Know Your Board Initiative
What I Heard from Parents:
In conversation after conversation this campaign, parents told me some version of the same thing: they didn't know their child could have an IEP without a formal identification process. They didn't know who to call when a concern with a teacher or administrator went nowhere. They found out how the system worked only after they were already stuck in it.
What I’ll Do:
KPR isn't starting from zero. The board has a Student and Family Support Office and a published escalation flowchart for exactly this kind of concern. The problem isn't that KPR has nothing, it's that parents have to already know these resources exist before they can use them. Right now, the board waits for parents to find it. That should be the other way around.
Other Ontario boards have already solved this. TDSB and the Waterloo Region District School Board both run regular, structured parent education sessions on navigating special education; the IEP process, what to expect at meetings, how to advocate effectively; often delivered through their Special Education Advisory Committees. This isn't an experiment; it's a practice that's already working elsewhere in the province.
If elected, I'll bring forward a motion to expand the mandate of KPR's Parent Involvement Committee; working alongside the Special Education Advisory Committee; to deliver the same kind of regular public sessions here, built directly on top of the Support Office and escalation resources KPR already has. Instead of asking parents to track down a flowchart on their own after months of frustration, the board brings that information to them, proactively, before they need it in a crisis.
Topics
Proposed Starting Topics
The IEP process: how it actually works at KPR, and what to ask for
When a formal IPRC is and isn't necessary
Escalation: who to talk to, in what order, and what each level can actually do
Mental health supports and how to access them
Understanding the board budget and where special education funding comes from
What a trustee can and can't do so you know who to call