AODA standards mandate how organizations must make themselves accessible to people with disabilities. Moreover, the standards outline organizations’ responsibilities, and the deadlines they must meet. AODA Standards development committees are responsible for creating and maintaining the standards. For example, each committee consults extensively with the public to make recommendations to include in its proposed standards. The committee then submits its final recommendations to the minister in charge of the AODA. Finally, the minister must recommend to the Lieutenant Governor that the standard be accepted in whole, in part, or with modifications. The AODA Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee submitted its final recommendations to the government in 2022. However, the government has taken no more steps toward enacting AODA postsecondary education standards.
Enacting AODA Postsecondary Education Standards
The Committee recommends:
- Guidelines for ensuring accessible admissions to college and university
- Government leadership and funding to implement the Standards
- Student union commitment to accessibility
- A strategy for colleges and universities to implement the Postsecondary Education Standards
- Accountability in accessible postsecondary education
- A government public education campaign on accessibility in college and university
- Definitions of accessibility and other terms
In addition, the Committee recommends accessibility training for employees, including additional training for:
- Educators and librarians
- Administrators and senior leadership
- Disability services staff
- Career counsellors
- Media and information technology staff
- Event planners and hosts
- Third-party contractors
- Protective services staff and emergency management services staff
- Student health centre staff
Furthermore, the Committee recommends:
- Identifying essential course requirements
- Accessibility standards for teaching and learning
- Guidelines for providing accessible formats and communication supports
- Accessible supervision of graduate students with disabilities
- Guidelines for accommodating student employees with disabilities
- Accessible technology
- Digital learning and technology plans
- Guidelines for accommodating students with disabilities
- Processes for resolving accommodation disputes
Moreover, the Committee also recommends:
- An accessibility lens for decision making
- Accessibility in college and university policies
- Procedures for allowing service animals
- Business continuity plans for emergency situations
- Accessibility in campus life
- Improvements to physical accessibility , and policies for making these improvements
- Removing financial accessibility barriers, including for graduate students
- Accessibility review of financial policies
Currently, there are only five (5) AODA standards. Consequently, the government must enact standards in many more sectors, including postsecondary education. In other words, enacting AODA postsecondary education standards is a crucial step toward meeting the AODA’s goal of an accessible province by 2025. In contrast, if the government does not implement these recommendations, it will not meet the deadline mandated in its own law.