It is usually recommended that parents and students advocate within the school
and school board i.e. school principal, superintendent, director, and school board
trustee. Parents may also find support by contacting a representative of the
school board’s Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC). The Education
Officers at the Ministry of Education Regional Offices may provide helpful
information.
V. Duty to Accommodate & Undue Hardship in the Education
Context
Adequate special education, therefore, is not a dispensable luxury.
For those with severe learning disabilities, it is the ramp that
provides access to the statutory commitment to education made to
all children in British Columbia.^118It is well established that education services are considered a service pursuant to
Ontario’s Code.^119 The scope of service is broad and may include more than
traditional delivery of pedagogy and may include other aspects of education such
as school functions, extra-curricular activities, field trips, and a student’s
development.^120
As discussed above, the Education Act provides for a number of appeals and
recourses for parents, such as the IPRC appeal process, however there is no
formal process or appeal mechanism available to address disputes related
directly to programming, services, accommodations and supports. Thus,
although a decision to place a student in a particular setting can be challenged,
the nature of the supports or accommodations provided or denied cannot be
directly challenged in any formalized process pursuant to the Education Act.
(^118) Moore, supra note 69 at para 5.
(^119) See Ontario Human Rights Commission, Guidelines on Accessible Education, (Revised 2009)
at 5, online: OHRC http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/guidelines-accessible-education [OHRC Guidelines].
See also Peel Board of Education v. Ontario (Human Rights Commission) (1990), 12 C.H.R.R.
D/91 (Ont. S.C.) 120 ; Moore, supra note 69.
Ibid. See also Chapter 3 on “Human Rights and Disability Law” in this Disability Law Primer
regarding Services.