Are BC schools fair when asking students to stay home? We’re investigating.
In December 2024, we started an investigation to examine the circumstances in which BC’s public K-12 schools are asking or telling students not to attend school. We will assess whether those practices are fair for all students, especially those with diverse abilities who end up at home with little or no support or time with teachers and classmates.
We want to hear from you!
Please complete our questionnaire. It is confidential. It will take about 10 minutes.
Your input will help us understand what is happening in schools across BC.
It is important for our investigation to hear directly from students and their families.
This questionnaire is for all students and families of students who attend or have attended a BC K-12 school.
We recognize the hard work of professionals in our K-12 schools. It is important for our investigation to hear directly from you.
This questionnaire is for teachers, education assistants, principals and vice principals, speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, teachers of deaf and hard of hearing, physiotherapists, counsellors, nurses and others who work with students.
About our investigation
We are investigating the circumstances in which BC’s public K-12 schools are asking or telling students not to attend school. We will assess whether those practices are fair for all students, especially those with diverse abilities who end up at home with little or no support or time with teachers and classmates.
Students can be kept out of school in many ways. This can happen when schools formally suspend students or send them home for medical reasons under the School Act. But it can also happen when students are:
- asked to stay home/go home
- asked to leave early/arrive late/have shortened school days or modified schedules
- asked not to attend field trips or other school activities
- unable to attend school because of health/personal care support needs the school is unable to provide
- unable to attend school because of learning support needs the school is unable to provide
- not learning with the rest of their class
- isolated by themselves in the school, secluded and/or restrained
In some cases, these practices may be consistent with inclusive education. For example, a student may learn better at home because of their unique educational needs, or a school may be unable to accommodate a student in person because doing so would create undue hardship. Some students may be provided with equal access to education at home that is appropriate to their circumstances and needs. But in other cases, these practices might not be fair or consistent with inclusive education. We know that each student’s situation is different, and we want to hear about a wide range of experiences.
When we talk about “diverse abilities,” we mean students who have a wide range of needs, including:
- intellectual, physical, sensory, emotional or behavioural challenges
- learning disabilities
- exceptional gifts or talents
This definition comes from Ministerial Order 150/89.
We know that many of these students will have a Ministry-designated inclusive education category and an Individual Education Plan (IEP), but some will not.
