Teaching and Training

What are my legal obligations?

Under section 1 of the Code, people with disabilities are protected from discrimination in “services.” This protection includes education services.

Education providers have obligations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), and its Integrated Accessibility Standard Regulations. The AODA is an important piece of legislation for improving accessibility in the lives of people with disabilities. It complements the Ontario Human Rights Code, which has primacy over the AODA. The development and implementation of standards under the AODA must have regard for the Code, related human rights principles, and case law. Compliance with the AODA does not necessarily mean compliance with the Code. Education providers must follow both. For example, even where an education provider meets all of its obligations under the AODA, it will still be responsible for making sure that discrimination and harassment based on disability do not take place in its operations, that it responds to individual accommodation requests, etc.

To help you better understand the requirements applicable to you and your role and your responsibilities at the University of Ottawa, we have created the Policy 119 - Accessibility, the Academic Regulation I-16 - Academic Accommodations and the guideline Understand the Law - Customer Service and Information and Communications (section Training to Educators).

Training and Toolkit

The Council of Ontario Universities provides an Interactive online training and a Tool Kit designed to help Professors create an accessible learning environment for students with disabilities and meet their legal obligations.

Be prepared!

Learn the University of Ottawa Emergency procedures.

Use Ventus for accommodation management

• File an online Notice of Examination for each course and  section, indicating the dates of mid‐term exams, quizzes and other in‐class evaluations.
• Provide the Access Service with exam copies: When a student with accommodation needs is registered in a course, you receive an automatic message indicating the deadline for providing the Access Service with copies of your exams and other tests or assignments.

Learn more

Ventus - student service management suite

• Take the Supervisor Health and Safety Awareness training.

• See the “Request an accommodation” section on the Working page.

• Direct the student to the “Request an accommodation” section on the Studying page.

• Write accessible webpages with BrightSpace (External link)
• Learn how create accessible PDF documents and videos on the Accessibility Training

The Teaching and Learning Support Service is a one-stop-shop for educational and techno-pedagogical services.

• Introduction to Inclusive Teaching Practices (PDF)
• Implementation Checklist for Inclusive Teaching Practices (PDF)
• Universal Design for Learning Guidelines (PDF)
• Minimizing the Impact of Learning Obstacles (Access Service Guide) (PDF)
• Maia's transcript of testimony (Transcript)
• Celeste’s transcript of testimony (Transcript)

In the three step training Recognize, Respond and Refer you will learn about the following:

• Recognizing indicators of mental illness
• Responding in a way that is appropriate to the indicators and the relationship you have with the student
• Referrals to the appropriate services for students

Dr. Mike Condra is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry at Queen’s University and the Director of the Department of Health, Counseling, and Disability Services. In this video, he describes some of the most common mental health problems at universities, the nature and impact of mental illness, best practices for identifying and responding to mental health challenges, and opportunities to reduce stigma.

Helping Students in Distress (external link)

The recruitment process must comply with accessibility laws. Read the following sections in the Employment guidelines:

• Informing employees of supports
• Accessible formats and communication supports

Employers are required to meet the accommodation needs of employees with disabilities to the point of undue hardship. Read the following sections in the Employment guidelines:

• Workplace emergency response information
• Documented individual accommodation plans
• Return to work process
• Performance management, career development and advancement & redeployment