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New Report Reveals that At Majority of Ontarios School Boards, Each School Principal Is a Law Unto Themselves, With Arbitrary Power to Exclude a Student From School Real Risk of a Rash of Exclusion of Some Students with Disabilities When Schools Re-Open

ACCESSIBILITY FOR ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT ALLIANCE
NEWS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 23, 2020 Toronto: Parents of a third of a million Ontario K-12 students with disabilities have much to fear when schools re-open. A ground-breaking report by the non-partisan AODA Alliance (unveiled today, summary below) shows that for much of Ontario, each school principal is a law unto themselves, armed with a sweeping, arbitrary power to refuse to allow a student to come to school. If schools re-open this fall, there is a real risk of a rash of principals excluding some students with disabilities from school, because well-intentioned, overburdened principals wont know how to accommodate them during COVID-19.

New Report Reveals that At Majority of Ontarios School Boards, Each School Principal Is a Law Unto Themselves, With Arbitrary Power to Exclude a Student From School Real Risk of a Rash of Exclusion of Some Students with Disabilities When Schools Re-Open. Read full article.

More Myths about Workers with Disabilities After the COVID-19 Pandemic

In our last article, we described some myths or false ideas that some employers may have about workers with disabilities. Here we outline more myths about workers with disabilities, and discuss how employers can find accurate information.

More Myths about Workers with Disabilities After the COVID-19 Pandemic. Read full article.

Three Recommendations for Accessible Remote Learning

Posted: July 17, 2020
by Jackie Pichette and Jessica Rizk

Adapting to the realities of remote schooling has been challenging. Since the COVID-19 pandemic sent our province into a state of emergency, many students have had to turn bedrooms into offices, kitchen tables into classrooms and parking lots into hotspots. While all Ontario learners have had to adapt to overcome barriers, those barriers have been amplified for many students with disabilities.

Three Recommendations for Accessible Remote Learning. Read full article.

Employing Workers with Disabilities After the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, we cheer ourselves by thinking of future socializing in-person. We also think about returning to work or activities we love. These hopes help us through the challenges of physical distancing. Moreover, these challenges show us that we can be more flexible or more creative than we thought we could. For instance, work during the pandemic has taken new forms and new strategies for success. Many of these strategies are also practices that help employers accommodate workers with disabilities. For instance, to change their policies in response to COVID-19, employers must learn to distinguish true information about the pandemic from rumours. In the same way, employers can learn to distinguish true information about workers with disabilities from harmful myths. As a result, workplace leaders and supervisors can gain the knowledge needed for employing workers with disabilities after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employing Workers with Disabilities After the COVID-19 Pandemic. Read full article.

Employment Accommodation Strategies After the COVID-19 Pandemic

In our last article, we discussed how workplaces have needed to change some of their business practices in response to COVID-19. Employers support their workers and clients during the pandemic through new work strategies, like remote work or physical distancing. This same mindset is also vital for employers that accommodate workers with disabilities. When employers hire a worker with a disability, they may need to be flexible about when, where, or how that person works. In this article, we will explore how workplaces can implement more employment accommodation strategies after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employment Accommodation Strategies After the COVID-19 Pandemic. Read full article.