My daughter is a bright, intelligent child. She excelled in grade 7. But she was bored. She would always finish early in class. Teachers would tell her to sit quietly if she had no work, sometimes for up to an hour. She was not allowed to go to the library or out in the hall to play cards, etc. In grade 8 (September/October 2018), she became disillusioned with school and started to talk back to teachers. Then teachers would be rude to her, talk down to her, and send her to the office. She started to fake illness to not go to school. Then she started cutting. She became suicidal in January of grade 8. I spoke with the counsellor at her school and told him what was going on with her and asked him to talk to everyone involved at school. My daughter would miss 59/120 days of school by April of grade 8. I would tell her teachers what was going on and ask what else I could do. I was told I was doing everything I could. No one contacted me or asked why she was missing so much school. No one cared. Finally, she had a big fight with a teacher at the school, and my husband and I came in to the school to figure out how to proceed. It was then, in May 2019, that we found out about IEPs. No one had told us that you could get one for your child for anxiety/depression. We met with the vice principal and she questioned if my daughter “really needed” an IEP. I had paperwork sent over from her paediatrician and her CYMH counsellor within a day. To this day – January 2020 – we still do not have an IEP written for her. We had a meeting in October to talk about what we want in it. She has been approved for $9,300 in extra funding related to her IEP, but nothing in writing. We have asked for EAs in her core classes. Nope. She’s not “sick enough”. I don’t see how the extra funding she gets – basically $1000 a month – is spent. Not to her benefit. The only things keeping her going to school are that she loves her math/science teacher (who supports her, recognizes that she is smart but needs to walk around) and bribes from me. Also – drugs are a huge problem at her school. First day back after Christmas: “Mom, you wouldn’t believe how many kids asked me to do weed with them at lunch.” Why do I need to fear that my child will be exposed to drugs at school, of all places? I have talked to the RCMP and the principal both, and their “hands are tied” unless they know of a kid that is in possession; then they can search their locker. Thank you for engaging with parents.