Mom Is Very Involved: Defending our fundamental right to education
June 09, 2026
Collective accountability happens when we are brave enough to acknowledge our errors and
committed enough to fix them.
Mom Is Very Involved: Defending our
fundamental right to education.
Ontario schools cannot provide inclusive education if they disregard invisible disabilities and
underestimate the significance of the accommodations that help those individuals succeed.
Parents, caregivers, and professionals must learn how to advocate for and uphold the protected human right to education.
Educators must learn to practice in ways that connect them with their purpose for teaching while upholding these same rights. One cannot exist without the other.
My experiences as a professional, combined with my experience as a parent navigating the Ontario education system, have reinforced my belief in the importance of the relationships between adults and the youth whose outcomes they shape.
Unfortunately, we have lost our direction, and the way education is delivered in this province is being significantly affected.
Many are eager to discuss this issue, but few are willing to take action to bring about inclusive change, and even fewer are willing to listen to those who are victims of the system’s failures.
For these reasons, I developed my group.
But first, the path to graduation.
Learning from home continued throughout grade 12. While it was not an ideal arrangement and negatively impacted our well-being, it was the better option given the school’s poisoned environment.
Two of the teachers who attended our home to support this arrangement were incredible, and if every educator conducted themselves as they did, our schools would not be experiencing the challenges to the same degree that they are.
The teacher who was involved in the second semester of grade 12 was invaluable. When she was present, I stopped worrying, started breathing, and was able to step back from being a conscripted teacher.
I also want to acknowledge the principal and resource teacher of Grade 12. They were trying, and I noticed.
During this time, the role of the school board’s leadership in creating and maintaining a discriminatory and toxic culture within the learning environment grew more and more obvious.
Thankfully, we had a lawyer to help us overcome the obstacles they tossed at us.
I wish everyone had access to a lawyer, yet no one needed one.
What I had been learning about the Ontario Human Rights Code, along with thorough documentation from grade 9 onward, helped us in our discussions with legal. It also helped the firms assess whether we had grounds for a human rights claim.
While accessing personal information through the Freedom of Information (FOI) process is usually unnecessary, there are situations where it may be important to do so—especially if your case is complex or if you have reasons to believe you haven’t received the services and supports you are entitled to. This Act allows you to request and obtain information about yourself. Each school board in Ontario has a process to facilitate this.
With each of our FOI requests, except the last, I diligently reviewed the information and organized it chronologically alongside the documentation I had already gathered. This allowed me to accurately demonstrate that what was discussed in meetings was not being reflected in the school environment.
Furthermore, it showed that the actions taken—or not taken—were not in compliance with the Education Act or the Ontario Human Rights Code. It also allowed me to demonstrate when information was being used to mislead or manipulate the truth.
I haven’t read the documentation from the last FOI. Instead, I choose an act of self-kindness, as there’s no reason to think it’s different from the previous ones. Our lawyer has the file and will share it when necessary. Until then, I see no value in enduring more.
Remember my March 2026 blog? I shared that we had submitted a formal complaint to the school board’s Human Rights, Equity & Accessibility Commissioner.
While hopeful that the Commissioner would take our complaint seriously, we were no longer naive, and at this point, had begun consulting several lawyers specializing in human rights, disability rights, and education law.
ARCH Disability Law Centre was very helpful in this process, and I will be forever grateful for what I have learned and continue to learn from them. If you are not familiar with ARCH, please take some time to learn more about the valuable work they do to uphold the rights of Ontarians with disabilities.
The Human Rights, Equity & Accessibility Commissioner responded promptly to our complaint.
We had a single virtual meeting that lasted approximately 45 minutes. The Commissioner used this time to explain his role. We were asked a few clarifying questions. Aside from this meeting, we exchanged some emails, but little else was requested of us. A few months later, he concluded that no further action was necessary, as no violations had occurred.
None of the other lawyers, after consulting the same information, shared his perspective.
Despite the infinite value of our lawyer, I believe it is unreasonable to require one in high school.
What does the need for a lawyer say about our education system? What does it mean when families are forced to seek legal representation to advocate for accommodations and combat discrimination?
How can we expect to change the outcomes that all levels of our education system claim they want to improve if families have to spend thousands of dollars on legal fees?
We know that most families cannot afford to fight this fight, which is one of the reasons why the discrimination persists. Another reason is the cost and time required to file a human rights complaint with the Tribunal.
This past February marked the second anniversary of our formal complaint. In other words, we have spent thousands of dollars and have been waiting over two years to access a system designed to protect the rights we are supposedly born with in Canada.
I want to clarify that we chose this option after exhausting all processes at the school board level.
School boards are operating like a fortress, protected by a complex maze that makes accountability and conversation virtually impossible. Change will only happen through pressure outside of its walls.
So, what does this mean for us moving forward?
The past cannot be changed, but we can choose its meaning and how we apply the lessons learned from our experiences.
That’s why I decided to share what I’ve learned with other families facing similar challenges.
I am committed to confronting a discriminatory and outdated education system and helping one family at a time.
Together, we can recognize that we no longer need to accept claims that change is impossible or that all accommodation requirements have been met when they clearly have not been.
We do not have to be passive or submissive to this system.
We can communicate the truth assertively and respectfully, and we can choose not to tolerate unintentional or willful ignorance and discrimination.
We can choose to protect the right to education.
Many important issues are being overlooked in the current narrative, with few voices gaining meaningful attention.
We can change this; together.
What will you choose to do?
Your ADHD advocate,
Lynn