Accessible Education for Student with Disabilities

ByAccessibility Services Canada Updated on

On August 29th, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released its new Policy on accessible education for students with disabilities, along with recommendations on how to best meet legal obligations under Ontario’s Human Rights Code.

The policy:

  • recognizes that education is vitally important to a person’s social, academic and economic development
  • reflects a broad definition of disability
  • provides students and families with up-to-date information about their human rights and responsibilities
  • offers practical guidance to education providers to meet their legal duty to accommodate
  • reminds schools of their obligation to maintain accessible, inclusive, discrimination and harassment-free spaces.

The recommendations set out actions the government, schools and post-secondary institutions should take to make the education system inclusive, function effectively and allow students with disabilities to thrive.