Click here to see which schools are in this district
Vancouver School Board Adult Education, King George Secondary, Magee Secondary, Britannia Community Secondary, Kitsilano Secondary, John Oliver Secondary, Lord Byng Secondary, Templeton Secondary, Vancouver Technical Secondary, Point Grey Secondary, Gladstone Secondary, Sir Winston Churchill Secondary, Killarney Secondary, Sir Charles Tupper Secondary, David Thompson Secondary, Prince Of Wales Secondary, Windermere Community Secondary, Eric Hamber Secondary, University Hill Secondary, Lord Strathcona Community Elementary, Sir Guy Carleton Community Elementary, Lord Roberts Elementary, Admiral Seymour Elementary, χpey̓ Elementary, David Lloyd George Elementary, General Brock Elementary, Kerrisdale Elementary, Lord Selkirk Elementary, Queen Alexandra Elementary, Queen Mary Elementary, Simon Fraser Elementary, L’Ecole Bilingue Elementary, Emily Carr Elementary, General Wolfe Elementary, Lord Nelson Elementary, Lord Tennyson Elementary, Sir Richard McBride Elementary, Sir Wilfred Grenfell Community, Tecumseh Elementary, Florence Nightingale Elementary, General Gordon Elementary, Henry Hudson Elementary, Laura Secord Elementary, Walter Moberly Elementary, Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary, Sir Wm Van Horne Elementary, Charles Dickens Elementary, David Livingstone Elementary, Hastings Community Elementary, John Norquay Elementary, J.W. Sexsmith Community Elementary, Sir James Douglas Elementary, Sir John Franklin Community, Sir Sandford Fleming Elementary, Bayview Community Elementary, Lord Beaconsfield Elementary, Lord Kitchener Elementary, Edith Cavell Elementary, Shaughnessy Elementary, wək̓ʷan̓əs tə syaqʷəm Elementary School, Maple Grove Elementary, Quilchena Elementary, Grandview ¿uuqinak’uuh Elementary, Renfrew Community Elementary, Sir Alexander Mackenzie Elementary, Queen Elizabeth Elementary, Thunderbird šxʷəxʷaʔəs Elementary, Trafalgar Elementary, Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary, Sir William Osler Elementary, Southlands Elementary, Captain James Cook Elementary, Chief Maquinna Elementary, David Oppenheimer Elementary, Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, Carnarvon Community Elementary, Dr A R Lord Elementary, Dr R E McKechnie Elementary, Waverley Elementary, G T Cunningham Elementary, Nootka Community Elementary, Tecumseh Annex, Dr Annie B Jamieson Elementary, Dr George M Weir Elementary, John Henderson Elementary, Queen Victoria Annex, Sir Richard McBride Annex, Graham Bruce Community Elementary, Queen Elizabeth Annex, Tillicum Community Annex, Kerrisdale Annex, Lord Selkirk Annex, Dr H N Maccorkindale Elementary, Tyee Elementary, Sir James Douglas Annex, Garibaldi Annex, University Hill Elementary, Charles Dickens Annex, Mount Pleasant Elementary, Champlain Heights Community Elementary, Lord Roberts Annex, Britannia Community Elementary, Ecole Jules Quesnel Elementary, False Creek Elementary, Champlain Heights Annex, Collingwood Neighbourhood School, Elsie Roy Elementary, šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown Elementary, Norma Rose Point Elementary Junior, BCCH – Sunny Hill School Program, GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre School, BC Children’s Hospital School Program, BCHP Adolescent Psychiatric Unit Program, Peak House School Program, Canuck Place School Program, Transition Program for Gifted Students, BCCH Eating Disorders In-Patient, BCCH Child Psychiatry Unit School Prgm, Vancouver Learning Network, SD 39 DL Elementary, Vancouver Alternate School
Is collective punishment legal in the district?
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Read more: Is collective punishment legal in BC schools?
Collective punishment is still used in schools across British Columbia, despite growing recognition that it causes harm—especially to disabled children. Collective punishment refers to the practice of penalising a group for the actions of an individual or subset—such as cancelling recess for an entire class because one student was disruptive. Though often framed as a tool […]
District’s statement
🟠 The Vancouver School Board has denied having a formal policy of collective punishment. However, their stated approach—to apply identical consequences where students’ “actions and individual circumstances are the same or similar”—raises concern. In our experience, this interpretation has enabled disciplinary decisions that fail to consider disability, trauma, or developmental differences. We believe this reflects a systemic pattern, not isolated error.
Provide statement on behalf of this district
If your School District wishes to provide a public statement about its position on the use of collective punishment in schools, please email us at:
What can I do to end collective punishment?
Change begins when we act with clarity and courage. By signing the petition, you help signal that collective punishment in schools is not merely unfortunate, but fundamentally unjust—an affront to dignity and evidence-based education. Write to your principal to make your own position known; direct communication from families challenges silence and inertia, and compels schools to account for the harm inflicted under the guise of discipline.
Sign the petition
End collective punishment in BC schools
No child should be punished for another’s behaviour. Children know from a very young age that this is wrong.
We call on the BC Ministry of Education and Child Care to end collective punishment in BC Schools.
Write a letter to the principal
Use the search tool below to find your school and send a letter to the principal. Your message lets school leaders know that collective punishment is unacceptable. Change starts with your voice.
