Lottery logic—the notion that fairness is achieved through randomness rather than through ensuring adequacy—pervades British Columbia’s education system when families seeking essential supports find themselves dependent on whether funds or staffing “slots” remain rather than on the intensity of a child’s needs; in many regions, eligible families are turned away simply because funding has run out, effectively reducing access to a game of chance rather than a guaranteed right. rcybc.ca
Recognizing lottery logic tactics
Across school districts, supports such as educational assistants, specialist placements or nursing services operate on capped budgets that, once exhausted, leave families on indefinite waitlists—or forced to reapply each year—transforming what should be entitlements under provincial guidelines into lottery tickets; meanwhile, when funding priorities favour certain diagnoses (for example, autism receives up to $22,000 per year while children with other disabilities remain ineligible), families come to view a lucky diagnosis as the only path to support. rcybc.ca But, families who’s children receive this diagnosis, often find that the associated resources are reassigned to a child with perceived greater need.
The cost of lottery logic
While committees tinker with allocation formulas and pilot programs trickle forward, children endure exclusionary or unsafe learning environments without the support they require; the Representative for Children and Youth’s January 2025 Issues Spotlight “Too many left behind” underscores that “the time for action is now,” warning that persistent gaps in funding and service delivery condemn children with disabilities to prolonged hardship and inequitable educational outcomes. rcybc.ca
Strategies to counter lottery logic
- Embed needs-based funding in the provincial formula
By allocating additional resources based on student complexity rather than rigid per-student grants, policymakers can ensure adequacy of support and remove the zero-sum competition that turns resources into lottery tickets. inclusionbc.org - Mandate transparent wait-list and allocation dashboards
Boards of education should publicly report monthly on service requests, vacancies and budget exhaustion, enabling families and advocates to monitor access in real time and preventing supports from vanishing without notice. - Guarantee minimum staffing and service entitlements
Amend the Inclusive Education Services Policy Manual to codify baseline ratios of educational assistants, therapists and nurses—transforming provisional pilot programs into enforceable standards so that no family must rely on chance to secure necessary supports. www2.gov.bc.ca - Leverage the duty to accommodate under the BC Human Rights Code
Section 8 obliges institutions to remove barriers that deny services customarily available to the public; strategic complaints to the BC Human Rights Tribunal can compel immediate provision of accommodations rather than consign families to lottery-style waitlists. pressbooks.bccampus.ca - Mobilise systemic advocacy coalitions
Unite parent networks, Inclusion BC, the BC Teachers’ Federation and legal experts to demand equity-weighted funding and to challenge arbitrary caps in public forums, ensuring that “Kids Can’t Wait” pillars guide both policy and practice rather than perpetuate randomness. inclusionbc.org
Conclusion
If you need a lottery, the system has already failed; fairness in education demands adequacy, not chance—only by replacing randomness with entitlements, transparency and legal accountability can we guarantee that every child in British Columbia receives the supports they need to learn, grow and thrive.
