Bandwidth taxation describes a form of institutional violence that leaves no visible bruises. It operates not through explicit denial but through relentless demand—stealing time, focus, and emotional energy from those least resourced to give it. Every form to complete, every voicemail to chase, every meeting to decode is a withdrawal from the finite account of human bandwidth. And in schools, that account is overdrawn daily.
Families of disabled or marginalised students know this tax intimately. They must translate jargon, follow up on unreturned messages, remember acronyms that gatekeep access, and provide documentation that should already be on file. When supports fail, the burden to repair them falls not on the system, but on the family. The process is framed as collaborative. In practice, it is coercive.
This is not just an inconvenience. It is a deterrent. Systems impose complexity not because they are broken, but because they are functioning precisely as designed—to manage demand, filter access, and displace responsibility.
In British Columbia, the signs are everywhere: confusing IEP language, referral processes that reset with every staff turnover, inconsistent documentation practices, and policies so obscure they require parental expertise in education law. This is not accidental. It is how exclusion is bureaucratised.
What you can do
Challenging bandwidth taxation requires naming it, documenting it, and refusing to treat it as your personal failing. It is not your job to fix a system that is designed to exhaust you.
Here are six counter-practices to resist bandwidth taxation:
Name the tax out loud
When facing another convoluted process or repeat meeting, say: This is not transparency. It’s a bandwidth tax. Naming it reframes frustration as justified resistance.
Document systemic overload
Keep a log: how many hours did you spend emailing, calling, explaining? This evidence is not petty—it’s policy critique. Use it to argue for procedural reform.
Refuse the myth of the “difficult parent”
Your persistence is not the problem. The system that demands superhuman effort is. Claim space without apology. Burnout is not bad manners—it’s a warning sign.
Push for procedural accessibility
Request plain language documents. Ask for follow-up in writing. Challenge any requirement that is vague, circular, or undocumented. Accessibility must extend to process.
Organise and cross-share knowledge
Connect with other families. Pool knowledge of who to talk to, what to request, and how to phrase it. This collectivises the tax and reduces individual burden.
Hold institutions accountable for emotional labour
State clearly when you’re doing the work they should have done. Say: I’m happy to collaborate, but I will not carry the system on my back.
The exhaustion you feel is evidence of a system working exactly as intended.
Bandwidth taxation is not just a side effect—it is a control mechanism. It rewards those with privilege and punishes those with needs. And every time we name it, document it, and push back, we loosen its grip.
Learn more about bandwidth taxation
- Sendhil Mullainathan & Eldar Shafir, Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much (2013)
The original source of the concept. The authors explore how scarcity taxes mental bandwidth—making it harder to plan, advocate, or function under pressure. Essential reading.
Macmillan Books - Anandi Mani et al., “Poverty impedes cognitive function” (Science, 2013)
A foundational study showing that navigating poverty and bureaucratic complexity imposes measurable cognitive costs—equivalent to losing sleep or IQ points.
Science Magazine - Matthew Desmond, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (2016)
While focused on housing, this book viscerally documents bandwidth taxation in action—how constant instability forces people to make reactive, constrained choices.
Penguin Random House - Lisa Servon, “The high cost of being poor” (TED Talk, 2018)
A sharp, accessible talk explaining how systems are designed to overcharge and overburden the least resourced. While about banking, the mechanisms are parallel to education.
Watch on YouTube - BC Parents of Special Needs Children: Advocacy Toolkits (assorted)
These toolkits document lived experience navigating BC education systems—offering insight into the cumulative toll of advocacy-as-survival.
Inclusion BC
