C-03 Service Accessibility Standards for Ontarians with Disabilities

INTRODUCTION

The District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) is committed to making every effort to provide services to students, parents/guardians/wards, the public and employees that are free of barriers and biases.

DEFINITIONS

Customer Is any person who uses the services of the school board.

Assistive Device Is any device used by people with disabilities to help with daily living. Assistive devices include a range of products such as wheelchairs, walkers, white canes, oxygen tanks, electronic communication devices.

Service Animal Is an animal that is being used because of a person's disability and this is either readily apparent or is supported by a letter from a medical practitioner.

Support Person Is a person who assists or interprets for a person with a disability as they access the services of the DSBN. A support person is distinct from an employee who supports a student in the system.

Third Party Contractors Is any person or organization acting on behalf of or as an agent of the DSBN (e.g., bus operators, psychologists).

Barriers to Accessibility Means anything that prevents a person with a disability from fully participating in all aspects of the services of the DSBN. This includes, but is not limited to, a physical barrier, an architectural barrier, information or communications barrier, an attitudinal barrier, a technological barrier.

Accommodation A reasonable effort of preventing and removing barriers that impede individuals with disabilities from participating fully in the services of the DSBN.

POLICIES, PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES

• Make reasonable efforts to ensure that all policies, practices and procedures are consistent with the core principles of independence, dignity, integration, and equality of opportunity to all with particular attention for persons with disabilities
• Establish procedures that allow people to use their own personal assistive devices to access our services. This would include allowing people with disabilities to be accompanied by their service animal in the areas that are open to the public, and permitting people with disabilities who use a support person to bring that person with them while accessing our services

When purchasing new equipment, designing new systems or planning new initiatives, the impact on persons with disabilities shall be taken into account.

TRAINING

The DSBN will provide appropriate training to its employees who deal with the public or other third parties on behalf of the DSBN to ensure greater awareness and responsiveness to the needs of a person with disabilities.

COMMUNICATION

• Ensure that its policy related to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act is available to the public in a format that takes into account a person’s disability
• Ensure that when facilities or services that people with disabilities rely on to access our services are temporarily disrupted, notice be given on the DSBN website or by a posting at the
site or through an appropriate means of communication
• Develop a process to receive feedback from the public in order to monitor the implementation of the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service
• The DSBN will cover the cost of a support person on any DSBN sanctioned event