When Exclusion Becomes Normal: Why Schools Must Do More for Students with Disabilities

When Exclusion Becomes Normal: Why Schools Must Do More for Students with Disabilities

Do you ever have conversations that haunt you? Where you play what the other person said on a loop in your mind, to the point it becomes a sore you can’t stop picking?

I recently had one of those conversations. A conversation where the person made a flippant remark that hit me hard. A conversation where I wished I had called out the comment instead of letting its audacity blindside me.

The conversation was about a high school student and the subtle, and not so subtle, ways they have been bullied and excluded by their classmates over the years. Going beyond the name calling and talking about this student behind their back, they’ve also had students throw garbage on them and film them during a medical episode, accuse them of faking their disability (which includes the use of a wheelchair), locking them in a classroom, and more.

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Pink Shirt Day Ignores High Bullying Risk for Diverse Learners

Pink Shirt Day Ignores High Bullying Risk for Diverse Learners

February 23 is Pink Shirt Day and February is also Kindness month. Both get lots of coverage at schools and in the media. The growing awareness of Pink Shirt Day has shone a spotlight on bullying. But has it moved the needle in preventing bullying?

Not for diverse learners and kids with disabilities. While these students are most likely to be bullied, Pink Shirt Day ignores their high bullying risk.

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Why I Want to Break Up with Public Education (and can’t)

Why I Want to Break Up with Public Education (and can’t)

Having one child in a public school and another in a private school wasn’t an easy decision. But it was a decision made based on keeping my child safe, and removing artificial barriers to their success. I will continue to advocate for the needs of my child remaining in public education, while sleeping better knowing my other child is finally in a safe and nurturing environment.

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