Background

In 2017, the Minister Responsible for Accessibility established the Education Standards Development Committee—a group of representatives comprised of people with disabilities, disability organizations and sector experts—to develop recommendations for a proposed accessibility standard to address barriers in publicly funded postsecondary education.

Recommendations

The committee put forward initial recommendations and asked for public feedback to help them draft their final recommendations to the Minister Responsible for Accessibility.

The committee has reviewed all comments, finalized their recommendations and submitted them to the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility for consideration. Read the final recommendations.

Technical sub-committee transition recommendations

K-12 and postsecondary education committees also formed a technical sub-committee that focused on transition planning (for example, moving between levels of education or from K-12 to the workforce, the community and to postsecondary education):

List of members and representation

The following is a full list of the committee members including the organization or sector they are representing. Committee membership may be subject to change.

Voting members:

  • Tina Doyle (Chair), University of Toronto – Scarborough
  • Tory Bowman, Spinal Cord Injury Ontario
  • Sambhavi Chandrashekar, D2L Corporation
  • Karen Csoli, Niagara College
  • Olga Dosis, George Brown College
  • Janice Fennell, Sheridan College
  • Ashton Forrest, Disability Community Representative
  • Marie-Claude Gagnon, University of Ottawa
  • Joseph Roy Gillis, University of Toronto
  • Carolyn Hepburn, Sault College
  • Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Mohawk College
  • Julia Kowal, Disability Community Representative
  • Jim Kyte, Algonquin College
  • Ainsley Latour, National Educational Association of Disabled Students (Mahadeo Sukhai, Alternate Member)
  • Elizabeth Mohler, BALANCE for Blind Adults
  • Meri Kim Oliver, Colleges Ontario
  • Jeanette Parsons, Inter-University Disability Issues Association (IDIA)
  • Anne Pottier, McMaster University
  • Ben Poynton, University of Toronto
  • Marc Wilchesky, York University

Non-voting members:

  • Shirley Carder, Ministry of Colleges and Universities

Scope and timelines

A standards development committee will develop recommendations for a proposed accessibility standard to address barriers in publicly funded postsecondary education provided by colleges and universities, as required by Section 9 of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. To develop this standard, members of the committee are required to:

  • define the long-range objective of the proposed standard
  • determine the measures, policies, practices and requirements to be implemented on or before January 1, 2025, and the timeframe for their implementation
  • develop a proposed standard that the committee deems advisable for public comment
  • consider public feedback, seek additional information if needed, and make any changes that the committee deems advisable
  • make recommendations for a new accessibility standard to the Minister Responsible for Accessibility and to the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development

To support this work, an online survey was conducted from May through October 2017 and received roughly 3,000 responses. Respondents identified common areas where students with disabilities and their families or caregivers may face barriers to an accessible education. These include:

  • information and awareness, including knowledge of available accommodations and accessibility awareness training
  • navigating the educational system, including seeking accommodations and participating in inclusive decision-making
  • transition planning, including moving between school systems and into employment or community living

The minister has asked the committee to carefully consider the survey feedback received as well as committee member expertise in these areas, and work together to identify priority areas for further discussion. As a first deliverable, the committee will report back to the Minister Responsible for Accessibility and to the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development on proposed priority areas, which will be publicly posted. Following this phase of work, the committee will develop recommendations for a proposed accessibility standard to address those priority areas.

Universities and colleges in Ontario are governed by acts of the provincial legislature. These acts define the roles and responsibilities of institutional senates around academic accreditation standards. As a result, the minister has directed the committee not to consider academic accreditation standards and postsecondary credential-related issues at this time.

The minister has also asked that the committee consider the area of transition planning in particular as a priority. Effective transition planning—empowering students to plan their individual pathways—promotes student success in school and in life. Survey responses shared personal experiences demonstrating that barriers can occur as students transition from elementary to high school and as they then move to postsecondary education, employment, early adulthood and community living. The minister has asked the committee to consider ways to prevent and remove those barriers and to work in collaboration with the Standards Development Committee for K-12 Education on this issue.

In order to ensure the committee remains aligned with the work of the Standards Development Committee for K-12 Education, the minister has asked both chairs to form a joint subcommittee representing members from both sectors and from the disability community. This subcommittee will be responsible for sharing information across the two committees and for considering areas of commonality.

In addition to recommendations for regulated accessibility standards, the committee may choose to make recommendations on practical non-regulatory measures to remove or prevent barriers. Such measures could include recommendations related to public information and awareness or other programs that could complement updated or new regulation.

Guidelines for recommendations

The following guidelines are intended to support the work of the committee as it develops its recommendations:

  • respect and be complementary to the principles, purpose and requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and support the end goal of achieving accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities on or before January 1, 2025, taking into account:
    • the range of disabilities that the measures, policies, practices and requirements are intended to address
    • the nature of the barriers that the measures, policies, practices and requirements are intended to identify, remove and prevent
    • any technical and fiscal considerations/impacts that may be associated with their implementation. For example, for obligated organizations, sectors, and the province more broadly
  • focus efforts on preventing barriers both now and in the future
  • consider existing Ontario legislative and regulatory frameworks, as well as measures and supports that already exist in the sector
  • consider inter-jurisdictional best practices and innovative solutions, keeping in mind the context of Ontario’s current regulatory framework specific to the education sector
  • consider fiscal implications and feasibility for the sector to comply
  • consider the ‘enforceability’ of the requirements to support compliance and enforcement of the proposed standard
  • where appropriate, reflect international standards, legislation, regulation, codes, and best practices in Ontario, other provinces, and internationally, in the area of education and accessibility

Throughout the process, the members of the Accessibility Standards Advisory Council sitting on the committee are encouraged to keep council members informed of its progress.

Key deliverables and timelines

The Standards Development Committee will complete the following key deliverables within the specified timelines:

  1. Meetings: The committee will meet for one- or two-day sessions, approximately every eight weeks as needed.
  2. Standards development committee work plan: The committee will prepare and provide the minister with a draft work plan early in the development of a proposed postsecondary education standard. The work plan will outline key milestones, activities, and timelines to achieve the mandate described here.
  3. Proposed priority areas: Within six months or sooner of the committee’s first meeting, the committee will report to the minister on the proposed priority areas for the development of recommended accessibility standards. Proposed priority areas must be based on evidence including survey feedback and must reflect the guidelines set out above. The report will be posted publicly.
  4. Recommendations for proposed accessibility standard for education: Within 18 months or sooner of confirmation of the Committee’s proposed priority areas, the committee will deliver to the minister proposed recommendations to be posted for public review.
  5. Finalizing recommendations for revisions to the standard: As required by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, a report on comments received during the public review will be prepared by the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility and the comments will be given to the committee for its consideration. The committee will consider public comments, seek additional information if needed, and make changes based on public comments as the committee deems advisable. The committee will submit the final recommendations to the minister, along with a report on its consideration of public comments, no later than 14 weeks after receiving the report and public comments.
  6. Meeting minutes and progress reports: No later than four weeks following each of its meetings, the committee will approve and provide the minister with a copy of its meeting minutes.

Meeting minutes

Postsecondary Education Meeting 16: Tuesday, January 25, 2022 and Friday, January 28, 2022

Letter from chair to the minister

March 2, 2022

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Minister for Seniors and Accessibility
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2C8

Dear Minister Cho,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee: Meeting Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the committee), I am pleased to submit the committee-approved minutes from the final virtual meetings held on January 25, 2022, and January 28, 2022, and to provide you with a brief update on the committee’s progress.

These meetings were, respectively, the fifth and sixth meetings held to review public feedback and work towards finalizing our recommendations. On January 25, we reviewed the feedback received on the recommendations regarding assessment, curriculum and instruction. On January 28, we reviewed the feedback received on the recommendations regarding digital learning and technology as well as the recommendations regarding attitudes, behaviours, perceptions and assumptions.

Having had our final two meetings to review public feedback and amend our recommendations, we are excited to be making final edits and to vote on the final report in preparation for submitting our final recommendations report to you

The committee is reviewing the Technical Sub-Committee report on transitions, and we look forward to voting on that report prior to it being submitted to you as well.

I want to take the opportunity to thank you and your ministry staff for supporting the committee, and advancing accessibility and inclusion in Ontario.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Meeting 1 Information

Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2022 from 1:00 pm - 4:15 pm

Location: Virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

Meeting 1 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Tory Bowman, Sambhavi Chandrashekar, Karen Csoli, Olga Dosis, Janice Fennell, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Carolyn Hepburn, Ainsley Latour, Elizabeth Mohler, Meri Kim Oliver, Jeanette Parsons, Anne Pottier, Ben Poynton, Marc Wilchesky

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Arminda Aliu, Paul Challen, Sonya Del Monte, Ann Louise FitzPatrick, Jason Schroter, Jenna Strathearn

Other staff: Meranda Shewan (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Hummeny

Regrets: Roy Gillis, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Meeting 1 minutes

M 16-1.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle, provided remarks welcoming the committee and noted the high level of public support for the initial recommendations report via the many survey responses and written submissions received.

Ms. Doyle reviewed several key considerations for members to keep in mind when considering making updates to the recommendations. She also noted the goal of finalizing the committee’s report for submission to the Minister by March 2022.

M. 16-1.2 overview of public feedback and proposed changes on assessment, curriculum and instruction recommendations

Karen Csoli provided an overview of feedback received on the assessment, curriculum and instruction recommendations and noted that 96% of survey respondents agreed with these recommendations either as is or with some changes.

Dr. Csoli provided the group with proposed updates. The group discussed the need to be more specific in its detailing of compliance measures that postsecondary institutions should follow for easy access to multiple format instructional materials.

The group also discussed how a set of minimum accessibility standards for teaching and learning could be developed through consultation with various stakeholders.

M 16-1.3 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and confirmed that the Ministry would circulate updated materials from today’s meeting for final member review and online voting. The Chair thanked the committee for the afternoon’s discussion and noted that they would meet again on Friday, January 28, 2022.

Meeting 2 Information

Date: Friday, January 28, 2022 from 10:00 am - 1:15 pm

Location: Virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

Meeting 2 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Sambhavi Chandrashekar, Karen Csoli, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Olga Dosis, Janice Fennell, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Carolyn Hepburn, Ainsley Latour, Elizabeth Mohler, Jeanette Parsons, Anne Pottier, Ben Poynton, Marc Wilchesky

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Arminda Aliu, Paul Challen, Sonya Del Monte, Ann Louise FitzPatrick, Jason Schroter, Jenna Strathearn

Other staff: Meranda Shewan, Meghann Taylor, Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Hummeny

Regrets: Tory Bowman, Roy Gillis, Meri Kim Oliver

Meeting 2 minutes

M 16-2.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle, provided remarks welcoming the committee. She noted that this marked the committee’s final meeting prior to submitting their final report to the Minister and thanked the members for their dedication throughout the past four years.

Ms. Doyle reviewed several key considerations for members to keep in mind when considering making updates to the recommendations. She also noted the goal of finalizing the committee’s report for submission to the Minister by March 2022.

M. 16-2.2 remarks from Alison Drummond, Assistant Deputy Minister, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Division

Assistant Deputy Minister Alison Drummond provided introductory remarks to the committee. Assistant Deputy Minister Drummond expressed her support for the committee’s work and acknowledged the dedication of the members in their review of the public feedback and work towards finalizing their recommendations. Assistant Deputy Minister Drummond stated that she looks forward to reviewing the final recommendations and reiterated that the ministry is here to support the committee in their final steps toward completion.

M. 16-2.3 overview of public feedback and proposed changes on digital learning and technology recommendations

Sambhavi Chandrashekar provided an overview of feedback received on the digital learning and technology recommendations and noted that 98% of survey respondents agreed with these recommendations either as is or with some changes.

Ms. Chandrashekar provided the group with proposed updates. The group discussed the need to consider the adaptations made since the onset of the pandemic and switch to virtual learning that have both increased accessibility for some but presented new barriers for others. They acknowledged that universal design principles should be emphasized in the use of digital tools and their application to creating more accessible learning opportunities.

M. 16-2.4 remarks from Kelly Shields, Assistant Deputy Minister, Postsecondary Education Division, Ministry for Colleges and Universities

Assistant Deputy Minister Kelly Shields expressed her gratitude for the committee’s work and acknowledged the impact the work will have in creating a more accessible and equitable postsecondary education system. Assistant Deputy Minister Shields congratulated the committee in nearing the completion of their final recommendations report and voiced her eagerness to review the report once completed.

M. 16-2.5 overview of public feedback and proposed changes on attitudes, behaviours, perceptions and assumptions recommendations

The Chair provided an overview of feedback received on the attitudes, behaviours, perceptions and assumptions recommendations and noted that 95% of survey respondents agreed with these recommendations either as is or with some changes.

The Chair provided the group with proposed updates. The group discussed the importance of disaggregated data collection and where possible, to align with existing data collection measures (e.g. provincial and federal).

The group also discussed the need for greater disability representation in communication strategies across campuses.

M. 16-2.6 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and confirmed that the ministry would circulate updated materials from today’s meeting for final member review and online voting. The Chair thanked the committee for their dedication and hard work throughout the standards development process over the past four years. She also thanked the ministry for their ongoing support. Members and ministry staff expressed their thanks for Ms. Doyle’s superior work as the committee chair.

Postsecondary Education Meeting 15: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 and Friday, January 21, 2022

Letter from chair to the minister

February 24, 2022

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Minister for Seniors and Accessibility
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2C8

Dear Minister Cho,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee: Meeting Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the committee), I am pleased to submit the committee-approved minutes from the virtual meetings held on December 7th, 2021, and January 21st, 2022, and to provide you with a brief update on the committee’s progress.

On December 7, we reviewed the feedback received on the recommendations regarding awareness, training and social realms. On January 21, we reviewed the feedback received on the recommendations regarding organizational barriers. We will be voting online to finalize these recommendations.

We are looking forward to continuing our discussions at our two remaining meetings, and to making final edits to the report, in preparation for submitting our final recommendations report to you.

The committee is currently voting on the Technical Sub-Committee report on transitions, and we look forward to submitting it to you as well.

I look forward to continuing to update you on the Committee’s progress.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Meeting 1 Information

Date: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 from 1:00pm - 4:15pm

Location: Virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

Meeting 1 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Tory Bowman, Karen Csoli, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Janice Fennell, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Carolyn Hepburn, Ainsley Latour, Elizabeth Mohler, Meri Kim Oliver, Jeanette Parsons, Anne Pottier, Ben Poynton, Marc Wilchesky

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Arminda Aliu, Paul Challen, Sonya Del Monte, Ann Louise FitzPatrick, Jenna Strathearn

Other staff: Meranda Shewan (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Hummeny

Regrets: Olga Dosis, Roy Gillis, Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Meeting 1 meeting minutes

M. 15-1.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle, provided remarks welcoming the committee. She noted the high level of public support for the initial recommendations report via the many survey responses and written submissions received.

Ms. Doyle reviewed several key considerations for members to keep in mind when considering making updates to the recommendations. She also noted the goal of finalizing the committee’s report for submission to the Minister by March 2022.

M. 15-1.2 overview of public feedback and proposed changes on awareness and training recommendations

Tory Bowman and Jim Kyte jointly provided an overview of feedback received on the awareness and training recommendations and noted that 97% of survey respondents agreed with these recommendations either as is or with some changes.

Ms. Bowman and Mr. Kyte provided the group with proposed updates. The group discussed the need to increase accessibility awareness amongst student unions and acknowledged the need for non-regulatory tools to reach unincorporated unions where regulations could not be imposed.

The group also discussed student health centres and the need for medical staff, including third-party staff, to receive accessibility training. They acknowledged this may already be considered by the Health Care Standards Development Committee.

M. 15-1.3 overview of public feedback and proposed changes on social realms recommendations

Janice Fennell provided an overview of feedback received on the social realms recommendations and noted that 98% of survey respondents agreed with these recommendations either as is or with some changes.

Ms. Fennell provided the group with proposed updates. Given the focus on accessibility outside of the classroom, the group continued to discuss the challenges around imposing regulations on student groups or societies that are not incorporated as a small business.

The group discussed the need to add several terms to the report glossary to increase clarity, including “student union”, “student group” and “non-academic”.

M. 15-1.4 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and confirmed that the ministry would circulate updated materials from today’s meeting for final member review and online voting. The Chair wished the committee a happy and safe holiday, and confirmed that they would resume their meetings in the new year.

Meeting 2 Information

Date: Friday, January 21, 2022 from 1:00pm - 4:15pm

Location: Virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

Meeting 2 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Tory Bowman, Sam Chandreshekar, Karen Csoli, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Olga Dosis, Janice Fennell, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Carolyn Hepburn, Julia Kowal, Ainsley Latour, Elizabeth Mohler, Meri Kim Oliver, Jeanette Parsons, Anne Pottier, Ben Poynton, Mahadeo Sukhai, Marc Wilchesky

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Alison Drummond, Mary Bartolomucci, Arminda Aliu, Paul Challen, Sonya Del Monte, Ann Louise Fitzpatrick, Jenna Strathearn/p>

Other staff: Meranda Shewan (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Hummeny

Regrets: Tory Bowman, Roy Gillis, Jim Kyte, Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Meeting 2 minutes

M. 15-2.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle, welcomed the committee back and wished them a happy new year. She confirmed that all of the recommendations reviewed before the holidays, save for awareness and training, will be sent out for final review and online vote next week.

Ms. Doyle reviewed several key considerations for members to keep in mind when considering making updates to the recommendations. She also noted the goal of finalizing the committee’s report for submission to the Minister by March 2022.

M. 15-2.2 overview of public feedback and proposed changes on organizational barriers

Tina Doyle noted that 97% of survey respondents agreed with the recommendations in this section either as is or with some changes.

Marc Wilchesky provided the group with proposed updates. The group discussed the challenges around proposed requirements for the procurement of accessible educational resources, and the need to align with existing requirements as well as accommodate for future regulation.

The group also spent time discussing proposed recommendations around service animals. The committee asks that the next standards development committee tasked with reviewing customer service standards consider the need to clarify the definition of service animals in contrast to support animals, as well as public versus non-public space.

M. 15-2.3 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and confirmed that the ministry would circulate updated materials from today’s meeting for final member review and online voting. The Chair thanked the committee for the afternoon’s discussion and noted that they would meet again on Tuesday, January 25, 2022.

Postsecondary education meeting 14: Monday November 29 and Wednesday December 1, 2021

Letter from chair to the minister

December 15, 2021

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Minister for Seniors and Accessibility
777 Bay Street, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Minister Cho,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee: Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee-approved minutes from the virtual meetings held on November 29th and December 1st, 2021 and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

This meeting was the first we have held since January 2021. In it, the Committee began our review of the feedback that has been received from the public on our Initial Recommendations Report. We reviewed the feedback received on the Long-Term Objective, General Overarching Barriers, Physical and Architectural Barriers and Financial Barriers.

We are looking forward to continuing our discussions at our subsequent meetings, and to making final edits to the initial report, in preparation for submitting our Final Recommendations Report to you in the early new year.

We are looking forward to receiving the report of the Technical Sub-Committee (TSC) on Transitions, and to voting on that report prior to it being submitted to you as well.

I look forward to continuing to update you on the Committee’s progress.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Day 1 meeting information

Date: Monday, November 29, 2021 from 10:00am-1:15pm

Location: virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

Day 1 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Tory Bowman, Karen Csoli, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Olga Dosis, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Janice Fennell, Carolyn Hepburn, Ainsley Latour, Elizabeth Mohler, Meri Kim Oliver, Jeanette Parsons, Anne Pottier

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Arminda Aliu, Paul Challen, Sonya Del Monte, Ann Louise FitzPatrick, Jenna Strathearn

Other staff: Meranda Shewan (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Hummeny

Regrets: Sam Chandreshekar, Roy Gillis, Ainsley Latour, Ben Poynton, Marc Wilchesky, Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Day 1 meeting minutes

M 14-1.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle, provided remarks welcoming the Committee back. She noted the high level of public support for the Initial Recommendations Report via the many survey responses and written submissions received. She also noted the goal of finalizing the Committee’s report for submission to the Minister by February 2022.

M 14-1.2 Director remarks

Mary Bartolomucci, Director of the Standards Policy and Development Branch, provided congratulatory remarks to the Committee, noting the high level of public support received for their initial recommendations.

M 14-1.3 next steps to finalizing recommendations

Alex Ibrahim, Manager of the Standards Development Unit, provided the Committee with an overview of the next steps required to finalize and submit their recommendations to government, as well as the steps the government will take to review and move ahead with the development of a potential new accessibility standard for postsecondary education.

M 14-1.4 approach to finalizing recommendations

Ann Louise FitzPatrick, Senior Policy Advisor in the Standards Development Unit, provided the committee with a number of considerations to keep in mind when reviewing public feedback and making updates to their existing recommendations. Staff supporting the K-12 and Health Care Standards Development Committees shared insights on the approaches their committees have taken in finalizing recommendations.

M 14-1.5 overview of public feedback and proposed changes on long-term objective

Tina Doyle provided an overview of feedback received on the long-term objective and noted that 95% of survey respondents agreed with the long-term objective either as is or with some changes.

Ms. Doyle provided the group with proposed updates, which included responding to public feedback around clearly recognizing mental health, as well as the importance of students with disabilities being able to independently navigate transparent systems without barriers.

The Committee voted to accept the following, updated long-term objective:

Long term objective

With the support of the Ontario government, postsecondary publicly funded colleges and universities in Ontario will implement an ongoing intentional strategy:

  • that actively identifies, removes, and prevents barriers for students with disabilities from fully participating in, included, and benefitting from, all aspects of post-secondary education
  • that creates policies, procedures, and guidelines through an intersectional accessibility lens
  • that recognizes and responds to the interaction between the environmental features (for example, social, attitudinal, physical, procedural, etc.) and the features of people with evident (for example, wheelchair user) and less evident disabilities (for example, mental health)
  • where teaching and learning practices consider the diversity of learning environments and needs throughout the academic journey
  • that recognizes disability is a critical aspect of the education sector’s commitment to human rights, equity, diversity, and inclusion

Realization of the long-term objective will result in all students with disabilities living and learning in an environment where they will:

  • feel valued, welcomed and a sense of belonging
  • independently navigate transparent systems without barriers
  • be provided with opportunities to realize their full potential both inside and outside of the classroom
  • have an equal opportunity to contribute, to learn and to demonstrate their knowledge

M 14-1.6 overview of public feedback and proposed changes on general overarching barriers recommendations

Tina Doyle provided an overview of feedback received on the General Overarching Barriers recommendations and noted that 90% of survey respondents agreed with these recommendations either as is or with some changes.

Ms. Doyle provided the group with proposed updates, which included responding to public feedback from the education sector calling for additional funding to support the implementation of new requirements. The group agreed that the General Overarching Barriers section would serve as the overall location in their report for funding to be addressed.

Ms. Doyle committed to make additional updates to the recommendations after the meeting, and the Committee agreed to vote on this section via email.

M 14-1.7 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and confirmed that the Ministry would circulate updated materials from today’s meeting for final member review and online voting. The Chair thanked the Committee for the engaging discussion and noted that they would meet again on Wednesday December 1st.

Day 2 meeting information

Date: Wednesday, December 1st, 2021 from 1:30pm-4:45pm

Location: virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

Day 2 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Sam Chandreshekar, Karen Csoli, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Janice Fennell, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Ainsley Latour, Elizabeth Mohler, Meri Kim Oliver, Jeanette Parsons, Anne Pottier, Ben Poynton, Mahadeo Sukhai, Marc Wilchesky

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Alison Drummond, Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Arminda Aliu, Paul Challen, Sonya Del Monte, Ann Louise Fitzpatrick, Jenna Strathearn

Other staff: Meranda Shewan (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Hummeny

Regrets: Tory Bowman, Olga Dosis, Roy Gillis, Carolyn Hepburn, Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Day 2 meeting minutes

M 14-2.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle, congratulated the Committee on their progress on Monday, and on finalizing their long-term objective. She confirmed that she is making edits to the General Overarching Barriers section and will ask Ministry staff to circulate those recommendations for final review and vote before the holidays.

M 14-2.2 Assistant Deputy Minister remarks

Alison Drummond, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Division, introduced herself to the Committee and provided congratulatory remarks. She noted the Ministry’s commitment to supporting the members to finalize their recommendations and thanked the members for their dedication to the standards development process.

M 14-2.3 overview of public feedback and proposed changes on physical and architectural barriers

Tina Doyle noted that 100% of survey respondents agreed with the recommendations in this section either as is or with some changes.

Ben Poynton provided the group with proposed updates. The group spent time discussing options for future proofing the recommendations, as well as how to ensure the accessibility of third-party placements sites for experiential learning.

Mr. Poynton and his small group agreed to finalize their proposed updates following the meeting. The Chair asked the Ministry to circulate the updated recommendations for final member review and voting in advance of the holidays.

M 14-2.4 overview of public feedback and proposed changes on financial barriers

Tina Doyle noted that 96% of survey respondents agreed with the recommendations in this section either as is or with some changes.

Mahadeo Sukhai, on behalf of Ainsley Latour, provided the group with proposed updates to the recommendations. The Committee spent time discussing access to on-campus health care because of unforeseen circumstances. They also agreed upon the need to review the timelines across all their recommendations.

Mr. Sukhai and Ms. Latour committed to make additional updates to the recommendations based on the Committee’s discussion and for the Committee to hold a vote on this section over email.

M 14-2.5 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and confirmed that the Ministry would circulate updated materials from today’s meeting for final member review and online voting. The Chair thanked the Committee for the afternoon’s discussion and noted that they would meet again on Tuesday December 7th.

Postsecondary education meeting 13: Tuesday December 8, 2020 and Friday January 29, 2021

Letter from chair to the minister

July 30, 2021

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Minister Cho,

Re: Post-secondary Education Standards Development Committee: Meeting 13 – Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Post-secondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee-approved minutes from the Meeting (“Meeting 13”) held on December 8, 2020 and January 29, 2021 and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

Thank you very much for attending our December 8 meeting and providing remarks to the Committee. We were appreciative of the time you took to congratulate us on our progress and to remind us of the importance of our work to the lives of post-secondary students with disabilities.

At these meetings, the Committee reviewed our draft report, as well as the draft technical sub-committee report and considered areas of overlap and opportunities to streamline both reports.

The Committee is nearing completion of our initial proposed recommendations and does not anticipate needing to meet again before finalizing our report.

The Committee plans to hold an electronic vote to accept both reports in several weeks’ time. I look forward to submitting out initial proposed recommendations report to you in March.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Day 1 meeting information

Date: December 8, 2020 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of Committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Day 1 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Sam Chandreshekar, Karen Csoli, Janice Fennell, Ashton Forest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Carolyn Hepburn, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Ainsley Latour, Meri Kim Oliver, Jeanette Parsons, Anne Pottier, Ben Poynton and Marc Wilchesky.

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Arminda Aliu, Sonya Del Monte, Ann Louise Fitzpatrick, Vinothini Kajendran, and Jenna Strathearn

Other staff: Colin McCullough (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Hummeny

Regrets: Tory Bowman, Olga Dosis, Roy Gillis, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Elizabeth Mohler and Mahadeo Sukhai

Day 1 meeting minutes

M 13.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle, provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 13.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and protocol information.

M 13.3 overview of technical sub-committee report

Jeanette Parsons, co-lead of the Technical Sub-Committee (TSC), provided an overview of the draft sub-committee report. Members were invited to provide feedback on the initial recommendations. Members acknowledged the excellent work of the TSC members to develop such a comprehensive report.

M 13.4 remarks from the Honourable Raymond Cho, Minister for Seniors and Accessibility

Minister Cho joined the meeting and provided congratulatory remarks to the Committee on their progress, as they near the completion of the first phase of their work.

M 13. 5 overview of Technical Sub-Committee Report (continued)

The Committee continued to discuss the TSC report, including transition needs for Indigenous students with disabilities.

Jeanette confirmed she would relay feedback to the TSC members, and a revised version of the report would be circulated in the new year for committee voting.

M 13.6 review of draft initial recommendations report

The Committee reviewed feedback received by members on the draft recommendations and discussed opportunities to further refine their work. The Ministry committed to send out an updated draft of the initial recommendations report for members to review over the holidays, with feedback due in early January.

M 13.7 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work. She asked members to review the draft initial recommendations report by early January, and to come to the January 29, 2021 meeting prepared to discuss their feedback.

Day 2 meeting information

Date: January 29, 2021 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred. All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the minister.

Day 2 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Tory Bowman, Sam Chandreshekar, Karen Csoli, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Janice Fennell, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Carolyn Hepburn, Jim Kyte, Ainsley Latour, Meri-Kim Oliver, Jeanette Parsons, Anne Pottier, Ben Poynton and Marc Wilchesky,

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Arminda Aliu, Paul Challen, Sonya Del Monte, Ann Louise Fitzpatrick, Vinothini Kajendran, and Jenna Strathearn

Other staff: Colin McCullough (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Hummeny

Regrets: Olga Dosis, Roy Gillis, Julia Kowal and Elizabeth Mohler

Day 2 meeting minutes

M 13.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle, provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 13.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and updates on per diems for Committee members.

M 13.3 overview of Technical Sub-Committee Report

Jeanette Parsons, co-lead of the Technical Sub-Committee (TSC), provided an overview of the most recent version of the draft sub-committee report, and noted that the K-12 Standards Development Committee successfully voted to accept the report.

Jeanette and Tina provided an overview of recommendations within the TSC report that overlapped with recommendations in the draft post-secondary education report. The Committee discussed the possibility of removing these recommendations from the TSC report in order to make all recommendations as clear as possible.

Jeanette and Tina committed to relay the Committee’s feedback to the members of the TSC and to provide an updated draft of the TSC report to members for final review and electronic vote.

M 13.4 review of draft initial recommendations report

The Chair thanked members for all the feedback provided on the draft initial recommendations report. Members were generally pleased with the report and the way the nine barrier area recommendations came together as a whole.

Ministry staff provided an overview of potential areas of duplication identified in the draft initial recommendations report. The Committee discussed several areas of duplication and worked collaboratively to merge recommendations. Members agreed to address remaining areas through email following the meeting.

M 13.5 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work throughout the process to develop the initial recommendations report. She confirmed that Ministry staff would work with representatives from each small team to address potential areas of overlap or duplication and circulate an updated version of the report to members for final review and voting.

Postsecondary education meeting 12: Friday November 6 and Monday November 16, 2020

Letter from chair to the minister

March 2, 2021

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Minister for Seniors and Accessibility
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Minister Cho,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee: Meeting 12 – Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee-approved minutes from the Meeting (“Meeting 12”) held on November 6 and 16, 2020 and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

The Committee held presentations on barrier areas one, Attitudinal barriers and eight, Financial barriers as well as on general recommendations which did not fall under any of the other themes. Members provided feedback during the discussions on ways to strengthen and improve these recommendations. Voting on these items will be held online over the next several weeks.

I am delighted to report that via online vote, the Committee has now successfully passed all recommendations related to Digital Technology and Learning, Awareness and Training, and Physical and Architectural barriers.

I am pleased to let you know that the Committee has now discussed all of our identified barrier areas. We will meet again on December 8 to discuss the recommendations from the Technical Sub-Committee.

I look forward to continuing to update you on the Committee’s progress as we near the completion of the first phase of our work.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Day 1 meeting information

Date: November 6, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of Committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Day 1 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Sam Chandreshekar, Karen Csoli, Olga Dosis, Janice Fennell, Ashton Forest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Roy Gillis, Carolyn Hepburn, Jim Kyte, Mahadeo Sukhai, Elizabeth Mohler, Meri Kim Oliver, Anne Pottier, Jeanette Parsons, Ben Poynton and Marc Wilchesky

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Jenna Strathearn, Arminda Aliu and Ann Louise Fitzpatrick

Other staff: Colin McCullough (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Hummeny

Regrets: Tory Bowman, Julia Kowal, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Ainsley Latour and Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Day 1 meeting minutes

M 12.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 12.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and protocol information.

M 12.3 small group presentation and discussion of barrier area eight – Financial recommendations

Mahadeo Sukhai and Tina Doyle provided an overview of barrier area eight, Financial barriers. Recommendations fell under four general themes being cost differentials, transparency, graduate student funding and intersectionality. The Committee engaged in discussions around the definition of a full-time student and the impact this has upon financial support offered to students with disabilities. The Committee agreed upon a number of small changes to strengthen the recommendations.

The Committee reviewed the recommendations under the first three themes and agreed to discuss the remaining recommendations at the November 16, 2020 meeting.

M 12.4 small group presentation and discussion of general recommendations

Tina Doyle provided an overview of general recommendations, which were developed over the course of the Committee’s meetings, as way of keeping track of items that did not fit concisely within any of the identified themes. The Committee agreed upon a number of small changes to strengthen these recommendations.

Discussions on general recommendations will continue at the November 16, 2020 meeting.

M 12.5 small group presentation and discussion of barrier area one – Attitudes, Behaviors, Perceptions and Assumptions

Roy Gillis and Tina Doyle provided an overview of recommendations related to barrier area one – Attitudes, Behaviors, Perceptions and Assumptions. Themes that emerged were on:

  • The importance of transformational leadership including:
    • creating a change management and communication strategy to respond to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act recommendations
    • leveraging infrastructure, resources, and funding to support the recommendations
    • demonstrating symbolic efforts to support accessibility and inclusion
  • Accountability (metrics and performance measures) including:
    • annual reporting to ministry
    • campus climate surveys
    • representation data collection which ensured part-time students with disabilities were considered
  • Promoting and supporting disability related research and scholarship
  • Awareness to promote a cultural shift towards an accessible and inclusive society
  • Language to increase awareness and reduce stigma

The Committee agreed to vote on all recommendations under this theme online over the next several weeks.

M 12.5 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work. The Chair reminded members that the next meeting will take place on November 16, 2020 and will focus on completing the discussions on financial barriers and general recommendations.

Day 2 meeting information

Date: November 16, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of Committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Day 2 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Tory Bowman, Sam Chandreshekar, Karen Csoli, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Olga Dosis, Janice Fennell, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Julia Kowal, Meri Kim Oliver, Jeanette Parsons, Ben Poynton, Mahadeo Sukhai and Marc Wilchesky

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Jenna Strathearn, Arminda Aliu and Ann Louise Fitzpatrick

Other staff: Colin McCullough (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Marlene Finnegan

Regrets: Roy Gillis, Carolyn Hepburn, Elizabeth Mohler, Ainsley Latour and Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Day 2 meeting minutes

M 12.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 12.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and updates on per diems for Committee members.

M 12.3 small group presentation and discussion of general recommendations

Tina Doyle provided an overview of the remaining general recommendations, which were developed over the course of the Committee’s meetings, as way of keeping track of items that did not fit concisely within any of the identified themes.

The Committee discussed inclusion of the long-term objective in the purpose statement of the Postsecondary Education Standards, the roll out of the standard and ministry collaboration and consideration of students with disabilities when the government of Ontario rolls out new initiatives and strategies across sectors. The Committee also discussed whether all of their recommendations ought to apply to private post-secondary institutions as well as public ones and agreed to raise this for government consideration in the introduction of their report, rather than as a formal recommendation. The Committee acknowledged this is beyond the scope of their work.

All general recommendations will be voted on online over the next several weeks.

M 12.4 small group presentation and discussion of barrier area eight – Financial recommendations

Mahadeo Sukhai provided an overview of the remaining sections under Financial barriers – graduate education and applying an intersectional lens during policy development. Consensus was built on small changes to a number of recommendations in this section, in order to strengthen them before an online vote is held.

M 12.4 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

Tina Doyle provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work.

The next meeting is scheduled for December 8, 2020 and will focus on the recommendations developed by the Technical Sub-Committee focused on transition planning.

Postsecondary education meeting 11: Wednesday October 28 and Monday November 2, 2020

Letter from chair to the minister

March 2, 2021

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Minister Cho,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee: Meeting 11 – Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee-approved minutes from the Meeting (“Meeting 11”) held on October 28 and November 2, 2020 and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

At these meetings, the Committee continued to hear presentations on three barrier areas that had initially been discussed at meetings earlier in October which were Physical and Architectural barriers, Organizational barriers and Assessment, Instruction and Curriculum. Members provided feedback during the discussions on ways to strengthen and improve these recommendations and agreed to vote on all three topics online to follow the meeting.

I am pleased to let you know that the Committee has successfully held an online vote on the draft long-term objective for the standard as well as for all recommendations regarding Social Realms.

Committee members will continue to present their draft recommendations to address a range of barrier areas over the coming weeks.

I look forward to continuing to update you on the Committee’s progress.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Day 1 meeting information

Date: October 28, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of Committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Day 1 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Tory Bowman, Sam Chandreshekar, Karen Csoli, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Olga Dosis, Janice Fennell, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Mahadeo Sukhai, Elizabeth Mohler, Meri Kim Oliver, Jeanette Parsons, Anne Pottier, Ben Poynton and Marc Wilchesky

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Jenna Strathearn, Arminda Aliu and Ann Louise Fitzpatrick

Other staff: Colin McCullough (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Hummeny

Regrets: Roy Gillis, Carolyn Hepburn, Ainsley Latour and Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Day 1 meeting minutes

M 11.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 11.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and protocol information.

M 11.3 small group presentation and discussion of barrier area seven: Physical and Architectural barriers

Ben Poynton, Karen Csoli and Julia Kowal presented their group’s remaining recommendations within barrier area seven, Physical and Architectural barriers, focusing on Awareness, User Experience and Transparency. Much of the discussion focused on challenges regarding service disruptions and how to effectively communicate these.

The Committee agreed to vote online on all recommendations under this barrier area.

M 11.4 small group presentation and discussion of barrier area five: Organizational barriers

Marc Wilchesky presented the remaining recommendations on Organizational barriers. The group discussed the following five themes:

  • entrenchment of accessibility at the front lines
  • students with disabilities who also are employees
  • ensuring an inclusive teaching and learning environment
  • service animals
  • business continuity plans

The Committee built consensus around a number of updates to be made following the meeting and agreed to voting on all recommendations online.

M 11.5 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work. The Chair reminded members that the next meeting will take place on November 2, 2020 and will focus on Assessment, Instruction and Curriculum. She asked members to review recommendations and submit questions and feedback in advance of the next meeting.

Day 2 meeting information

Date: November 2, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of Committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Day 2 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Tory Bowman, Karen Csoli, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Olga Dosis, Janice Fennell, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Carolyn Hepburn, Julia Kowal, Elizabeth Mohler, Jeanette Parsons, Anne Pottier, Ben Poynton, Mahadeo Sukhai and Marc Wilchesky

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Jenna Strathearn, Arminda Aliu and Ann Louise Fitzpatrick

Other staff: Colin McCullough (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Hummeny

Regrets: Sam Chandreshekar, Roy Gillis, Ainsley Latour, Meri Kim Oliver and Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Day 2 meeting minutes

M 11.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 11.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and updates on per diems for Committee members.

M 11.3 small group presentation and discussion of barrier area three: Assessment, Instruction and Curriculum

Karen Csoli, Mahadeo Sukhai, and Carolyn Hepburn presented their group’s remaining recommendations within barrier area three, Assessment, Instruction and Curriculum including quality assurance, diversity of learning environments, learning spaces and policies, measurement and evaluation. The Committee built consensus on a number of small changes to strengthen the recommendations.

The Committee agreed to vote on all recommendations under this theme online to follow the meeting.

M 11.4 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

Tina Doyle provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work.

The next meeting is scheduled for November 6, 2020 and will focus on Attitudinal and Financial barrier areas. The Chair reminded members to review these recommendations and provide questions and feedback in advance.

The Chair also reminded members that online votes focused on awareness and training and digital technology will be taking place over the next two weeks.

Postsecondary education meeting 10: Wednesday October 21 and Monday October 23, 2020

Letter from chair to the minister

January 4, 2021

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Minister for Seniors and Accessibility
777 Bay Street, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Minister Cho,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee: Meeting 10 – Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee-approved minutes from the meeting (“Meeting 10”) held on October 21 and 23, 2020 and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

The Committee held presentations on barrier area five: Organizational barriers and barrier area seven – Physical and Architectural barriers. The small group leads were able to present half of their work and their draft recommendations addressing these barrier areas. Members provided feedback during the discussions on ways to strengthen and improve these recommendations.

The Postsecondary Education voted unanimously on one theme within organizational barriers – clear, readily accessible policies and procedures relating to admission and academic accommodation processes for students with disabilities.

Both the Physical and Architectural barriers and Organizational barriers group will finish their presentations at the October 28 committee meeting, and any items not voted on during the meeting will take place online to follow.

Online voting will also take place on recommendations related to social realms, awareness and training and the long-term objective. These votes will take place over the next two weeks.

Committee members will continue to present their draft recommendations to address a range of barrier areas over the coming weeks.

I look forward to continuing to update you on the Committee’s ongoing progress.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Meeting 1 information

Date: October 21, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Present: meeting 1

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Tory Bowman, Sam Chandreshekar, Karen Csoli, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Janice Fennell, Carolyn Hepburn, Mahadeo Sukhai, Elizabeth Mohler, Meri Kim Oliver, Jeanette Parsons, Anne Pottier, Ben Poynton and Marc Wilchesky

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Jenna Strathearn, Arminda Aliu and Ann Louise Fitzpatrick

Other staff: Colin McCullough (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Marlene Finnegan

Regrets: Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Roy Gillis, Ainsley Latour and Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Meeting 1 minutes

M 10.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 10.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and protocol information.

M 10.3 small group presentation and discussion of barrier area seven: Physical and Architectural barriers

Ben Poynton, Karen Csoli and Julia Kowal presented their group’s recommendations within barrier area three, Physical and Architectural which included five themes. The group covered four of the themes during this meeting – technical requirements, scope, maintenance and upkeep, planning, operations, decision-making & oversight. The remaining recommendations will be discussed at a future meeting. Voting on the remaining themes will be held online.

M 10.4 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work. The Chair reminded members that the next meeting will take place on October 23 and will focus on organizational barriers. She asked members to review recommendations and submit questions and feedback in advance of the next meeting.

Meeting 2 information

Date: October 23, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

Present: meeting 2

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Sam Chandreshekar, Karen Csoli, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Carolyn Hepburn, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Julia Kowal, Elizabeth Mohler, Mahadeo Sukhai, Marc Wilchesky, Jeanette Parsons, Ben Poynton and Janice Fennell

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Jenna Strathearn, Arminda Aliu and Ann Louise Fitzpatrick

Other staff: Colin McCullough (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Marlene Finnegan

Regrets: Roy Gillis, Ashton Forrest, Julia Kowal, Ben Poynton, Ainsley Latour and Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Meeting 2 minutes

M 10.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 10.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and updates on per diems for Committee members.

M 10.3 small group presentation and discussion of barrier area five: Organizational barriers

Marc Wilchesky presented his small group’s draft recommendations within barrier area five, Organization barriers. The group identified seven themes, two of which were discussed in this meeting. The group held a unanimous vote on the recommendations covered under theme one: Clear, readily accessible policies and procedures relating to admission and academic accommodation processes for students with disabilities.

Theme one – there must be clear, readily accessible policies and procedures relating to admission and academic accommodation processes for students with disabilities:

  1. Application processes, admission tests, other admission screening and any post-admission tests must meet accessibility standards:
    • applications, application information and information about pre and post testing or screening processes will state that accommodations are available and how to access those accommodations
    • all documents, including applications and tests will be readable using assistive technology and all multi-media materials will be closed captioned, American Sign Language, Langue des signes du Québec, Described and Integrated Described video where possible and appropriate (French and English). Where these are not available, alternative options will be offered
    • additional options for accessibility will be readily available as required, including, but not limited to braille, large print texts, or reading information aloud to applicants/students
    Regulatory proposed timeline – within six months of implementation of the Postsecondary Education standard
  2. This recommendation was drafted during the meeting and not voted on
  3. Postsecondary Education will provide the public and all applicants for admission with easily located, timely and effective information in accessible formats about the available services, programs and supports for Students with Disabilities and how to access them. The information should emphasize the need for Students with Disabilities to alert the Postsecondary Education as early as possible about their disability accommodation needs

    Regulatory proposed timeline – within six months of implementation of the Post Secondary Education standard
  4. Postsecondary Education shall establish clear policies consistent with the Ontario Human Rights Commission guidelines regarding the documentation required for students to be eligible for academic accommodation. These policies will be readily available in an accessible format on the Postsecondary Education’s public facing websites and all other institutional communication channels

    Regulatory proposed timeline – within six months of implementation of the Postsecondary Education standard
  5. Postsecondary Education shall establish a clear practice with respect to providing interim academic accommodations. The practice shall include a statement with respect to the maximum time that interim accommodations will be provided (no less than one semester) while waiting for further medical/ psychological documentation that may lead to adjustments to the academic accommodations. The practice on providing interim academic accommodations shall be included in the broader policy on documentation requirements noted in recommendation three

    Regulatory proposed timeline – within six months of implementation of the Postsecondary Education standard
  6. Postsecondary Education shall collaborate to develop a consistent set of policies with respect to the nature and extent of documentation required to establish eligibility for academic accommodation. The Government of Ontario shall consult Postsecondary Education, Persons with Disabilities and other stakeholders to develop common documentation requirements

    Regulatory proposed timeline – within six months of implementation of the Postsecondary Education standard
  7. Postsecondary Education will ensure that Students with Disabilities are informed, as early as possible, in a readily accessible and understandable way that the Postsecondary Education recognizes that it has a duty to ensure that all academically qualified Students with Disabilities have the right to full participation and full inclusion in all the Postsecondary Education’s programming, events, orientations and academic life

    Regulatory proposed timeline – within six months of implementation of the Postsecondary Education standard
  8. Postsecondary Education will ensure that a Statement of Commitment to Accessibility is communicated publicly, as early as possible, in a readily accessible and understandable way. The commitment must communicate that Students with Disabilities have the right to be accommodated in connection with the Postsecondary Education’s programming and academic life under the Ontario Human Rights Code and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Evidence of attainment of the Commitment to Accessibility will be provided through annual Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act reports and the Statement of Commitment will be reviewed and updated every three years

    Regulatory proposed timeline – within six months of implementation of the Postsecondary Education standard
  9. Postsecondary Education shall develop and communicate clear policies and procedures that are demonstrably consistent with each other outlining the process by which Students with Disabilities can access academic accommodations for academically related learning activities, including classroom, online learning tools including accessible software, tests/ examinations, internships, practica, co-ops, field placements, work integrated learning or other experiential learning that are part of their academic program of study

    Note – given that the Ontario government has mandated that all students should have experiential learning opportunities, we recommend that the government increase the Accessibility Fund for Students with Disabilities to provide funding for accommodations in work integrated learning settings

    Regulatory proposed timeline – within six months of implementation of the Postsecondary Education standard
  10. Postsecondary Education shall establish and maintain an individualized, dignified and accessible procedure for Students with Disabilities to request and effectively take part in the development and implementation of plans for accommodating their disability-related needs:
    • Postsecondary Education’s shall provide information about this procedure to Students with Disabilities in a readily accessible and timely manner
    • In accordance with the “Ontario Human Rights Code Policy on Accessible Education for Students with Disabilities” (2018), Students with Disabilities shall be invited to actively participate in a joint in-person or virtual meeting with student accessibility services to plan for their disability-related supports and accommodations. In the interest of the developmental process, students will be encouraged to participate on their own to assist them in developing their self-advocacy skills. However, if a Student with Disabilities deems it necessary, they may also decide to involve any supports and professionals that can assist them in the accommodation planning meeting(s)
    Regulatory proposed timeline – within six months of implementation of the Postsecondary Education standard
  11. Schools for advanced studies staff shall carry a reasonable client load to ensure students will receive appropriate support and timely accommodation. To that end, we recommend that the Ministry of Colleges and Universities undertake a system-wide workload study to determine what constitutes a reasonable client load for service providers of students with disabilities and to determine whether the ministry needs to add funds to the Accessibility Fund for Students with Disabilities to ensure reasonable client loads

    Regulatory proposed timeline – within six months of implementation of the Postsecondary Education standard
  12. Pending the review by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities of the system-wide workload study, we recommend that client loads for Schools for Advanced Studies staff should not exceed 250-300 students per service provider, where possible

    This is a non-regulatory recommendation
  13. The small group will update their recommendations based on committee feedback and present their remaining recommendations at an upcoming meeting

M 10.4 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

Tina Doyle provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work.

The next meeting is scheduled for October 28, 2020 and will focus on finishing up Architectural and Physical barriers and Organizational barriers presentations. The Chair reminded members to review these recommendations and provide questions and feedback in advance.

Postsecondary education meeting 9: Wednesday October 14 and Monday October 19, 2020

Letter from chair to the minister

January 4, 2021

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Minister for Seniors and Accessibility
777 Bay Street, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Minister Cho,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee: Meeting 9 – Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee-approved minutes from the Meeting (“Meeting 9”) held on October 14 and 19, 2020 and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

The Committee held presentations on barrier area three: Assessment, Instruction and Curriculum, barrier area six: Social Realms. Furthermore, a continuation of the remaining of the presentation on barrier area four: Digital Learning and Technologies was also conducted. The small group leads presented their draft recommendations addressing these barrier areas. Members provided feedback during the discussions on ways to strengthen and improve these recommendations.

The Postsecondary Education successfully completed their first vote on October 19. They unanimously voted on five sections of recommendations regarding Digital Learning and Technology (each section contained a number of sub-recommendations). Themes included: accessible technology, accessible procurement support, accessible pedagogy, accessible content and accessibility plans.

One section under this barrier area is being updated (Accessibility Training) and will be sent out as an online vote. Online voting will also take place on recommendations related to social realms, awareness and training and the long-term objective. These votes will occur in the coming weeks.

Committee members will continue to present their draft recommendations to address a range of barrier areas over the coming weeks. Looking ahead to the Committee’s next virtual meetings held on October 21 and October 23, 2020, the Committee will be discussing Physical and Architectural barriers and Organizational barriers.

I look forward to continuing to update you on the Committee’s ongoing progress.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Meeting 1 information

Date: October 14, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Present: meeting 1

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Karen Csoli, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Janice Fennell, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Carolyn Hepburn, Mahadeo Sukhai, Elizabeth Mohler, Meri Kim Oliver, Jeanette Parsons, Anne Pottier, Ben Poynton and Marc Wilchesky

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Jenna Strathearn, Arminda Aliu and Ann Louise Fitzpatrick

Other staff: Colin McCullough (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Humenny

Regrets: Tory Bowman, Sam Chandreshekar, Olga Dosis, Jim Kyte, Ainsley Latour and Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Meeting 1 minutes

M 9.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 9.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and protocol information.

M 9.3 small group presentation and discussion of barrier area three: Assessment, Instruction and Curriculum

Karen Csoli, Mahadeo Sukhai, and Carolyn Hepburn presented their group’s recommendations within barrier area three, Assessment, Instruction and Curriculum which included eight themes. The group covered three themes during this meeting meeting – pedagogy/andragogy, accessible format educational materials and institutional responsibility. Much of the discussion centered on quality assurance and accountability. The remaining recommendations will be discussed at a future meeting.

M 9.4 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work. The Chair reminded members that the next meeting will take place on October 19 and will focus on two barrier areas. She asked members to review recommendations and submit questions and feedback in advance of the next meeting.

Meeting 2 information

Date: October 19, 2020 from 1:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Present: meeting 2

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Sam Chandreshekar, Karen Csoli, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Carolyn Hepburn, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Julia Kowal, Elizabeth Mohler, Mahadeo Sukhai, Marc Wilchesky, Jeanette Parsons, Ben Poynton and Janice Fennell

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Jenna Strathearn, Arminda Aliu and Ann Louise Fitzpatrick

Other staff: Colin McCullough (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Marlene Finnegan

Regrets: Tory Bowman, Olga Dosis, Jim Kyte, Ainsley Latour and Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Meeting 2 minutes

M 9.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 9.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and updates on per diems for Committee members.

M 9.3 small group presentation and discussion of barrier area six: Social Realms

Elizabeth Mohler, Jeanette Parsons, and Janice Fennell presented their small group draft recommendations within barrier area six, identifying five focus areas: accessibility lens, accessible event planning, accessibility supports, leadership and social belonging. The small group will update their recommendations based on Committee feedback, and recommendations will be voted on online.

M 9.4 small group presentation and discussion of barrier area four: Digital Learning and Technologies

Marie-Claude Gagnon and Jennifer Curry Jahnke presented the remainder of their small group draft recommendations within barrier area four, Digital Learning and Technologies, identifying their last three focus areas – accessibility training/practice, accessible pedagogy and accessible content. At the end of the presentation, the committee held their first vote. They unanimously voted on five sections of recommendations regarding Digital Learning and Technology (each section contained a number of sub-recommendations, listed below).

Theme one: accessible technology

  1. 1.1 Provide and adopt clear and consistent definitions across the education sector for key terms relating to digital learning and technology.
  2. 1.2 We agree with and recommend the adoption of the Information and Communication Standards Review on ‘Recommendation 14: Procurement’ for any digital technology purchased.
  3. 1.3 In addition, we recommend ensuring that any digital technology acquired otherwise for the purpose of learning must also respect the criteria set in the procurement section of the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation general requirements (O. Reg. 191/11, s. 5(1); O. Reg. 413/12, s. 4.(1))
  4. 1.4 In cases where accessibility barriers continue to exist, a functionally usable alternative option meeting the requirements of the course and agreed upon by both the student and the educator must be provided for each barrier with an explanation prior to the start of the course or as soon as reasonably possible.
  5. 1.5 All instances of functionally usable alternative options will be documented and reviewed each term to determine if a more suitable permanent solution has been identified, in the case of:
    • if the student is still registered in the course, by the student and the educator
    • where the student is no longer taking the course, by the institutional lead for accessibility in consultation with the educator

Theme two: accessibility plans

  1. 2.1 The plan must be created in consultation with a diverse body of stakeholders that includes students with disabilities.
  2. 2.2 Regardless of the stage in the learning process or pathway (program of study), equitable access to resources, opportunities, and services should be made available to students with disabilities at no additional cost to the student.
  3. 2.3 Postsecondary Education institutions and educators are required to identify in advance, and to communicate to students, the digital technology and learning components needed to meet the essential requirements of each course.
  4. 2.4 Postsecondary Education institutions shall include in their plan a way to provide, communicate, and reinforce educators with a mechanism to vet the accessibility of the technology and content used.
  5. 2.5 Postsecondary Education institutions shall plan for the identification of, and removal of, systemic and environmental barriers that hinder a student’s digital learning.
  6. 2.6 Postsecondary Education institutions shall ensure the availability of accessible communication processes for collaboration: student-to-student, student-to-educator, and student-to-internal & student-to-external partners.
  7. 2.7 Postsecondary Education institutions shall report in their multi-year plan how they have implemented their commitment of disability inclusion for all stages of the academic journey, including addressing any inequities to digital learning.
  8. 2.8 Postsecondary Education institutions shall report on the adherence to these plans in their annual report.

Theme three: accessible procurement support

  1. 3.1 Postsecondary Education institutions shall appoint at least one high-level, institutional staff as the “accessible digital technology lead,” to support faculty/educators in the procurement/acquisition of digital technologies for learning, content creation, and training. If a separate “accessible digital technology lead” is not possible, then the accessibility lead for the institution must take on this role, which may involve additional training.
  2. 3.2 This lead role should have demonstrated knowledge or qualifications in accessible technology core requirements to ensure purchases have the highest degree of conformance with accessibility standards.
  3. 3.3 It is the responsibility of this lead role to incorporate accessibility design, criteria and features when procuring or buying goods, services or facilities, for example as included in the US Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (according to the Section 508 Regulations)
  4. 3.4 The plan should report on the activities and accomplishments of this lead role on an annual basis.

Theme five: accessible pedagogy

  1. 5.1 The introduction of digital teaching and learning tools in the practice of inclusive teaching (Universal Design/Universal Design for Learning/Universal Instructional Design) should not create additional barriers for students with disabilities.
  2. 5.2 Postsecondary Education institutions shall ensure and report on the plan that foundational accessibility training is included with opportunities provided to educators for learning Universal Design principles and their application to learning such as Universal Design for Learning or Universal Instructional Design.
  3. 5.3 Postsecondary Education institutions shall ensure the usability of the digital learning environment for all students, including those with diverse information processing styles and sensory/physical attributes through appropriate accessible feedback, tracking and reporting mechanisms.

Theme six: accessible content

  1. 6.1 Postsecondary Education institutions shall support educators in acquiring/producing and maintaining accessible content by offering centralized resources (for example, people and budget)
  2. 6.2 Postsecondary Education institutions shall include in their accessibility plan how they intend to support educators and staff in the provision of accessible content
  3. 6.3 Postsecondary Education institutions shall consult a body of students with diverse disabilities when acquiring content, or tools for authoring content, to ensure that they are accessible
  4. 6.4 Postsecondary Education institutions shall provide all documents in an accessible format. In the case of a PDF this committee is recommending a phased in approach:
    1. Timeline immediate: Postsecondary Education institutions shall use a PDF document only if an accessible alternative format is also simultaneously available
    2. Timeline (2025): Postsecondary Education institutions shall provide suitable software and training for the creation of accessible PDFs to the PDF/Universal Accessibility 1 /International Organization for Standardization 14289 standard. Following this date, any document provided as a PDF must meet this international standard. However, to phase in this requirement it is expected that Postsecondary Education institutions continue to publish PDF-based digital content to be as accessible as their training and applications permit, even if an accessible alternative is provided. This will lessen any remediation costs if there is a need to go back and ensure that currently produced PDFs meet the PDF/ Universal Accessibility 1/ International Organization for Standardization 14289 standard. This will also demonstrate the Postsecondary Education institutions commitment and progress towards creating accessible PDFs
  5. 6.5 Postsecondary Education institutions shall provide suitable software and training for creation of accessible PDFs.

Voting on the remaining theme (accessibility training) will be held online.

M 9.5 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

Tina Doyle provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work.

Postsecondary education meeting 8: Wednesday September 30 and Thursday October 8, 2020

Letter from chair to the minister

January 4, 2021

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Minister for Seniors and Accessibility
777 Bay Street, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Minister Cho,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee: Meeting 8 – Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee-approved minutes from the Meeting (“Meeting 8”) held on September 30 and October 8, 2020 and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

The Committee held presentations on barrier area two: Awareness and Training and barrier area four: Digital Learning and Technologies. The small group leads presented their draft recommendations addressing these barrier areas. Members provided feedback during the discussions on ways to strengthen and improve these recommendations. Voting will take place online.

Committee members will continue to present their draft initial recommendations to address a range of areas over the coming weeks. Looking ahead to the Committee’s next virtual meeting on October 14, 2020, the Committee will be discussing Assessment, Instruction and Curriculum.

I look forward to continuing to update you on the Committee’s ongoing progress.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Meeting 1 information

Date: September 30, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Present: meeting 1

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Karen Csoli, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Carolyn Hepburn, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Elizabeth Mohler, Anne Pottier, Mahadeo Sukhai, Marc Wilchesky, Tory Bowman, Sam Chandreshekar, Meri Kim Oliver, Jeanette Parsons and Ben Poynton

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Jenna Strathearn, Arminda Aliu and Ann Louise Fitzpatrick

Other staff: Colin McCullough (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Humenny

Regrets: Janice Fennell, Olga Dosis, Joseph Roy Gillis, Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities) and Ainsley Latour

Meeting 1 minutes

The Chair, Tina Doyle provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 8.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 8.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and protocol information.

M 8.3 update on the Education Technical Sub Committee work

Jeanette Parsons provided an update on the work going forward. Work will focus on drafting transitions focused recommendations addressing the eight barrier areas identified by the Education Technical Sub Committee. Their next meeting is scheduled for October 15, 2020.

M 8.4 small group presentation and discussion of barrier area 4: Digital Learning and Technology

Sambhavi Chandrashekar presented her group’s recommendations within barrier area 4, Digital Learning and Technology which included six themes. The committee was very engaged in discussions around Accessible Technology, the first of the themes addressed by the group. The remaining recommendations will be discussed at a future meeting.

M 8.5 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work. She suggested that meetings may need to be extended beyond the planned 90 minutes in order to allow for all greater discussion around proposed recommendations.

The Chair reminded members that the next meeting will take place on October 8 and will focus on awareness and training. She asked members to review recommendations and submit questions and feedback in advance of the next meeting.

Meeting 2 information

Date: October 8, 2020 from 1:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Present: meeting 2

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Karen Csoli, Ashton Forrest, Carolyn Hepburn, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Elizabeth Mohler, Anne Pottier, Mahadeo Sukhai, Marc Wilchesky, Tory Bowman, Sam Chandreshekar, Meri Kim Oliver, Jeanette Parsons, Ben Poynton and Janice Fennell

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Jenna Strathearn, Arminda Aliu and Ann Louise Fitzpatrick

Other staff: Colin McCullough (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Humenny

Regrets: Joseph Roy Gillis, Olga Dosis, Marie-Claude Gagnon and Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Meeting 2 minutes

M 8.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 8.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and updates on per diems for Committee members.

M 8.3 small group presentation and discussion of barrier area two: Awareness and Training

Jim Kyte and Tory Bowman presented their small group draft recommendations within barrier area two identifying two requirements – training for specific audiences and accountability mechanisms. The topic of how to ensure sessional instructors receive accessibility training received significant attention. A separate recommendation would be developed to address that area.

The small group will update their recommendations based on committee feedback, and recommendations will be voted on online.

M 8.4 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

Tina Doyle provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work.

The next meeting is scheduled for October 14, 2020 and will focus on Assessment, Instruction and Curriculum. The Chair reminded members to review these recommendations and provide questions and feedback in advance.

Postsecondary education meeting 7: Monday August 24 and Wednesday August 26, 2020

Letter from chair to the minister

Date: October 13, 2020

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street,
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Minister,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee: Meeting 7 – Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee-approved minutes from the Meeting (“Meeting 7”) held on August 24 and 26, 2020 and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

The Committee participated in a discussion lead by guest speaker Jodie Glean, Director, Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office, University of Toronto regarding intersectional approaches to addressing barriers.

As Chair, I presented considerations to address barrier area eight: Financial and barrier area one: Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions. Members provided feedback during the discussions on potential recommendations.

During a live working session at the meeting, Committee members also discussed the key themes essential to being captured in the proposed long-term objective.

Committee members will continue to work on developing draft initial recommendations to address a range of areas over the coming weeks. Looking ahead to the Committee’s next virtual meeting, the Committee will be reviewing revised small group recommendations with the aim to start voting.

I look forward to continuing to update you on the Committee’s ongoing progress.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Meeting 1 information

Date: August 24, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred. All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Day 1 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Karen Csoli, Olga Dosis, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Janice Fennell, Carolyn Hepburn, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Elizabeth Mohler, Anne Pottier, Mahadeo Sukhai, Marc Wilchesky, Carolyn Hepburn and Tory Bowman

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Jenna Strathearn, Arminda Aliu and Stephanie Van Laeken

Minister’s Office staff: Patrizia Nigro

Other staff: Lauren Watson (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Humenny

Regrets: Joseph Roy Gillis, Sambhavi Chandrashekar, Ben Poynton, Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities) and Ainsley Latour

Day 1 meeting minutes

M 7.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 7.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and protocol information.

M 7.3 guest speaker: intersectional approach to addressing barriers

Jodie Glean, Director, Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office, University of Toronto, and former member of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee, engaged in a discussion with members about a framework around applying an intersectional lens to the varying accessibility barriers. Members were encouraged to take into consideration that intersectionality is a principle that acknowledges that not only do we encompass a multitude of identities, but it is a principle that acknowledges because of these identities, our experiences with discrimination and barriers look very differently. Specific examples were provided and how this approach can be used when drafting recommendations was discussed.

M 7.4 presentation and discussion: financial barriers

Tina Doyle provided an overview of the key considerations for students with disabilities for barrier area eight: Financial. The discussion included:

  • extra financial barriers incurred by students with disabilities
  • the financial implications for full-time vs. part-time students and costs associated with obtaining medical documentation for accessibility supports
  • the interaction of government funding programs, including the Ontario Disability Support Program and Ontario Student Loan Program
  • transparency to support system navigation, graduate student funding
  • consideration of intersectionality in funding policies and process

M 7.5 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work and advised that discussions would continue on August 26, 2020. Members were reminded of the proposed fall 2020 meeting dates and the intent to start voting on draft initial recommendations in September.

Meeting 2 information

Date: August 26, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Location: virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred. All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Meeting 2 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Karen Csoli, Olga Dosis, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Janice Fennell, Carolyn Hepburn, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Elizabeth Mohler, Anne Pottier, Mahadeo Sukhai, Marc Wilchesky, Carolyn Hepburn and Ben Poynton

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Jenna Strathearn, Arminda Aliu and Stephanie Van Laeken

Minister’s Office staff: Patrizia Nigro

Other staff: Lauren Watson (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Helen Martineau

Regrets: Joseph Roy Gillis, Tory Bowman, Olga Dosis, Ainsley Latour and Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Meeting 2 minutes

M 7.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

The Chair, Tina Doyle provided welcome remarks and advised members of the meeting goals.

M 7.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Ministry staff provided virtual meeting logistics and updates on per diems for Committee members.

M 7.3 update on the education technical subcommittee work

Jeanette Parsons provided an update on the work going forward. Work will focus on drafting transitions-focused recommendations addressing the eight barrier areas identified by the Education Technical Subcommittee.

M 7.4 presentation and discussion: attitudes, behaviours, perceptions and assumptions

Discussions revolved around ableism in society and the education sector, evidence-based practices to address stigma and change attitudes including transformational leadership, raising awareness to effect change, accountability measures including the possibility of postsecondary institutions completing a survey every few years to gauge if students, academics and administrators feel differently on the current climate regarding ableism. This may be aligned with other surveys administered within postsecondary institutions. To ensure accountability, postsecondary institutions being required to annually report back to the government was an additional option discussed. Finally, the members also discussed data collection on the representation of people with disabilities and the role of the Government of Ontario to change and shape public opinions and attitudes towards disability in Ontario.The members agreed to provide the small group with electronic feedback following the meeting.

M 7.5 live working session and discussion: long-term objective

Tina Doyle led a discussion on a long-term objective for a new proposed standard for postsecondary education. Members noted that the key themes of intersectionality of student’s identity, intentional inclusivity, Universal Design for Learning, seamless education and transition planning should be considered. The feedback will be incorporated into an updated draft long-term objective for the Committee to review.

M 7.6 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

Tina Doyle provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work.

The next meeting is anticipated for late September 2020.

Postsecondary education meeting 6: Tuesday July 21 and Wednesday July 29, 2020

Letter from chair to the minister

Date: September 22, 2020

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Minister for Seniors and Accessibility
777 Bay Street, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Minister,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee: Meeting 6 – Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee-approved minutes from the Meeting (“Meeting 6”) held on July 21 and 29, 2020 and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

Committee members had an opportunity during this meeting to review draft recommendations to address Assessment, Curriculum and Instruction, Organizational and Physical and Architectural barriers. In addition, Committee members were provided with a presentation by Ministry staff re-introducing the proposed long-term objective which we anticipate will be discussed at the August 2020 meeting.

The Committee had productive discussions and will provide electronic feedback on draft recommendations following the meeting. Specifically, I noted that the student Committee member’s voice will continue to be incorporated in the process.

Committee members will continue to work on developing draft initial recommendations to address a range of areas over the coming weeks. Lastly, I will be working with Ministry staff to finalize the proposed dates for the fall 2020 meetings.

I look forward to continuing to update you on the Committee’s ongoing progress.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Day 1 meeting information

Date: July 21, 2020 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Location: virtual meeting

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred. All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Day 1 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Karen Csoli, Olga Dosis, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Janice Fennell, Carolyn Hepburn, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Elizabeth Mohler, Anne Pottier, Mahadeo Sukhai, Marc Wilchesky, Carolyn Hepburn, Ben Poynton and Tory Bowman

Non-voting Standards Development Committee members: Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Susan Picarello, Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Elisheva Bouskila Fox, Jenna Strathearn, Joanna Patsakos and Stephanie Van Laeken.

Other staff: Meghann Taylor (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Hummeny

Regrets: Joseph Roy Gillis, Sambhavi Chandrashekar, Jeannette Parsons, Meri Kim Oliver, Ainsley Latour (Mahadeo Sukhai)

Day 1 meeting minutes

M 6.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

Tina Doyle welcomed the Committee, and thanked Members who provided feedback on the accessibility and format of the virtual meetings. The majority of members who responded would be comfortable with having multiple sessions in a day, to allow for more time for discussion following the small group presentations. This input will be considered in future planning.

M 6.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Jenna Strathern provided virtual meeting logistics and protocol information.

M 6.3 update from Elizabeth Mohlar: education technical subcommittee

Committee member of the Education Technical Subcommittee, Elizabeth Mohlar, provided an update on the Subcommittee’s work. The Subcommittee is reviewing the K-12 and Post-Secondary Committee’s recommendations from the small groups and highlighting additional areas to consider. Highlights of the discussion included: optional transitions course, looking at digital literacy, learning and technology, issues around Individual Education Plans, and accommodations and disclosure.

M 6.4 group discussion: assessment, curriculum and instruction barriers

Members from the small group addressing barrier three, Assessment, Curriculum and Instruction, presented draft recommendations to the Committee for discussion. Topics which were raised by members included: consideration for the diversity of learning environments and learners, faculty and academic departmental awareness of the requirements to procure accessible materials, tools, equipment etc. related to instruction and teaching, incentivizing accessible/inclusive teaching in the recognition programs at colleges and universities, possibly adding accessibility information into course syllabi and the challenges of training part time/contract faculty on inclusive teaching and accessible digital delivery of courses. The members agreed to provide the small group with electronic feedback following the meeting.

M 6.5 presentation: long-term objective

Ministry staff provided an overview of the purpose and legislated requirement of the long-term objective. Examples of long-term objectives developed by other Standards Development Committees were also highlighted. Tina Doyle noted that the long-term objective will be discussed in further detail at the proposed August 2020 meeting.

M 6.6 update: establishment of new small group and membership

Members were encouraged to think about area barrier one, Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions in each of their small groups. Tina Doyle also provided a summary of the initial discussion held by the newly established small group addressing barrier eight, Financial. The small group recognized the need for recommendations that address policies and practices around funding and costs, transparency and communication about funding, and the need for an intersectional lens on funding issues overall. Further discussion is anticipated for the August 2020 meeting.

M 6.7 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work and advised that discussions would continue on July 29, 2020.

Day 2 meeting information

Date: July 29, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Location: virtual meeting

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred. All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Day 2 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Karen Csoli, Olga Dosis, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Janice Fennell, Carolyn Hepburn, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Elizabeth Mohler, Anne Pottier, Mahadeo Sukhai, Marc Wilchesky, Carolyn Hepburn, Ben Poynton and Tory Bowman

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Susan Picarello, Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Elisheva Bouskila Fox, Jenna Strathearn and Stephanie Van Laeken

Other staff: Meghann Taylor (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Hummeny

Regrets: Joseph Roy Gillis, Sambhavi Chandrashekar, Jeannette Parsons, Meri Kim Oliver, Ainsley Latour (Mahadeo Sukhai)

Day 2 meeting minutes

M 6.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

Tina Doyle welcomed the Committee and advised members that the goals for the day were to review and discuss draft recommendations developed by members in small groups in advance of the meeting, specifically barrier area five, Organizational and barrier area seven, Physical and Architectural.

M 6.2 group discussion: organizational

Members from the small group addressing barrier five, Organizational, presented revised draft recommendations to the Committee for further discussion. Highlights included are potentially developing an “accessibility lens checklist”, business continuity planning with an “accessibility lens”, clarifying the definition of emotional support animals, and policies and procedures which have a potential impact on part-time students with disabilities. The members agreed to provide the small group with electronic feedback following the meeting.

M 6.3 group discussion: physical and architectural

Members from the small group addressing barrier seven, Physical and Architectural, presented draft recommendations to the Committee for further discussion. Highlights included: considering inclusive design principles, addressing transitional spaces on campus, training of architects, interior designers, landscape architects and other design professionals, communicating accessibility principles and requirements into all stages of the design process, and clarifying accessibility requirements for buildings not owned by a post-secondary institution. Members noted that there were overall many recommendations which overlap with other small groups focusing on other barrier areas. Tina Doyle noted that efforts would be made to eliminate duplication and assign recommendation as appropriate to small groups. The members agreed to provide the small group with electronic feedback following the meeting.

M 6.4 Chair’s reminder of fall workplan

Tina Doyle noted that she was working with Ministry staff to finalize a proposed workplan for the fall 2020 meetings and suggested a 90 minute format to discuss each barrier area. In addition, she will be meeting with the Co-Chairs of the Education Technical Subcommittee to adjust the approach to review initial recommendations. Lastly, Tina Doyle flagged that efforts will continue to be made to incorporate the student perspective throughout the development of the initial recommendations. This will also be accomplished by having all of the K-12 and Post-Secondary Education student Committee members come together to review the initial recommendations report.

M 6.5 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

Tina Doyle provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work. The next meeting anticipated for August 24 and 26, 2020 will focus on the long-term objective and the following barrier areas:

  • barrier area one: Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions
  • barrier area eight: Financial

Postsecondary education meeting 5: Monday June 22 and Wednesday June 24, 2020

Letter from Chair to the Minister

Date: August 7, 2020

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street,
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Minister Cho,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee: Meeting 5 – Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee-approved minutes from the Meeting (“Meeting 5”) held on June 22 and 24, 2020 and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

Committee members had an opportunity during this meeting to review draft recommendations to address Social Realms, Awareness and Training, Digital Learning Technology Barriers and Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions. In addition, Committee members discussed some of the emerging themes raised by the COVID‑19 pandemic in the postsecondary education sector. The Committee had productive discussions and will provide electronic feedback on draft recommendations following the meeting.

Lastly, potential new barrier areas were discussed and identified to be addressed by the Committee going forward. The COVID‑19 pandemic has exacerbated existing financial barriers faced by students with disabilities, as a result, the Committee agreed to review financial barriers further.

Committee members will continue to work on developing draft initial recommendations to address a range of areas over the coming weeks.

I look forward to continuing to update you on the Committee’s ongoing progress.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Day 1 meeting information

Date: June 22, 2020

Location: virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Day 1 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Sambhavi Chandrashekar, Karen Csoli, Olga Dosis, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Janice Fennell, Carolyn Hepburn, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Elizabeth Mohler, Meri Kim Oliver (partial), Jeannette Parsons, Anne Pottier, Mahadeo Sukhai, Marc Wilchesky, Joseph Roy Gillis, Carolyn Hepburn, Ben Poynton

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Susan Picarello, Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Elisheva Bouskila Fox, Jenna Strathearn, Stephanie Van Laeken.

Other staff: Meghann Taylor (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Humenny

Regrets: Tory Bowman, Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Day 1 meeting minutes

M 5.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

Tina Doyle welcomed the Committee, and advised members that the goals for the day were to review and discuss draft recommendations developed by members in small groups in advance of the meeting. In addition, the Committee was asked to highlight any additional emerging themes for students with disabilities during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

M 5.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Tina Doyle provided virtual meeting logistics and protocol information.

M 5.3 update from Jeanette Parsons: education technical subcommittee

Committee member and Co-Lead of the Education Technical Subcommittee, Jeanette Parsons, provided an update on the Subcommittee’s work. Discussions focused on the approach to reviewing recommendations voted on by the K-12 Education Standards Development Committee first through a transition lens.

M 5.4 group discussion: digital learning and technology barriers

Members from the small group addressing Barrier Four, Digital Learning and Technology Barriers, presented revised draft recommendations to the Committee for discussion. The members agreed to provide the small group with electronic feedback following the meeting.

M 5.5 group discussion: social realms/campus barriers

Members from the small group addressing Barrier Area Six, Awareness and Training, presented draft recommendations to the Committee for initial discussion. The members agreed to provide the small group with electronic feedback following the meeting.

M 5.6 group discussion: summary of COVID‑19 key themes

Tina Doyle provided a summary of the key themes collated from the Committee’s feedback regarding the COVID‑19 pandemic and the experiences of students with disabilities. Feedback was noted under the umbrella themes of: current successes, gaps, and barriers and the transition back to school.

M 5.7 chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work and advised that discussions would continue on June 24, 2020. The Chair asked the Committee to think about the intersectionality of all of the identities of people with disabilities and how that may affect the recommendations.

Day 2 meeting information

Date: June 24, 2020

Location: virtual

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Day 2 present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Sambhavi Chandrashekar, Karen Csoli, Olga Dosis, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Janice Fennell, Carolyn Hepburn, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Elizabeth Mohler, Meri Kim Oliver, Anne Pottier, Mahadeo Sukhai, Marc Wilchesky, Joseph Roy Gillis, Carolyn Hepburn, Ben Poynton

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Susan Picarello, Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Elisheva Bouskila Fox, Jenna Strathearn, Stephanie Van Laeken

Other staff: Meghann Taylor (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Humenny

Regrets: Tory Bowman, Shirley Carder (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Day 2 meeting minutes

M 5.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

Tina Doyle welcomed the Committee, and advised members that the goals for the day were to review and discuss draft recommendations developed by members in small groups in advance of the meeting, specifically to re-visit Barrier Area One, Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions and provide any additional suggestions for new identified barrier areas.

M 5.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Tina Doyle provided virtual meeting logistics and protocol information.

M 5.3 group discussion: awareness and training

Members from the small group addressing Barrier Two, Awareness and Training, presented revised draft recommendations to the Committee for further discussion. The members agreed to provide the small group with electronic feedback following the meeting.

M 5.4 group discussion: attitudes, behaviours, perceptions and assumptions

Tina Doyle presented two draft recommendations previously discussed at the November 27, 2019 meeting to the Committee for further consideration. The Committee acknowledged that this barrier area affects all the barriers being looked at by the small groups. The Committee will be canvassed for members to join a small group focusing on this barrier area.

M 5.5 group discussion: other identified barrier areas

Tina Doyle noted that the barriers created by the COVID‑19 pandemic as well as financial barriers are new identified areas the Committee would like to focus on. The Committee recognized that additional costs are often incurred by students with disabilities.

M 5.6 chair’s wrap-up and next steps

Tina Doyle provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work, and indicated that ministry staff would be in touch with next steps, including confirmation of upcoming meeting dates and canvassing the Committee for those interested in joining two small groups focusing on Barrier Area One, Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions and Barrier Area Eight, Financial.

The next meeting anticipated for July will focus on the following barrier areas:

  • Barrier Area Three: Assessment, Curriculum and Instruction
  • Barrier Area Five: Organizational Barriers
  • Barrier Area Seven: Physical and Architectural

Postsecondary education meeting 4: Thursday March 12, 2020

Letter from chair to the minister

Date: May 6, 2020

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility
777 Bay Street, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Minister,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee: Meeting 4 – Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee-approved minutes from the Meeting (“Meeting 4”) held on March 12, 2020 and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

Committee members had an opportunity during this meeting to review draft recommendations to address Awareness and Training and Organizational Barriers.

Committee members will continue to work on developing draft initial recommendations to address a range of areas over the coming weeks.

I look forward to continuing to update you on the Committee’s ongoing progress.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Meeting information

Date: March 12, 2020

Location: Universal Boardroom, 6th Floor, 777 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. Motion represents a vote that has occurred.

All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the minister.

Present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Tory Bowman, Sambhavi Chandrashekar, Karen Csoli, Olga Dosis (partial), Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Janice Fennell, Carolyn Hepburn, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Elizabeth Mohler, Meri Kim Oliver (partial), Jeannette Parsons, Anne Pottier, Mahadeo Sukhai and Marc Wilchesky

Minister’s office staff: Michael Thomas

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Susan Picarello, Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Marie Dannhaeuser, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Elisheva Bouskila Fox and Jenna Strathearn

Other staff: Karen Alexanian and Lauren Watson (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Guests: David Lepofsky and Veromi Arsiradam (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance)

Captionist: Deana Santedicola

Regrets: Joseph Roy Gillis, Carolyn Hepburn, Ben Poynton, Bruce Haines (non-voting member, Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Resigned: Alex Wilson

Meeting minutes

M 4.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

Tina Doyle welcomed the Committee, and advised members that the goals for the day were to review and discuss draft recommendations developed by members in small groups in advance of the meeting.

Tina Doyle notified members that Alex Wilson had resigned from the Committee. Members discussed potential approaches to engaging students with disabilities in providing feedback on proposed recommendations, once they are submitted to the minister and made public.

Tina Doyle also encouraged members to review the National Educational Association of Disabled Students and ARCH Disability Law Centre material. Members were also asked to pay particular attention to the Ontario Human Rights Commission recommendations to improve the outcomes of students with disabilities. These recommendations were informed by what students with disabilities have reported.

Members requested an additional meeting day to complete their work.

M 4.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Vinothini Kajendran provided venue logistics and emergency information.

M 4.3 presentation from Jeanette Parsons: update on the Education Technical Subcommittee

Committee member and Co-Lead of the Education Technical Subcommittee, Jeanette Parsons, provided an update on the Subcommittee’s work. Discussions focused on the need for services to support the transition from post-secondary education to employment, and on the differences between accommodations, modifications and supports provided in K-12 education and in post-secondary education.

M 4.4 group discussion: Organizational Barriers

Members from the small group addressing barrier five, Organizational Barriers, presented two draft recommendations to the Committee for initial discussion. The Committee deferred voting to allow for further revisions to the draft recommendations.

M 4.5 small group break-out sessions

Members of the Committee had the opportunity to meet in small groups to further develop their draft proposed recommendations.

M 4.6 group discussion: Awareness and Training

Members from the small group addressing barrier two, Awareness and Training, presented three revised draft recommendations to the Committee for further discussion.

M 4.7 Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance presentation

David Lepofsky from the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance provided a presentation to the Committee, outlining some recommended principles and a draft framework for accessibility in post-secondary education.

M 4.8 group discussion: Awareness and Training

Members from the small group addressing barrier two, Awareness and Training, presented three additional draft recommendations to the Committee for further discussion. The small group committed to circulate updated recommendations to the Committee by email following the meeting, and voting was deferred. The Chair advised that voting by email in between meetings could be appropriate.

M 4.9 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work, and indicated that ministry staff would be in touch with next steps, including sharing small group feedback and notes. The Chair noted that due to the emerging COVID‑19 situation, she would work with the ministry on contingency planning for remote work and meetings as needed. Members were encouraged to continue developing recommendations and sharing feedback by email and remote work platforms in between meetings.

Postsecondary education meeting 3: Tuesday February 4, 2020

Letter from chair to the minister

Date: February 4, 2020

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street,
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Minister,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee: Meeting 3 Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee approved minutes from the Meeting (“Meeting 3”) held on February 4, 2020 and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

Committee members had an opportunity during this meeting to work together in small groups on the following barrier areas:

  • Barrier Area Two: Awareness and Training
  • Barrier Area Three: Assessment, Curriculum and Instruction
  • Barrier Area Four: Digital Learning and Technology
  • Barrier Area Five: Organizational Barriers (including policies and procedures)
  • Barrier Area Six: Social Realms/Campus
  • Barrier Area Seven: Physical and Architectural

Following their small group work, Committee members reconvened and discussed their work in these areas, including a number of draft recommendations. Committee members will continue to work on developing draft initial recommendations for each of these areas over the coming weeks.

Looking ahead to the Committee’s fourth meeting, we will continue the development of recommendations for the Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions barrier as a larger group and vote on draft recommendations at the next meeting, in addition to recommendations from any of the other barrier areas identified. In addition, the Committee will also revisit the long-term objective for the development of accessibility standards for postsecondary education.

I look forward to continuing to update you on the Committee’s ongoing progress.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Meeting information

Date: February 4, 2020

Location: 777 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario, Universal Boardroom, 6th Floor

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: Meeting (M) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance. All recommendations to date are considered draft until finalized and included in the Initial Recommendations Report submitted to the Minister.

Present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Tory Bowman, Karen Csoli, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Joseph Roy Gillis, Olga Dosis, Julia Kowal, Jim Kyte, Ainsley Latour, Elizabeth Mohler, Jeannette Parsons, Sambhavi Chandrashekar, Janice Fennell, Carolyn Hepburn, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Meri Kim Oliver and Ben Poynton

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Susan Picarello, Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Vinothini Kajendran, Elisheva Bouskila Fox, Stephanie Van Laeken and Jenna Strathearn

Other staff: Karen Alexanian (Ministry of Colleges and Universities), Lauren Watson (Ministry of Colleges and Universities)

Captionist: Gemme Humenny

Attendant support: Carolyn Loppie

Regrets: Anne Pottier, Alex Wilson, Marc Wilchesky, Bruce Haines (Ministry of Colleges and Universities, non-voting member)

Resigned: Jodi Afonso, Fady Shanouda

Meeting minutes

M 3.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

Tina Doyle welcomed the Committee. An overview of the key deliverables for the meeting was provided.

Committee members were:

  • requested to work together on drafting recommendations to address accessibility barriers that were identified at earlier meetings
  • given the opportunity for small group working sessions on different categories of accessibility barriers, followed by a larger group discussion
  • scheduled to vote on initial draft recommendations addressing accessibility barriers caused by “Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions”

M 3.2 housekeeping and logistical information

Vinothini Kajendran provided venue logistics and emergency information.

M 3.3 presentation from the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility: considerations for drafting recommendations

Ministry staff gave a presentation on considerations to drafting recommendations to the Committee for their use when drafting initial recommendations.

Following the presentation, members had the opportunity to ask questions and have a group discussion with both presenters.

M 3.4 presentation from Jeanette Parsons: update on the Education Technical Sub Committee.

Committee member and Co-Lead of the Education Technical Sub Committee Jeanette Parsons provided an update on their work including the definition of transition and barriers related to students transitioning from K-12 to post-secondary education institutions and employment.

M 3.5 small groups: break-out sessions

Committee members were given time to work together to develop initial findings and draft recommendations in their identified barrier area groups as follows:

  • Barrier Area Two: Awareness and Training
  • Barrier Area Three: Assessment, Curriculum and Instruction
  • Barrier Area Four: Digital Learning and Technology
  • Barrier Area Five: Organizational Barriers (including policies and procedures)
  • Barrier Area Six: Social Realms/Campus
  • Barrier Area Seven: Physical and Architectural

M 3.6 large group discussion: small group work findings and summary

Each of the small group leads had an opportunity to present to the large group (the full Committee), noting any key principles or directions they are working on related to the identified barrier area groups.

M 3.7 barrier one: member vote “Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions”

The Committee deferred the discussion and vote as the presentations from each of the small groups related to the identified barriers was productive. Under the direction of the Chair, the Committee agreed to consider these draft recommendations going forward, with an option to vote on them at its next meeting in March.

M 3.9 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

The Chair provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work, and indicated that ministry staff would be in touch with next steps, including confirmation of upcoming meeting dates and sharing small group feedback and notes. The long-term objective for the post-secondary education standards will be discussed at the March meeting.

Tina Doyle also noted dates for the remaining meetings of the Committee and indicated these would be validated by ministry staff going forward:

  • Meeting #4: Thursday March 12, 2020
  • Meeting #5: Wednesday April 22, 2020
  • Meeting #6: Wednesday May 27, 2020 – Thursday May 28, 2020

Tina Doyle indicated that the Meeting #6 dates may change due to a number of scheduling conflicts for Committee members and indicated that alternate options for meeting dates in June 2020 would be provided by ministry staff.

Postsecondary education meeting 2: Wednesday November 27, 2019

Letter from chair to the minister

December 20, 2019

The Honourable Raymond Cho
Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Minister,

Re: Postsecondary Education Standards Development: Meeting 2 – Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee-approved minutes from the Meeting (“Meeting 2”) held on November 27, 2019 and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

The Committee was pleased to hear your opening comments at the meeting. As an important order of business, the Committee discussed and approved the SDC Work Plan. The Committee had an extensive discussion on an important barrier to accessible education: Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions. Although the early departure of some members meant that the Committee was not able to achieve quorum for a vote on recommendations to address this barrier, they will be addressing it further outside meetings and will develop and vote on draft recommendations before their next meeting.

Looking ahead to the Committee’s third meeting, we will continue the development of recommendations for the Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions barrier as a larger group before we begin discussions on three new barriers as identified by the Committee: Awareness and Training; Assessment, Curriculum and Instruction; and Digital Learning and Technology.

I look forward to continuing to update you on the Committee’s ongoing progress.

Sincerely,
(Original signed by)
Tina Doyle,
Chair, Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee

Meeting information

Date: November 27, 2019

Location: Universal Boardroom, 6th Floor, 777 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario

Format of committee minutes and references: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance.

Present

Standards Development Committee members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Tory Bowman, Karen Csoli, Ashton Forrest, Marie-Claude Gagnon, Joseph Roy Gillis, Olga Dosis (teleconference), Julia Kowal (teleconference), Jim Kyte, Mahadeo Sukhai, Elizabeth Mohler (teleconference), Jeannette Parsons, Sambhavi Chandrashekar, Janice Fennell, Carolyn Hepburn, Jennifer Curry Jahnke, Meri Kim Oilver, Anne Pottier, Ben Poyton and Marc Wilchesky

Minister’s office staff: Michael Thomas

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility staff: Susan Picarello, Mary Bartolomucci, Alex Ibrahim, Sonya Del Monte, Paul Challen, Vinothini Kajendran and Jenna Strathearn

Other staff: Karen Alexanian

Guests: Jeff Poirier (Ontario Human Rights Commission), Dianne Wintermute / Emily Prosser (ARCH Disability Law Centre)

Captionist: Gemme Humenny

Attendants: Carolyn Loppie, Samira Kassem

Regrets: Fady Shanouda, Alex Wilson, Jodi Afonso, John Manning (Ministry of Colleges and Universities, non-voting member)

Resigned: Jodie Glean

Meeting minutes

M 2.1 Chair’s welcome and review of agenda

Tina Doyle welcomed the Committee. An overview of the key deliverables for the meeting was provided.

Tina Doyle also noted dates for the remaining meetings of the Committee and indicated these would be validated by ministry staff going forward:

  • Meeting #3: Tuesday February 4, 2020
  • Meeting #4: Thursday March 12, 2020
  • Meeting #5: Wednesday April 22, 2020
  • Meeting #6 (1.5 days): Wednesday May 27, 2020 – Thursday May 28, 2020

M 2.2 welcome remarks Minister Raymond Cho, Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility

Minister Raymond Cho welcomed Committee members. The Minister noted that he is pleased that the Committee has resumed work and that he, and his colleague the Minister of Colleges and Universities, look forward to receiving the Committee’s Initial Recommendations Report on addressing barriers in the post-secondary sector within the next six months.

M 2.3 housekeeping and logistical information

Vinothini Kajendran provided venue logistics and emergency information.

M 2.4 Post-Secondary Education Standards Development Committee workplan: voting item

The Committee held a discussion on the Post-Secondary Education Workplan.

Members asked for confirmation that “other” areas outside of the identified barriers in the work plan can be considered. Tina Doyle confirmed that there will be an opportunity to discuss other barrier areas outside of the Committee-identified areas, if the Committee wishes to do so.

Motion 2.1: carried – work plan

The Committee voted to approve the workplan and submit it to the Minister. One member did not accept the workplan.

M 2.5 welcome remarks – Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility

Susan Picarello made introductory remarks to the Committee. She reminded members of the timelines and deliverables of the Committee’s work, while noting her support for the Committee’s progress.

M 2.6 presentation from the Ontario Human Rights Commission and ARCH Disability Law Centre

Jeff Poirier, Senior Policy Advisor, made a presentation to the Committee on behalf of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. The presentation provided an overview of how the Ontario Human Rights Code aligns with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, highlighted past and current Ontario Human Rights Commission’s accessible education activities and provided examples of legal precedents on the subject of accessibility in post-secondary education.

Diane Wintermute, Staff Lawyer, and Emily Prosser, Articling Student, from ARCH Disability Law Centre, made a presentation to the Committee. The presentation provided information summarizing ARCH’s work in the area of accessible education and issues ARCH has identified through work in the post-secondary education sector.

Following the presentation, members had the opportunity to ask questions and have a group discussion with both presenters.

M 2.7 barrier one: Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions – small group one report:

  • the Committee discussed the first barrier area previously identified in their 2018 meeting: Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions
  • Committee members shared ideas on several aspects of how this barrier area has historically been present in the post-secondary education sector
  • the Committee developed draft recommendations. Due to a lack of quorum as a result of several members departing before the end of the meeting, the Committee did not vote on these recommendations
  • under the direction of Tina Doyle, the Committee agreed to consider these draft recommendations going forward, with an option to vote on them before its next meeting in February

M 2.8 discussion on small groups

Tina Doyle noted that members expressed concern about the proposed approach of dividing members into small working groups, each with the responsibility for exploring a pre-identified barrier area. In response, members were asked to provide their input on addressing these barriers via documents sent to them by ministry staff.

Based on this input, and given that the Committee did address the first barrier area “Attitudes, Behaviours, Perceptions and Assumptions,” Tina Doyle proposed the following small groups:

  • Barrier Area Two: Awareness and Training
  • Barrier Area Three: Assessment, Curriculum and Instruction
  • Barrier Area Four: Digital Learning and Technology
  • Barrier Area Five: Organizational Barriers (including policies and procedures)
  • Barrier Area Six: Social Realms/Campus
  • Barrier Area Seven: Physical and Architectural
  • Barrier Area Eight: Additional Barriers to consider (including financial)

Tina Doyle noted that additional information about these groups’ responsibilities, timelines, et cetera would be forthcoming from the ministry, prior to the next meeting and the possibility of Barrier Areas Two, Three and Four being discussed by small groups in the next meeting.

M 2.9 Chair’s wrap-up and next steps

Tina Doyle provided closing remarks and thanked the Committee for their hard work, and indicated that ministry staff would be in touch with next steps, including confirmation of upcoming meeting dates, small group breakdowns, and the use of a shared website that members can use to collaborate.

Postsecondary education meeting 1: April 11 and 12, 2018

Day 1 meeting information

Date: April 11-12, 2018

Location: King I Room, Hyatt Regency Hotel, 370 King Street West, Toronto

Format of Committee Minutes and References: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance.

Day 1 present

Standards Development Committee Members: Tina Doyle (Chair); Tory Bowman; Sambhavi Chandrashekar; Karen Csoli; Jennifer Curry Jahnke; Olga Dosis; Janice Fennell; Ashton Forrest; Marie-Claude Gagnon; Joseph Roy Gillis (Partial); Jodie Glean; Carolyn Hepburn; Julia Kowal; Jim Kyte; Chelsea Mohler; Jeanette Parsons; Anne Pottier; Ben Poynton; Fady Shanouda; Marc Wilchesky; Alex Wilson

Non-voting Standards Development Committee Members: John Manning (Partial)

Supporting Staff: (Accessibility Directorate of Ontario) Mary Bartolomucci, Nidhi Bhagat, Dalveer Birk, Elisheva Bouskila Fox, Kimberly Campos, Paul Challen, Ann Louise FitzPatrick, Ann Hoy, Keren Mack, Garth Napier, Phil Simeon, Meridith St. Pierre, Casey Teixeira (Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development) Armagan Turktekin

Guests: (Office of the Ontario Child Advocate) J.P. Armani, Scout Huston, Joshua Lamers, Katelyn Murphy, Rana Nasrazadani, Alanna Stanley

Facilitator: Don Lenihan (Middle Ground Policy Research)

Captionist: Gemme Humenny

Attendants: Jayne Jalonikou, Gerald Ruiz-Alvarez

Regrets: Jodi Afonso; Meri Kim Oliver; Ainsley Latour; Mahadeo Sukhai (alternate member)

Day 1 meeting minutes

M 1.1 Chair’s Welcome and Logistical Information, Day 1

The Chair, Tina Doyle, provided welcoming remarks to the Committee and invited each member to introduce themselves.

Staff from the Accessibility Directorate and Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD) attending in support of the meeting, introduced themselves to members, together with the captionist and personal attendants supporting members.

The Chair also introduced Don Lenihan from Middle Ground Policy Research, who is facilitating K-12 and Post-Secondary Education Standards Development Committee meetings over the course of their initial work.

The Chair invited all members to engage in accessible practices to ensure all members could fully participate in the meetings.

Casey Teixeira provided information on emergency safety information for the meeting venue and logistical information for the day.

Ann Hoy, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Division, provided a brief overview for the Committee on the government’s caretaker role during the period leading up to the provincial election.

M 1.2 “We Have Something to Say”: Presentation by the Office of the Ontario Child Advocate

J.P. Armani, Joshua Lamers, Katelyn Murphy, and Rana Nasrazadani made a presentation to the Committee on behalf of the Office of the Ontario Child Advocate and the We Have Something To Say Youth Advisory Committee. The presentation outlined the importance of understanding the intersectional nature of disability barriers and the importance of centering the direct voice of students and youth in discussions related to education.

Following the presentation, members had the opportunity to review and discuss a case study exemplifying the range of barriers faced by post-secondary students with disabilities.

M 1.4 Identifying Barriers

Don Lenihan led a facilitated discussion on identifying and categorizing barriers to accessibility, including small group discussions followed by a plenary discussion of the Committee as a whole. The Committee discussed barriers across eight broad categories:

  • Attitudinal Barriers
  • Curriculum Design
  • Digital / E-Learning / Accessible Technology
  • Physical and Architectural Barriers
  • “Outside the Classroom”
  • Organizational Barriers (Policies and Procedures)
  • Diversity of Disability
  • Awareness and Training

The Committee held a wide-ranging discussion on barriers facing students within these broad categories, as well as proposing alternative approaches to categorizing barriers. Some key points of discussion included:

  • The importance of considering a range of needs and consulting with people with disabilities at the design stage, across curriculum development, procurement, software design, and building design
  • Considering accessibility in education both for academic learning and for work-integrated or experiential learning, as well as in social spaces where leadership and participation opportunities have a high impact on student success
  • Differing views on the role of attitudinal barriers and the potential impact of accessibility awareness training
  • Recognizing the student as a whole person with intersecting identities while remaining focused on the Committee’s mandate under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act

The Committee agreed that further discussion on identifying and categorizing barriers would be required.

M 1.5 Vision for Accessible Education – Defining a Long-Term Objective

Paul Challen provided a short presentation to the Committee, summarizing their submissions ahead of the meeting on their visions for an accessible, student-centered education system, and outlining the legislative requirement for the Committee to develop a Long-Term Objective for a new accessibility standard.

Following the presentation, the Chair led a discussion. Members shared views around a vision for accessibility in post-secondary education. Some key themes that emerged during discussion included:

  • Support for students in navigating the educational institution or system
  • Understanding student needs and allowing students to articulate their own educational goals and aspirations (learning from the health care concept of “patient-centred care”)
  • Clear and transparent information available on accessibility and core program requirements for each course or program
  • Comprehensive transition planning into post-secondary education and towards graduation and employment or future pathways

M 1.6 Chair’s Wrap-Up, Day 1

Tina Doyle, Chair, adjourned Day 1 of the meeting.

Day 2 present

Standards Development Committee Members: Tina Doyle (Chair); Tory Bowman; Sambhavi Chandrashekar; Karen Csoli; Jennifer Curry Jahnke; Olga Dosis; Janice Fennell; Ashton Forrest; Marie-Claude Gagnon; Joseph Roy Gillis (Partial); Jodie Glean; Carolyn Hepburn; Julia Kowal; Jim Kyte; Chelsea Mohler; Jeanette Parsons; Anne Pottier; Ben Poynton; Fady Shanouda; Marc Wilchesky; Alex Wilson

Supporting Staff: (Accessibility Directorate of Ontario) Mary Bartolomucci, Nidhi Bhagat, Dalveer Birk, Elisheva Bouskila Fox, Kimberly Campos, Paul Challen, Ann Louise FitzPatrick, Ann Hoy, Keren Mack, Garth Napier, Phil Simeon, Meridith St. Pierre, Casey Teixeira (Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development) Armagan Turktekin

Facilitator: Don Lenihan (Middle Ground Policy Research)

Captionist: Gemme Humenny

Attendants: Jayne Jalonikou, Gerald Ruiz-Alvarez

Regrets: Jodi Afonso, Ainsley Latour, John Manning (non-voting), Meri Kim Oliver, Mahadeo Sukhai (alternate member)

Day 2 meeting minutes

M 1.7 Chair’s Welcome and Updates, Day 2

The Chair welcomed all members for the second day of Meeting 1. The Chair advised members that no decision had been made yet on membership for a joint subcommittee with the K-12 Education Standards Development Committee, and thanked all members who had expressed interest in participating.

Don Lenihan provided a brief overview for the Committee of how their initial deliverable of a Priorities Report, as identified in the Mandate Letter issued by the Minister Responsible for Accessibility, would be developed as a rolling draft. He noted that the Chair and Committee members would have opportunities between meetings to review and revise the draft report before it would be finalized in fall 2018.

M 1.8 Identifying Barriers: Reviewing and Discussion

Paul Challen and Elisheva Bouskila Fox provided a brief presentation to the Committee summarizing their discussion from Day 1 of the meeting on identifying and categorizing barriers to accessibility.

Don Lenihan led a group discussion with the Chair and Committee on the barriers and categories discussed to date. Key points identified during discussion included:

  • Emphasizing accessibility related to students’ experience, both inside and outside the classroom, in terms of their academic education and non-academic experiences and growth (including experiential and work-integrated learning and social activities)
  • Identifying “Diversity of Disability” as a lens for understanding accessibility barriers, rather than as a specific category of barriers
  • Identifying “Transition Planning” as a category of accessibility barriers for consideration
  • Considering “Awareness and Training” as a potential approach to address barriers, rather than as a category of barriers
  • Considering Curriculum Design and Curriculum Delivery (teaching/instruction) as a combined category

M 1.9 Accessibility Standards: Discussion and Presentation

Paul Challen and Elisheva Bouskila Fox provided a presentation to the Committee on current accessibility standards established in regulation under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

The Accessibility Directorate advised the Committee that the Information and Communications Standards Development Committee has proposed to refer sections of the Information and Communications Standard related to educational institutions to the K-12 and Post-Secondary Standards Development Committees, for their review.

The Chair led a discussion with the Committee focused on addressing how current regulated standards apply to colleges and universities, and identifying where there may be gaps that could be addressed by a new accessibility standard for post-secondary education. The Committee also discussed how non-regulatory tools and resources could support implementation of improved accessibility in the publicly assisted post-secondary education sector.

M 1.10 Defining Priorities

Don Lenihan led a facilitated discussion on developing a shared definition of a “priority barrier”, including small group discussions followed by a plenary discussion of the Committee as a whole.

Members proposed a range of criteria that the Committee could use to determine priorities for accessibility, including:

  • Focusing on systemic barriers
  • Focusing on areas where there is strong evidence to support action
  • Focusing on barriers that impede students from completing a course of study

Members discussed the importance of working towards a student-centred approach and aiming towards the development of an accessibility standard that would be both achievable and transformational in its impact.

M 1.11 Chair’s Wrap-Up, Key Messages, and Next Steps

The Chair closed the meeting and invited members to provide feedback to her and to the Accessibility Directorate to support planning for the next meeting. Members discussed key messages that each member may use to guide discussions with their networks or communities.

Postsecondary education meeting 0: February 6, 2018

Letter from chair to the minister

March 12, 2018

The Honourable Tracy MacCharles
Minister Responsible for Accessibility
Mowat Block 6th Floor, 900 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2E1

Dear Minister,

Re: Post-Secondary Education Standards Development: Orientation Meeting – Minutes and Progress Report

On behalf of the members of the Post-Secondary Education Standards Development Committee (the Committee), I am pleased to submit the Committee-approved minutes from the Orientation Meeting (“Meeting 0”) held on February 6, 2018, and to provide you with a brief update on the Committee’s progress.

At the Orientation Meeting, the Committee discussed their mandate and the scope of their work, and began discussions on barriers to accessibility for students with disabilities in the Post-Secondary sector. Members noted their appreciation for the time you devoted to meeting with the Committee, as well as their recognition of the close partnership between the Accessibility Directorate and the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development in support of their work.

Looking ahead to Meeting 1, the Committee will continue initial discussions on barriers to accessibility and start to consider how to organize and prioritize our work over the coming months.

The Orientation Meeting was a positive and successful launch to our work as a Committee, and I look forward to working with the members and with our partner Committee for K-12 Education over the course of our mandate.

Sincerely,

(Original signed by)

Tina Doyle,
Chair, Post-Secondary Education Standards Development Committee

Meeting Information

Date: February 6, 2018

Location: King 1 Room, Hyatt Regency Hotel, 370 King Street West, Toronto

Format of Committee Minutes and References: For the purposes of referencing Committee documents and items in the minutes: ‘M’ (Meeting) represents the meeting number/minute items/sections/action items and ‘Partial’ represents limited attendance.

Present

Standards Development Committee Members: Tina Doyle (Chair), Jodi Afonso; Sambhavi Chandrashekar; Karen Csoli; Jennifer Curry Jahnke; Olga Dosis; Janice Fennell; Ashton Forrest; Marie-Claude Gagnon; Joseph Roy Gillis; Jodie Glean; Carolyn Hepburn; Julia Kowal; Jim Kyte; Chelsea Mohler; Jeanette Parsons; Anne Pottier; Ben Poynton; Fady Shanouda; Marc Wilchesky; Alex Wilson

Non-voting Standards Development Committee Members: John Manning

Supporting Staff: (Accessibility Directorate of Ontario) Mary Bartolomucci, Nidhi Bhagat, Dalveer Birk, Elisheva Bouskila Fox, Kimberly Campos, Paul Challen, Ann Louise FitzPatrick, Ann Hoy, Keren Mack, Ryan Nichols, Phil Simeon, Meridith St. Pierre, Casey Teixeira (Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development) Armagan Turktekin

Guests: Minister Tracy MacCharles, Deputy Minister Marie-Lison Fougère, Ed Steel (Director of Policy for the Office of Minister MacCharles)

Facilitator: Don Lenihan (Middle Ground Policy Research)

Captionist: Gemme Humenny

Attendants: Jayne Jalonikou, Gerald Ruiz-Alvarez

Regrets: Tory Bowman; Meri Kim Oliver

Meeting minutes

M 0.1 Chair’s Welcome and Logistical Information

The Chair, provided welcoming remarks to the Committee and outlined the agenda for the day.

Casey Teixeira provided information on emergency safety information for the meeting venue and logistical information for the day.

M 0.2 Assistant Deputy Minister Remarks

Ann Hoy, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Division, welcomed the members of the Post-Secondary Education Standards Development Committee and spoke about the potential impact of a new accessibility standard for education, benefiting students throughout the educational system and supporting the families, educators, and administrators that work with them.

Ann also informed the committee that ADO staff would be available throughout the day to provide any additional support that members would require.

M 0.3 Chair’s Welcome and Introductions

The Chair welcomed the members and invited each member to introduce themselves briefly.

Staff from the Accessibility Directorate and Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD) attending in support of the meeting, introduced themselves to members, together with the captionist and personal attendants supporting members.

The Chair also introduced Don Lenihan from Middle Ground Policy Research, who is facilitating both education SDC meetings over the course of their initial work.

The Chair invited all members to engage in accessible practices to ensure all members could fully participate in the meetings.

M 0.4 Mandate and Guiding Principles Overview

The Chair provided the Committee with an overview of the mandate letter issued to her by Minister Tracy MacCharles and of the guiding principles that should inform their work. She advised members that the mandate would be made public online on the Accessibility Directorate’s website following the meeting (web link).

The Chair advised members that a joint subcommittee would be established in partnership with the K-12 Education Standards Development Committee, and indicated that members interested in participating should inform her of their interest. The role of the joint subcommittee is to share information across the two Committees and to provide advice on transition planning and other areas of commonality and alignment.

Members discussed the scope of their work and discussed mechanisms for sharing research and evidence with the Committee to support their deliberations.

M 0.5 Working Together: Collaborating on Standards Development

Don Lenihan led a facilitated discussion of group norms that would govern the work of Committee members. Members discussed their role as Committee members in developing recommendations collaboratively.

Members agreed in principle to a number of overarching group norms to guide their discussion, including mutual respect and an evidence-based approach, and emphasized the importance of shared ownership of the process.

Members discussed guidelines around confidentiality and information-sharing in between meetings. Committee members agreed in principle to share information and ideas without attribution.

Members also discussed the quorum and voting rules set by the Terms of Reference for all Standards Development Committees.

M 0.6 Minister’s Remarks

The Honourable Tracy MacCharles, Minister Responsible for Accessibility, welcomed the Committee to their roles and thanking them for their commitment.

Members had the opportunity for a dialogue with the Minister and discussed the importance of a close collaboration with the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development, and with their partner committee for accessible K-12 Education.

Members also discussed the issue of transitioning to employment for students with disabilities. The Minister provided information to the Committee on AccessTalent, Ontario’s strategy to help people with disabilities find employment.

M 0.7 Chair’s Wrap-Up: Committee Norms and Decision-Making

Tina Doyle, Chair, summarized the morning discussion on group norms, and emphasized the importance of mutual respect and open-mindedness among Committee members. Key messages will be developed by the Committee and shared following each meeting to support each member.

Members discussed the rules for quorum and voting set out in the Terms of Reference. The Chair informed members that ADO staff would be available to clarify voting and quorum processes as needed.

M 0.8 2017 Accessibility Survey – Results in Context

Paul Challen and Elisheva Bouskila Fox provided a presentation to the Committee on an online survey conducted from May-October 2017, intended to gather public feedback on barriers to accessibility in K-12 and post-secondary education.

Further discussion with members following the presentation included questions about additional analysis required and the role of the survey as a springboard for Committee discussion. Members also discussed the importance of accessibility in social and extra-curricular programs and ensuring inclusion outside the classroom, and the importance of digital accessibility.

M 0.9 Identifying and Defining Barriers

Don Lenihan facilitated a discussion on survey themes and barriers to accessibility. Following discussion in small groups, members held a group discussion to share their initial views on barriers to accessibility for students in the post-secondary education sector.

Shared themes included a discussion of moving towards a more broadly accessible learning environment in addition to ensuring accessibility accommodations are available for students with disabilities. Members also discussed the need for clear and consistent resources and accommodation processes, and discussed the need for a lens of equity and intersectionality in considering barriers to accessibility.

Members also discussed the importance of considering the role of other accessibility standards such as the Information and Communication Standards. Members discussed as well the accessibility needs of faculty and staff with disabilities and the role of the Accessible Employment Standards. The Chair noted that the mandate of the Post-Secondary Education Standards Development Committee focused on accessibility in education for students with disabilities, although a new standard could have benefits to faculty and staff with disabilities.

Members agreed that additional discussion on a broad range of accessibility barriers and priority areas would be required.

M 0.10 Chair’s Wrap-Up, Key Messages, and Next Steps

The Chair closed the meeting and invited members to provide feedback to her and to the Accessibility Directorate to support planning for the next meeting. Members discussed key messages that each member may use to guide discussions with their networks or communities.