Policy Highlights

It is the policy of the Board that the District shall use reasonable efforts to ensure that its policies, procedures and practices established for the implementation of the Ontario regulations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005) are consistent and shall be governed by the following principles:

a) respect for the integration of services to allow people with disabilities to fully benefit from the same services, in the same place and in the same or similar way as other customers, or alternatively, the provision of alternate measures necessary to meet their needs;

b) respect for the independence of people with disabilities allowing them freedom from control or influence of others, freedom to make their own choices, and freedom to do things in their own way;

c) respect from the equal opportunity and dignity of people with disabilities to have the same opportunities, benefits and intended outcomes as others.

It is the policy of the board that the District shall use reasonable efforts to ensure that both visible and invisible barriers are identified and removed to ensure the full participation of people with disabilities. This shall include:

a) promoting inclusive design in facilities, programs, policies, practices, and services to provide equal access for people with disabilities;

b) providing a relevant accommodation process that ensures shared responsibility to support the unique needs of people with disabilities

c) addressing attitudes and stereotypes which pose a substantial barrier to people with disabilities

d) taking into account the impact on people with disabilities when purchasing new equipment, designing new systems or planning a new initiative.

Our District continues to make alterations to facilities in order to make them more accessible to those who use our sites. Two architectural firms were retained to conduct an Accessibility Audit of all OCDSB facilities which was completed by September 2006. In response to the Accessibility Audit report, staff in Facilities developed a long term Implementation Plan to pursue barrier free alterations in OCDSB schools.

The two major priorities in the first five years of the Implementation Plan are as follows:

• By the start of the school year 2012 (5 years), one fully accessible secondary school will be available in each geographical grouping of schools of the OCDSB.

• By the start of the school year 2012 (5 years), three fully accessible elementary schools will be available in each geographical grouping of schools of the OCDSB.

The Implementation Plan will serve as the basis for staff in Facilities to develop detailed work plans so that alterations to board schools/facilities may be completed by 2025.