School Excluding Child with Disability in Newfoundland: Shortened Days and Illegal Exclusions

One of the most common—and legally suspect—practices in NL schools dealing with complex student needs is the informal shortened school day. A parent receives a call at 11 am asking them to pick up their child "because today is a hard day." This happens once. Then twice a week. Then becomes the expectation. The school has never formally notified the parent of a schedule change, produced a written plan, or used the phrase "shortened school day." It just happens.

This pattern can amount to informal exclusion and raises serious educational-access and accommodation concerns.

Section 3 and the Right to Education

Section 3 of the Schools Act, 1997 guarantees the fundamental right of access to public education for all students. This is not qualified by complexity of need, severity of disability, or availability of staff.

The NL Human Rights Act, 2010 reinforces this: school boards have a duty to accommodate students with disabilities to the point of undue hardship. Sending a child home because "it's been a hard day" may be a failure to accommodate, depending on the facts and the supports considered.

If a child's school day is reduced, ask for a formal, documented plan that includes:

• A specific behavioral or medical rationale
• A time-limited reduction with a reintegration plan
• Written notification to the parent
• A documented review timeline

...Without those elements, the arrangement is vulnerable to challenge.

What "Exclusion" Actually Looks Like in NL Schools

Exclusion takes several forms, some more obvious than others:

Formal shortened school day: The school explicitly reduces a student's instructional hours, often citing "the student's needs cannot be safely met for a full day." If this is done without a formal written plan and documentation of alternatives explored, it may raise duty-to-accommodate concerns.

Informal early pickups: Parents are repeatedly called to collect their child mid-morning or mid-afternoon due to behavioral episodes. No formal shortened day is documented, but the pattern functionally removes the child from education.

In-school exclusion: A student is isolated in an office, hallway, or "calming room" for extended periods as a routine management strategy rather than a genuine behavioral intervention. Time spent excluded from instruction counts against their educational access.

Suspension without behavioral support: A student is repeatedly suspended for behaviors related to a disability, without any formal Behaviour Management Plan or Functional Behaviour Assessment where one is needed. In this situation, the suspension may raise discrimination and accommodation concerns.

The Role of a Behaviour Management Plan and FBA

When a student's behavior is the reason for exclusion or shortened days, the school may need to develop a Behaviour Management Plan (BMP) informed by a Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA), depending on the student's documented needs and applicable framework.

An FBA is not a behavioral punishment. It is an analytical process that identifies:

• What triggers the behavior (antecedents)
• What function the behavior serves for the student (communication? sensory regulation? avoidance?)
• What environmental modifications would reduce the behavior

A BMP built on an FBA should include specific preventative strategies and environmental modifications—not just reactive consequences. A school that is sending a child home repeatedly without considering whether an FBA and BMP are needed has a serious support gap to document and challenge.

Request in writing that the school provide:

1. The completed FBA documentation
2. The current Behaviour Management Plan
3. Documentation of what supports are in place to prevent the behaviors that trigger early pickups

If these documents don't exist, the school is sending your child home without a plan—which is exactly what you are entitled to challenge.

How to Challenge Informal Exclusion Formally

Step 1: Document the pattern. Record every early pickup call: the date, time, stated reason, and who called. This builds the factual record.

Step 2: Send a formal written request. Write to the principal asking for:

• Written confirmation of your child's official school day hours
• Any documentation of a formal shortened school day arrangement (if no such arrangement exists, they must confirm your child is expected for a full day)
• The current FBA and BMP documentation

Step 3: Invoke the legal framework. If early pickups continue after your written request, send a formal letter to the principal and the Director of Schools citing:

• Section 3 of the Schools Act, 1997 (right of access to education)
• The duty to accommodate under the NL Human Rights Act, 2010
• Whether an FBA-informed BMP is needed before behavioral exclusion is implemented

Step 4: File a Section 22 appeal if the school does not respond with a concrete remediation plan. The formal written appeal to the CEO/Director of Education must be filed within 15 days of the date you were informed of the decision being appealed. For an ongoing pattern, document each incident and seek advice promptly about which decision is being appealed.

Step 5: Contact the OCYA. The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate has a mandate to advocate for the rights and interests of young people interfacing with government systems. Exclusion cases—particularly when they affect students with disabilities—can be brought to the office for consideration.

A Note on Shortened Days and Jordan's Principle

For First Nations students in Labrador whose Student Assistant funding through Jordan's Principle has been reduced, recent reports describe students losing approved support, with some schools relying on inadequate provincial pools or sending children home. If a student requires support to access education safely and that support has been reduced, the school should address the gap and explain its accommodation position, including any claimed undue hardship, rather than treating a shortened day as the only response.

The Newfoundland & Labrador Special Ed Advocacy Playbook includes formal letter templates for challenging shortened school days and informal exclusions, FBA/BMP request language, and escalation guidance for when school administrators continue to bypass formal process.

See more Newfoundland and Labrador guides →