Burying the Evidence: Why Schools are Refusing to Accept Private Assessments

Across this province, private assessments are being dismissed, minimized, or outright refused by schools.

At first, it seems baffling. Why would a school turn away a current, comprehensive assessment from a qualified professional?

The answer is as strategic as it is disturbing: it’s about legal liability.

By refusing to “accept” an assessment, schools claim they are not obligated to recognize the diagnosis, recommendations, or accommodations it contains. This attempts to keep those supports off the IEP, reduces their formal obligations, and shields them from accountability when they fail to implement professional recommendations.

But the harm begins even earlier. From the very start, schools send parents the message that without an assessment and without a formal diagnosis, support will be minimal or nonexistent. This is not only misleading, but it also ignores the legal duty schools carry. Under the BC Human Rights Code, students are protected even if they are only perceived to have a disability. The law requires schools to provide accommodations and to actively inquire when a disability is suspected, rather than waiting for parents to deliver a formal report. Yet families, desperate for help, are too often led to believe that paying out of pocket for an assessment is their only option, while schools overlook their responsibility to identify needs and act.

The stark reality is that public assessment wait times stretch months or even years. For families watching their child fall further and further behind, that is time they do not have. So some parents, those with the resources to do so, spend thousands on private assessments, believing it will fast-track supports. Instead, they are told the school will not accept the assessment they obtained.

Most parents enter the process trusting their school to be supportive, transparent, and focused on their child’s education. In reality, what is often being prioritized is the school’s protection from legal risk. And children’s education? That becomes collateral damage.

Here’s what families must understand: whether or not a school “accepts” an assessment, it still carries the full weight of human rights protection. A professional diagnosis and documented recommendations establish a protected characteristic under the law. If a school fails to provide reasonable accommodations, that can form the basis of a human rights complaint. Refusing to acknowledge an assessment on paper does not erase a school’s legal duty. It only hides the truth from families who do not yet know their rights and delays the very support children need to survive and thrive.

Even while waiting for an assessment, students are protected against discrimination. Schools are obligated to remove barriers and ensure every student can access their education. Long wait times may be a reality, but they should not be an excuse for a lack of support. The harm done while children wait cannot be undone.

This is a systemic denial of rights. It pushes children further behind. It increases distress. It drives students out of school. Some never recover. Lost years in education are not easily regained. Exclusion shapes identity. It shapes self-worth. It leaves scars for life.

We have to name this for what it is. Discrimination.

The law is clear: students with disabilities are entitled to the accommodations they need to access education.

Anything less is harm.

Anything less is a violation of human rights.