Currently, there are no AODA education standards. However, two AODA standards development committees have drafted recommendations of guidelines that AODA education standards should include. One committee has recommended guidelines for the kindergarten to grade twelve (K-12) education system. In this article, we outline recommended guidelines for school and school board accessibility committees.
School and School Board Accessibility Committees
School Accessibility Committees
The Committee recommends that each school should have an accessibility committee to identify, remove, and prevent accessibility barriers. For instance, accessibility barriers include:
- Physical or architectural barriers
- Information or communication barriers
- Technology barriers
- Organizational barriers
- Attitudinal barriers
Therefore, members of a school’s accessibility committee should include people in many positions within the school, such as:
- The principal, or a staff member the principal appoints
- Staff
- Students
- Students’ families
- Community groups
Moreover, the accessibility committee should welcome students, family members, and staff with disabilities, and support anyone wishing to request accommodations.
School Board Accessibility Committees and Plans
Likewise, each school board should create an accessibility committee consisting of people in a variety of positions. For example, members of a school board’s accessibility committee should include:
- An accessibility lead who reports to the Director of Education
- Senior board officials who are in charge of:
- Students
- People with disabilities
Furthermore, each accessibility committee should develop a multi-year accessibility plan to remove barriers and ensure compliance with all accessibility standards. For example, committees can identify barriers through feedback from:
- Students
- School accessibility committees
- The school board’s special education advisory committee (SEAC)
- Community members
Committees should develop processes to request and review this feedback. Similarly, committees can implement systems to identify and remove barriers in:
- Programs
- Services
- Spaces
- Equipment
Furthermore, once a committee identifies a barrier, it should assign specific committee members to take action and oversee barrier removal. Moreover, the committee should monitor barrier-removal progress, report frequently to the school board’s trustees, and write yearly progress reports. In addition, school boards should report to the public about their accessibility plans, progress, and the feedback they receive.
The Ministry of Education should analyze these reports, to address the barriers and removal strategies each committee has identified. Then, the Ministry should post a public report about recurring barriers in multiple school boards. For instance, this report should include the action school boards are taking to remove barriers, as well as actions that are not being taken.
Finally, the Ministry should develop resources and templates to help school boards create consistent committees and plans. Likewise, the Ministry should provide school boards with best practices about how to make programs and services accessible. As a result, committees across the province would have similar processes and documents, to improve accessible education throughout Ontario.