Resources on issues of accessibility and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)
The standards of the AODA mandate how organizations must remove and prevent barriers for people with disabilities. The AODA standards govern how organizations can offer services that meet the needs of all Ontarians, including citizens with disabilities.
Each of the AODA standards has rules for different sectors of the economy. The standards govern organizations that:
People who do not have friends, family, or colleagues with disabilities may have only a vague idea of what disability is. They may wonder: what is disability? They may also think first, or only, of someone with a physical disability. In addition, these people may not know how disability affects people’s lives. For example, they may assume that someone with a disability cannot work or raise a family. As a result of these assumptions, many people design barriers that limit the lives of people with disabilities. Some of these barriers are:
A new AODA requirement for school libraries came into force on January 1st, 2020. Under the Information and Communications Standards, Ontario school libraries must make all digital or multimedia resources accessible upon request. Moreover, they must do so by making these resources available either in accessible formats or in conversion-ready formats.
School libraries are libraries within school settings, such as:
A new AODA requirement for producers of educational resources came into force on January 1st, 2020. Under the Information and Communications Standards, Ontario producers of educational resources must make all print supplementary learning resources accessible. Moreover, they must do so by making these resources available either in accessible formats or in conversion-ready formats.
A new AODA requirement for government websites came into force on January 1st, 2020. Under the Information and Communications Standards, the Ontario government and the Legislative Assembly must make sure that all their websites, as well as content on Internet and Intranet sites, are accessible. Moreover, they must do so by making all these sites compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level AA. This international standard gives web developers guidelines on how to make their webpages accessible to computer users with disabilities.
