look.
If their amounts were less than $25,000 then they don't need to post it. So they could very well be using legal services but it just hasn't reached the financial bar that they are required to post.
I have started tracking the amounts the districts have been spending in the lower mainland in the largest districts. I find it very interesting.
To find your district's SOFI it will be either under the Board of Education/Budget information. They should be listing all of their financial planning budgets and SOFI's in the same area.
You can also find out the salaries of the employees too. Anyone over $75,000 has their salary posted. Newspaper articles have been written in the past about how much senior district staff get paid. It's an interesting document to look through and see how our taxpayer dollars are spent.
#HumanRights #Education #Law #Advocacy

I went to a workshop on defamation that was lead b

I went to a workshop on defamation that was lead by a group of lawyers 2 years ago. It was very informative.
Defamation doesn't need to be on social media. It can be a statement you make to just one other person.
School district lawyers have in the past used the threat of defamation on parents when they are trying to control them.
Being knowledgable about this topic, I think is really important, so that you are aware of what your boundaries are.
I took notes from the workshop, which was free. Lawyers will do videos on topics for free. Especially the legal aid clinics.
Here are my notes.
https://www.speakingupbc.com/.../defamation-you-said-what/
#Education #Advocacy #HumanRights #Disability #Law

NEW BLOG: Name Them! You can decide to name your c

NEW BLOG: Name Them!
You can decide to name your child’s school district. If you are in an independent school, their name. There are reasons to consider identifying them.
School districts can hide behind anonymization and they will be less concerned about having your complaint proceed to a hearing.
Here are some thoughts to consider on whether to name them or not.
https://www.speakingupbc.com/2024/11/10/name-them/
#Advocacy #Disability #HumanRights #Law

Hello Everyone! I have been writing blogs since Ju

Hello Everyone!
I have been writing blogs since July 2021. As of Nov 2024 I have written over 100. Some are emotionally based and some are more legal. I have collected the legal blogs that have information that I think is important for parents advocacy in education.
Human Rights Law will supersede your child’s teacher’s classroom autonomy. Human Rights law is a very important and powerful tool.
I will be updating this page as I add more blogs and I have also linked the blogs that I have written about education human rights cases.
It also has links to information like the law society - how to file a complaint, instructions on how to look up case law, law videos, etc.
Here is the page. https://www.speakingupbc.com/legal-blogs/
#Advocacy #Education #HumanRights #Law #Disability

NEW BLOG: Why can't we just sue the government? I

NEW BLOG: Why can't we just sue the government?
I get asked this a lot. So, I decided to put this down into a blog.
https://www.speakingupbc.com/.../why-cant-we-just-sue.../
#HumanRights #Law #SocialMovement #Advocacy #DisabilityAwareness

Lawyers Code of Ethics I found this document an in

Lawyers Code of Ethics
I found this document an interesting read. This is from the Canadian Bar Association. This document is a keeper. Forever.
https://www.cba.org/.../Code-of.../codeOfConduct2009Eng.pdf
If you feel during the process of your human rights complaint or interacting with the school districts lawyers they are doing things that seem unethical to you, know that you have an avenue of complaint.
Here is the Law Society of BC. You can read up on the complaint process and what you can file a complaint for. https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/
A lot of professions have regulatory bodies that you can file a complaint with if they are behaving in unethical ways or breeching their professional standards.
You can file a complaint with the law society or you can file an improper conduct complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal. For those of you in other provinces, your own province will have their own but similar processes.
I thought it was interesting in this document that its part of lawyer ethics to encourage their clients to settle. Interesting...
#Advocacy #HumanRights #Education #Law

New BLOG: Top 10 Truths - My Learnings WOW! It's b

New BLOG: Top 10 Truths - My Learnings
WOW! It's been a long journey, and it's not over yet!!
https://www.speakingupbc.com/.../top-10-truths-my-learnings/
#Advocacy #Education #HumanRights #Truth

A big part of your rights-based advocacy work is g

A big part of your rights-based advocacy work is going to focus on removing barriers.
Barriers! Barriers! Barriers!
When we discuss equity, accessibility the human rights code and accessibility legislation it is ALLLL about removing barriers.
Therefore when we advocate for our kids, any advocacy grounded in rights-based advocacy is going to focus on barriers.
1. Human Rights Code
In X by Y v. Board of Education of School District No. Z, 2024 BCHRT 72
Not all negative experiences are discrimination.
[110] ….I accept that these incidents which X relayed to Y were upsetting to X. I appreciate that the interactions may have fed into X’s general feelings of unease at school, but the fact alone that these events may have happened is not enough, in itself, to establish that X’s disability factored into them. Not all negative experiences are discrimination. Even accepting that these incidents occurred, I did not hear evidence that could establish, on a balance of probabilities, that X’s disability was a factor in the conduct of the adults involved in these interactions.
The test, is whether barriers have been reasonably removed.
[142] Y has said that the learning support provided throughout X’s education has not been enough for X to “reach the same level as his peers or possibly excel”. The District’s obligation is reasonable not perfect accommodation. As I have said above, reasonable accommodation is not necessarily measured by whether a student is meeting or exceeding certain standardized learning goals but rather by whether barriers have been removed to provide meaningful access to education.
2. Also, accessibility legislation THE ACCESSIBLE BC ACT
Barriers
2 (1)For the purposes of this Act, a barrier is anything that hinders the full and equal participation in society of a person with an impairment.
(2)For certainty and without limiting subsection (1), barriers can be
(a)caused by environments, attitudes, practices, policies, information, communications or technologies, and
(b)affected by intersecting forms of discrimination.

Fore more... read

https://www.speakingupbc.com/2024/09/03/barriers-barriers-barriers/

There is advocacy help out there!! I don't provide

There is advocacy help out there!!
I don't provide advocacy services for families, I do provide information and resources. However, if you would like individual advocacy support, there is help out there.
I have an advocacy help directory. https://www.speakingupbc.com/advocate-help/
In addition to Human Rights Complaints advice, there is the BC Human Rights Clinic.
https://bchrc.net/
They have 30-minute time slots for advice with a legal advocate or lawyer. You can also email or call them with your inquiries, and they have education workshops throughout the year. You can also apply for individual consultation with a lawyer, and sometimes they will offer pro bono lawyer services.
BC Ombudsperson also has online webinar videos. Also, by filing an Ombudsperson complaint, they can offer early resolution options where they can help you resolve your administrative issues. https://bcombudsperson.ca/online-training-and-webinars
This resource may be helpful to some of you. How to Complain Effectively. https://youtu.be/rsf7wb66Grs
The BC Human Rights Tribunal also has a list of legal help organizations you can contact if you are looking for info, resources or pro bono lawyer services. https://www.bchrt.bc.ca/whocanhelp/
You don't need to do this alone. There are support groups, private businesses and organizations that may be able to help you.
#Advocacy #Disability #HumanRights

Something to keep in mind... You can always contac

Something to keep in mind...
You can always contact your MLA about your concerns regarding your child's education.
Part of their role is listening to their constituents (you) and their concerns. If no one tells them what is happening in education, how will they know?
On this government website https://members.leg.bc.ca/.../work-of-an-mla/role-of-an-mla/
They explain their role:
"Representative
Members meet regularly with constituents and attend community meetings and events. Constituency offices assist British Columbians who have questions or concerns about provincial programs, policies, and benefits. Members may also contact ministers or ministry officials about policies and programs affecting individual British Columbians.
There are also opportunities for Members to raise constituent perspectives and concerns in the Legislative Assembly during debates and by making statements or presenting petitions, and by asking government to act on issues affecting their residents of their electoral district or the province."
They can also be another source and avenue to advocate for the issues in education.
When you meet with them, I suggest you go prepared with an ask. Do you want something specific from them? Or, if you don't have an ask, asking them how they can possibly help is a fair question.
#Advocacy #Education #Disability

This is a new decision from the Teacher's Regulati

This is a new decision from the Teacher's Regulation Branch.

We get so little decisions out of them, that when they do release these things I hang on to them.

There is one part of this complaint that I think may be helpful for people.

Here is a section of the complaint:

************

Case 01
5. During the 2021-2022 school year, the following events occurred while Schwarz was employed as a teacher in a learning support program at School A, working with a small group of upper elementary school students (“Class A”):

a. Schwarz failed to properly follow procedures for students’ individual education plans (“IEPs”):

i. IEPs must be reviewed annually to reflect individualized goals, adaptations,
modifications, services and measures for tracking progress. Teachers must
offer parents an opportunity to consult about their child’s IEP.

ii. Schwarz failed to plan appropriately for the fall 2021 IEP deadlines and
only updated the students’ pictures and changed the name of the responsible
teacher to her own name, before submitting the IEPs to the School principal.
Schwarz did not make changes to the substance of her students’ IEPs and
did not appropriately consult with parents regarding the IEPs.

************

The fact that this showed up as part of a teacher's regulation decision is actually pretty significant.

Parents can actually print this off when they attend meetings at a school and show this as evidence that the Ministry of Education and Child Care is denouncing this kind of behaviour by putting it in a decision. This is not OK.

Parents complain about this, that their kids IEPs haven't been updated over a year and that they are either being told not to come or they aren't being contacted for IEP meetings.

Another advocacy tool.

#Advocacy #Disability #IEP #HumanRights

They are publically stating to teachers - don't do this!

Here is the decision in full. There is quite a list of things that this teacher did.

https://teacherregulation.gov.bc.ca/.../SCHWARZ_CRA...

Keep going, parents/guardians.

We are getting additional documentation from the TRB, the HRT and OIPC as the years move along that are powerful advocacy tools.

#Advocacy #HumanRights #Education

NEW BLOG “this family needed help beyond what I

NEW BLOG

“this family needed help beyond what I’m trained for” (para 58)
This was a statement by made by the Acting VP in a human rights decision.

X by Y v. Board of Education of School District No. Z, 2024 BCHRT 72

[58] Y asked the Acting VP in cross examination how the break from the classroom would have been restorative for X had it happened at home. The Acting VP replied that “Mom knows best”, noting that X was “totally dysregulated”, placed in a challenging classroom, and needed space. The Acting VP said that X spoke a lot about his Dad during this time, and how he missed him. He observed, “this family needed help beyond what I’m trained for.”

This has me asking…

What are educational staff trained for?

AND

When professionals, such as occupational therapists (OT), psychologists, or speech-language pathologists, make recommendations, why are some parents having issues with getting these recommendations placed in their child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP)?

Read the rest: https://www.speakingupbc.com/2024/10/15/this-family-needed-help-beyond-what-im-trained-for-para-58/

Many people hesitate to move forward with external

Many people hesitate to move forward with external complaints due to fear of retaliation.
So, let's break this down.
Human Rights Tribunal - YES - has retaliation protection built into its process. If you feel you are being retaliated against, you can file for that separately. https://www.bchrt.bc.ca/human-rights-duties/retaliation/
Because this protection is built in the process, school districts already know they cannot do anything that may make it appear that they are retaliating against you. You may even feel a safety bubble has built around you a bit because you are in the complaint process.
Omubdserpson - YES - has retaliation protection built into its process. Section 16 under the Ombudsperson Act. https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/.../comp.../statreg/96340_01...
The same thing applies. Because this is built into the act, schools already know this. If you are an employee and your child is in the district, there is an extra layer of retaliation protection as Ombudsperson has a whole section on reprisal. https://bcombudsperson.ca/public.../how-to-report-reprisal/
Teachers Regulation Branch - MAYBE - has some what protection, but its' not built into its process. The TRB says, that if you experience retalation you can file another complaint on the retaliation. This isn't written anywhere, so not really sure how well this is known among teachers but they have posted a retaliation complaint. So, they do have a process, its just not obvious or maybe well known.
Everyone's experience and the context of their situation is different. Some people wait till the school year is over and then they file the TRB complaint. There isn't a time limit for the TRB. You have a year to submit your human rights complaints. Some people feel more comfortable waiting. For other people, they notice that by filing complaints, the school districts sit up straighter and are more cautious around them, and it's actually helpful. It all depends.

Privacy vs. Access to Information - Where is the l

Privacy vs. Access to Information - Where is the line?
This is a challenge for many many parents. Getting information from the school about what happened about a certain incident, or trying to figure out how in the world this hot mess occurred can be close to near impossible. Or it certainly feels near impossible. They will be guarding this information as if their life depended on it. And we'll be fighting for it as if our child's life depends on it.
So you have submitted a Freedom of Information request but you feel they are withholding information, or there is so much redacted information on a page that the content you can read is useless.
What do you do?
File an OIPC complaint. That is the Office of Information and Privacy Commissioner. https://www.oipc.bc.ca/for-the-public/
They can review your file and may be able to assist you. You may also have the opportunity to take your case to an adjudicator, who will decide what you have access to. That route has been successful for parents in the past.
To read the cases that get posted publicly (but no names are used) you can read it here https://www.speakingupbc.com/oipc-orders-in-education/
Unfortunately, this process can be long.
Now, here is the inside scoop.
The Human Rights Tribunal process has stronger teeth in getting documents and redacting everything. But you will need to move past the mediation meeting to get to the document disclosure process in order to make applications for documents. So there are definite pros and cons to that.
Privacy is a big topic in education. Confidentiality of other students etc. It can be overused sometimes. They can feel that if they toss around words of confidentiality and privacy you'll back off. The only way to know if they are truly correct is to file an OIPC complaint.
There are also issues with the schools breaching your privacy or your child's privacy and disclosing information to other people that they shouldn't have. If you look on the OIPC list that l linked above, find this case F24-30 April 15th, 2024 – School District Coquitlam and that was what this parent was dealing with.

Student (By Parent) v. School District, 2023 BCHRT

Student (By Parent) v. School District, 2023 BCHRT 237
This case and human rights complaint was for the period of her grade 8 and start of grade 9 year. She didn't have a designation or IEP at the time.
[7] In this case, there is no dispute that the Student has disabilities, namely generalized anxiety disorder accompanied by trichotillomania (hair pulling). She is protected under s. 8 of the Human Rights Code from discrimination in her education. This complaint is about the Parent’s allegation that the symptoms of the Student’s disabilities were exacerbated in grades 8 and 9 because of her experience in Language 10 and Language 11, and that the District failed to accommodate her disability-related needs in those classes.
It wasn't until later that she was designated and her IEP set up in grade 11.
[59] This ends the period of this complaint. However, it is important to note that, in the Student’s grade 11 year, the school developed an individual education plan, or IEP, for her. This IEP set out the Student’s strengths, learning preferences, and goals. It identified specific supports for the Student, including flexible due dates, ensuring the Student was not put on the spot in class, reducing workload whenever possible, providing a quiet learning environment, and frequent teacher check ins. It also established that the Student would meet bi-monthly with the school counsellor to work on her goals. The Student’s grade 11 counsellor explains that she saw the IEP as a way to reduce the burden on the Parent and to support the Student to advocate for herself. From the Parent’s perspective, this was a welcome development that should have been done much sooner.
** Even without a designation at the time, she is still protected under the Human Rights Code.
It is even shown in the recent daycare case that a child can be protected when they have a PERCEIVED disability, pre-diagnosis. https://www.speakingupbc.com/.../daycare-termination-and.../
For a summary with key highlights of the case Student (by Parent) v School District:
https://www.speakingupbc.com/meaningful-inquiry-anxiety.../
For the full case:
https://www.canlii.org/.../2023bchrt237/2023

When district staff or lawyers of the school distr

When district staff or lawyers of the school district are telling you that your advocacy channels are "inappropriate", know that you are probably onto something.
They are trying to persuade you from doing that again, or asking those questions. There is reason behind this.
They are trying to shame you. Make you feel bad for contacting the Ministry of Education, for filing that human rights complaint, from asking those questions, or sending in a Freedom of Information Request for those documents. Like sheep dogs, they are trying to herd you in the direction they want you moving in.
Take the "inappropriate" label as a sign that you are probably heading down the right path. Whenever I got those emails, I would think.... good job Kim, you are heading down the right path. Keep going. And you know what.... I was! I found out all sorts of good evidence.
Just pay attention to the language they use with you.
It can be very revealing.
#HumanRights #Advocacy #Education

This is the BC Human Rights Code. This is why hum

This is the BC Human Rights Code.
This is why human rights law is our strongest form of advocacy.
It doesn't matter what the school policies are or policies from the Ministry of Education and Child Care.
The Human Rights Code supersedes everything.
It superseded all laws.
Human rights-based advocacy is our sword and our shield.
Here is my full blog with all the details.
https://www.speakingupbc.com/.../the-bc-human-rights.../
#Education #Advocacy #HumanRights #Disability

NEW BLOG: "You can run on anger" “Anger is a mot

NEW BLOG: "You can run on anger"
“Anger is a motivator“
“You can’t run on anything else“
“You can run on anger“
“It doesn’t need to be fed“
“It doesn’t need to sleep“
“You want to get something done,
Get good and angry“
- Into the Fire (Netflix, Sept, 2024)
https://www.speakingupbc.com/.../09/28/you-can-run-on-anger/
#HumanRights #Education #SocialMovement #SocialJustice #SystemsChange #Advocacy

Load More Follow on Instagram

P.A.T.H, Proudly powered by WordPress.