ACCESSIBILITY
In 2017, the provincial minister responsible for accessibility established the Education Standards Development Committee—a group of representatives comprised of people with disabilities, disability organizations, trustees and other sector experts—to develop recommendations for a proposed accessibility standard to address barriers in publicly funded K-12 education. The group meet monthly over the past four years to develop its recommendations.
The committee put forward initial recommendations and asked for public feedback in the fall of 2020 to help them refine the final recommendations to the Minister . The committee then reviewed all comments, finalized their recommendations and submitted them to the Minister of Seniors and Accessibility for consideration in January 2022.
On March 3, 2022, the Education Accessibility Standards Working Group submitted its final report and recommendations to the Minister of Seniors and Accessibility. The Ministry of Seniors and Accessibility and the Ministry of Education will now review the reports’ recommendations and draft submissions to cabinet for the creation of a K-12 education standard regulation under the Accessibility for Ontarians Disability Act (AODA).
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The Niagara Catholic District School Board is committed to ensuring access to our Board’s programs, services and facilities to all.
The Board’s Accessibility Working Group, guided by provincial legislation including the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 (ODA), the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code, reports on the participation of people with disabilities in the development and review of its annual accessibility plans.
Niagara Catholic welcomes the use of assistive devices at all Board sites. We encourage users to seek support from school or Board staff as it is required.
Please direct enquiries to the school principal or site supervisor, as applicable. For further assistance, including comments and feedback about accessibility issues and compliance, requests to receive information in accessible formats, you may also contact the Board’s Communications Officer, Jennifer Pellegrini by phone at 905.735.0240 ext. 297 or by email.