Education

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update United for a Barrier-Free Society for All People with Disabilities www.aodaalliance.org aodafeedback@gmail.com Twitter: @aodaalliance How Ontario’s Human Rights Tribunal Went Off the Rails in an Important  Disability Accessibility Case–Read the New Article by AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky on the Tribunal’s Ruling Against an 8-Year-Old Student With … Continue reading How Ontario’s Human Rights Tribunal Went Off the Rails in an Important Disability Accessibility Case–Read the New Article by AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky on the Tribunal’s Ruling Against an 8-Year-Old Student With Autism Who Wanted to Bring His Autism Service Dog to School

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update United for a Barrier-Free Society for All People with Disabilities www.aodaalliance.org  aodafeedback@gmail.com Twitter: @aodaalliance In the Legislature Yesterday, the Ford Government Refused to Lift Its 168-Day Freeze on Standards Development Committees that Were Working on Recommendations to Remove Disability Barriers in Ontario’s Education and Health Care System … Continue reading In the Legislature Yesterday, the Ford Government Refused to Lift Its 168-Day Freeze on Standards Development Committees that Were Working on Recommendations to Remove Disability Barriers in Ontario’s Education and Health Care System – Yet Two Years Ago Tomorrow, It Was the Tory Party That Had Demanded in the Legislature that Ontario Create the Very Education Accessibility Regulation that the Ford Government Has Now Frozen Work on Developing

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update United for a Barrier-Free Ontario for All People with Disabilities www.aodaalliance.org aodafeedback@gmail.com Twitter: @aodaalliance AODA Alliance Presses the Ford Government to Immediately Lift Its Freeze on the Work of Standards Development Committees, Appointed under Ontario’s Disabilities Act To Make Recommendations on Needed Accessibility Standards August 29, 2018 … Continue reading AODA Alliance Presses the Ford Government to Immediately Lift Its Freeze on the Work of Standards Development Committees, Appointed under Ontario’s Disabilities Act To Make Recommendations on Needed Accessibility Standards

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update United for a Barrier-Free Ontario for All People with Disabilities www.aodaalliance.org aodafeedback@gmail.com Twitter: @aodaalliance Join the Blitz to Press Candidates Across Ontario for School Board Trustee to Make the “Students with Disabilities Pledge” – Help Ensure Hundreds of Thousands of Students with Disabilities Fully Benefit From Ontario’s … Continue reading Join the Blitz to Press Candidates Across Ontario for School Board Trustee to Make the “Students with Disabilities Pledge” – Help Ensure Hundreds of Thousands of Students with Disabilities Fully Benefit From Ontario’s Education system

TDSB SEAC Report on Results of SEAC Survey of Parents of TDSB Students with Special Education Needs   Samantha Currie & Jacob Klugsberg April 10, 2018   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY   The Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) conducted an extensive survey of the parents of children with special education … Continue reading To Learn More About the Disability Barriers in Ontario’s Education System, Check Out the Results, As Of Spring 2018, of an Online Survey of Parents of Students with Special Education Needs at the Toronto District School Board, Conducted by TDSB’s Special Education Advisory Committee

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update United for a Barrier-Free Ontario for All People with Disabilities www.aodaalliance.org aodafeedback@gmail.com Twitter: @aodaalliance Tell Us What Disability Barriers Now Impede Students with Disabilities in Ontario’s Education System So We Can Share these with the Education Standards Development Committee March 29, 2018 SUMMARY After years of advocacy … Continue reading Tell Us What Disability Barriers Now Impede Students with Disabilities in Ontario’s Education System So We Can Share these with the Education Standards Development Committee

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update United for a Barrier-Free Ontario for All People with Disabilities www.aodaalliance.org aodafeedback@gmail.com Twitter: @aodaalliance A Lengthy 14 Months after Finally Promising to Develop an Education Accessibility Standard Under Ontario’s Disabilities Act, the Wynne Government Finally Convenes the First Meetings of the Promised Education Standards Development Committees — … Continue reading A Lengthy 14 Months after Finally Promising to Develop an Education Accessibility Standard Under Ontario’s Disabilities Act, the Wynne Government Finally Convenes the First Meetings of the Promised Education Standards Development Committees — AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky Was Appointed to Serve on the K-12 Education Standards Development Committee

December 8, 2017 1. Today the Wynne Government Finally Announced the Chairs of the Promised Education Standards Development Committee In a news release today, set out near the end of this Update, the Wynne Government today finally started to announce the appointment of the promised Education Standards Development Committee. We have led the campaign for … Continue reading After Months of AODA Alliance Advocacy Efforts, the Wynne Government Announces the Chairs of the Education Standards Development Committee And Year-End Report on Efforts in 2017 of Ontario’s Grassroots Non-Partisan Accessibility Campaign

December 5, 2017 One full year ago today, Premier Wynne announced in the Ontario Legislature that her Government would create an Education Accessibility Standard under the AODA. We have led the campaigned for this, to tear down the many disability barriers that impede students with disabilities in Ontario’s education system. Yesterday, the AODA Alliance issued … Continue reading The Opposition New Democratic Party and Progressive Conservative Party Each Draw on The AODA Alliance’s December 4, 2017 News Release to Support Our Call for the Wynne Government to Now Appoint the Overdue Education Standards Development Committee

September 25, 2017 Summary Here is yet another compelling reason why Ontario needs to enact a strong and effective Education Accessibility Standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act to tear down the many unfair disability accessibility barriers that impede students with disabilities in Ontario’s education system. Almost ten months ago, Premier Wynne promised … Continue reading A seriously Flawed Human Rights Tribunal Decision Rules Against the Request of a Nine Year Old Boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Bring His Autism Service Dog to School

HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO B E T W E E N: J.F. by his litigation guardian C.F. Applicant -and Waterloo Catholic District School Board Respondent DECISION Adjudicator:    Laurie Letheren Date:   August 30 2017 File Number:   2016-24088-I Citation:          2017 HRTO 1121 Indexed as:      J.F. v. Waterloo Catholic District School Board APPEARANCES J.F. by his litigation … Continue reading August 30, 2017 Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Ruling On Right of a student with Autism to bring His Service Dog to School

July 11, 2017 Summary Please email the Wynne Government by the end of Friday July 14, 2017 to say you support the AODA Alliance’s answers to the Government’s survey on the disability accessibility barriers that over a third of a million students with disabilities face in Ontario’s education system. You might just say: “I support … Continue reading Before Week’s End, Please Fill Out the Wynne Government’s Online Survey on Disability Barriers in Ontario’s Education system and Endorse the AODA Alliance’s Answers to This Survey, Which We Make Public Today

June 21, 2017 Summary On June 21, 2017, the AODA Alliance wrote Ontario’s Minister of Accessibility Tracy MacCharles, Minister of Education Mitzie Hunter, and Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development Deb Matthews. In that letter, set out below, we identify problems with the Government’s online survey about disability accessibility barriers in Ontario’s education system. … Continue reading The Wynne Government’s Current Online Survey of Disability Barriers in Ontario’s Education system Leaves out Many if not the Majority of Barriers Impeding Students with Disabilities in Ontario’s Education System – The AODA Alliance Offers Ways to Fix That Survey

June 19, 2017 Summary It is commendable that the Government is encouraging schools, colleges and universities to convene public community events to gather information on the accessibility barriers that students with disabilities face in Ontario’s education system. Recent AODA Alliance Updates explained that the Ontario Government is asking the public to tell it about the … Continue reading We Invite Schools, Colleges, Universities, Early Learning Programs and Job Training Programs in Ontario to Use These Tips for Holding a Public Event to Gather Feedback from Your Organization and the Public on Disability Accessibility Barriers in Our Education System

June 16, 2017 Summary We strongly encourage you to fill out the Wynne Government’s online survey on accessibility barriers facing students with disabilities in Ontario’s education system, by the July 14, 2017 deadline. Please fill it out whether you are now or have ever been a student with a disability in Ontario, a parent or … Continue reading Before July 14, 2017 Please Fill Out the Ontario Government’s Survey of Disability Accessibility Barriers that Hurt Students with Disabilities in Ontario’s Education System – Here Are Great Tips to Help You

June 14, 2017 Summary On June 12, 2017, the Wynne Government at last circulated more specific information on how to apply to serve on the forthcoming Education Standards Development Committee. That Committee will make recommendations on what the Wynne Government should include in the promised Education Accessibility Standard. The Education Accessibility Standard is needed to … Continue reading The Wynne Government Posts Details for Applying to Serve on the Education Standards Development Committee – Applications Must Be Submitted by July 31, 2017

May 4, 2017 Summary On May 3, 2017, the Ontario Government called an Ontario by-election for June 1, 2017 in the Sault Ste. Marie riding. We urge anyone in or near that riding to raise disability accessibility issues with the candidates. Press them to make accessibility pledges. This by-election comes just one year before the … Continue reading Raise Disability Accessibility Issues in the June 1, 2017 Sault Ste. Marie Ontario By-election

April 11, 2017 Summary We are very concerned about the Wynne Government’s ongoing delays in getting started on developing an Education Accessibility Standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. An excessive 127 days have passed since Premier Wynne promised to develop an Education Accessibility Standard to tear down the accessibility barriers impeding students … Continue reading There Have Been 127 Days Since Premier Wynne Promised to Create an Education Accessibility Standard, But the Wynne Government Hasn’t Yet Posted an Ad Inviting People to Apply to Serve on the Education Standards Development Committee – and – Encourage All Teachers, Principals and School Board Officials to Watch a New Video on Ensuring that Students with Disabilities Are Able to Thrive in Fully Accessible, Inclusive Classrooms

December 8, 2016 SUMMARY This is our last AODA Alliance Update for 2016. Enjoy the peace and quiet as we take an email and social media break until the new year. We wind up 2016 with good news, highlighted below: * The Toronto Star reported on our important success earlier this week, when the Wynne … Continue reading Media Reports on Our Getting the Wynne Government to Agree to Develop an Education Accessibility Standard – Federal Government to Consult on Adopting the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Ontario Public Service Restructures Who Leads Its Own AODA Compliance

December 5, 2016 SUMMARY This news is hot off the presses! In Question Period today, Progressive Conservative MPP Bill Walker asked Premier Wynne to agree to develop an Education Accessibility Standard to tear down the accessibility barriers impeding hundreds of thousands of students with disabilities  in Ontario schools, colleges and universities. Premier Wynne said yes. … Continue reading Breaking News –Premier Wynne has Just Announced in the Legislature that the Ontario Government Agrees to Develop an Education Accessibility Standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act

December 5, 2016 SUMMARY Today, 22 major disability organizations, including the AODA Alliance, sent Premier Kathleen Wynne a compelling open letter that calls on her Government to agree to develop an Education Accessibility Standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. As well, the AODA Alliance today issued a news release, to publicize this … Continue reading 22 Major Disability Organizations Send Premier Wynne an Open Letter Calling for the Wynne Government to Agree to Develop an Education Accessibility Standard under Ontario’s Disabilities Act – Check out the Open Letter and AODA Alliance News Release and a Toronto Star Article on This

December 3, 2016 SUMMARY Let’s look back at a very important letter that Kathleen Wynne wrote to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance four years ago today, on December 3, 2012. December 3 is the day which the United Nations declares as the International Day for People with Disabilities. To set the stage, … Continue reading On this International Day for People with Disabilities, We Look Back at Kathleen Wynne’s Written Promises to 1.8 Million Ontarians with Disabilities, Made Four years Ago Today, on What She’d Do on Disability Accessibility if She Became Ontario’s Premier

December 2, 2016 SUMMARY An excellent article in the Toronto Star on December 2, 2016, set out below, reports on the AODA Alliance’s video which depicts a number of accessibility problems in the brand-new Centennial College Culinary Arts Centre. The article lets far more members of the public know about this incident, and about our … Continue reading Excellent Toronto Star Article Reports on the AODA Alliance’s Captioned Video about Accessibility Problems at the New Centennial College Culinary Arts Centre

December 1, 2016 SUMMARY 1. Will Troubling History on Accessibility Repeat itself? Here is yet more proof that the Ontario Government needs to agree to develop an Education Accessibility Standard. In a November 21, 2016 news release, which we set out below, the Ontario and Federal Governments jointly announce $44 million in new infrastructure spending … Continue reading Ontario and Federal Governments Announce $44 Million for New Infrastructure at Centennial College But Announce No Strings To Ensure It’s Fully Disability-Accessible – Deeply Worrying After the AODA Alliance’s Online Video Shows Significant Accessibility Deficiencies at Centennial College’s Brand-New Culinary Arts Centre

November 29, 2016 SUMMARY 1. A Video You Must Watch The AODA Alliance today makes public a striking 18-minute video, and a shorter 6 minute version. These shows significant accessibility barriers in a brand-new public building that was just built with public money, the new Culinary Arts Centre at Toronto’s Centennial College. This video depicts … Continue reading On the 22nd Anniversary of the Birth of Ontario’s Grassroots Accessibility Law Campaign, the AODA Alliance Releases a Striking Video that Shows Significant Accessibility Problems at the Brand New Centennial College Culinary Arts Centre

November 9, 2016 SUMMARY Here’s yet another reason why the Wynne Government should agree to develop an Education Accessibility Standard to tear down the many accessibility barriers that still persist in Ontario’s education system. Last year, the Wynne Government hired the KPMG consulting firm to prepare a report on accessibility barriers in Ontario’s education system, … Continue reading A Report by the KPMG Consulting Firm Prepared for the Wynne Government Confirms that There Are Recurring Accessibility Barriers in Ontario’s Education System – That Is The Very Reason Why AODA Alliance Calls on the Wynne Government to Develop an Education Accessibility Standard Under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act

November 1, 2016 1. SUMMARY During Question Period in the Ontario Legislature yesterday, October 31, 2016, opposition Progressive Conservative MPP Bill Walker pressed Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to agree to develop an Education Accessibility Standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act to ensure that Ontario’s education system becomes fully accessible to students with … Continue reading Ontario Conservatives Press Premier Wynne in the Ontario Legislature’s Question Period to Agree to the AODA Alliance’s Call for the Government to Develop an Education Accessibility Standard – Premier Wynne says Her Ministers of Accessibility and Education Are Discussing How to Move Forward on This

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August 23, 2016 SUMMARY Yet another major voice has joined our call for the Wynne Government to agree to develop an Education Accessibility Standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. On August 10, 2016, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario wrote Ontario’s new Accessibility Minister, Tracy MacCharles, to support our request … Continue reading The Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario Calls On the Wynne Government to Agree to Create an Education Accessibility Standard Under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act

Even though Ontario is required by law to become fully accessible to all people with disabilities by 2025, less than eight and a half years from now, Ontario’s publicly-funded education system is still full of barriers that can impede 334,000 students with special education needs. The Wynne Government still has no plan in place to … Continue reading Please Circulate the AODA Alliance’s News Release Responding to the Wynne Government’s Announcement on School Supports for Students with Disabilities

August 8, 2016 Toronto: the Wynne Government’s announcement today on education for students with disabilities in Ontario, while welcomed by families who fought to keep open all Ontario provincial and demonstration schools,  falls miles short of what is needed by 334,000 students with special education needs, says the Ontario Disability coalition that campaigned for reforms in this … Continue reading Today’s Wynne Government Announcement on Education for Students with Disabilities Falls Miles Short – the Wynne Government Needs to Enact an Education Accessibility Standard to Tear Down the Many Barriers Facing 334,000 Students with Disabilities Throughout Ontario’s Publicly-Funded School System