Calls for Chinese school segregation in Victoria date back to the early 1900s. In September 1922, the Victoria School Board announced that the city's unofficial segregation practice was becoming official policy. The Board claimed that Chinese students should be separated because of poor English skills, as well as moral and physical deficiencies. The Chinese community responded immediately by withdrawing their children. They organized the Chinese Public School and publicly countered arguments that Chinese students delayed their classmates’ progress. They hired an understanding lawyer, who reduced his usual fee to one dollar. The strike was successful, and the Victoria School Board reversed its decision for the next school year.