Directorate of Ontario - Research Services - Accessibility in Education - Final Report - August 12, 2015

Aug 31, 2026

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005, establishes accessibility standards for Ontario’s public and private sectors with the goal of achieving an accessible province by 2025. The Accessibility Directorate of Ontario (ADO) manages implementation by developing and enforcing standards and reviewing regulations on a four-year cycle. This final report synthesizes KPMG LLP secondary research for ADO, focusing on accessibility in transportation, healthcare, and education, with detailed analysis on the education sector.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatDOCX

Pages375

Reading Time2 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Introduction

Jurisdictional Scan – Education

Literature Review

Emerging Trends and Issues

Industry Leaders and Experts

Leading Practices

Conclusion

References

Appendix – Research Findings

Accessibility Directorate of Ontario Research Services – Accessibility in Education Final Report August 12, 2015 MANAGEMENT CONSULTING Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511838" 1 Executive Summary PAGEREF _Toc423511838 \h 2 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511839" 2 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc423511839 \h 6 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511840" 2.1 Purpose of this Final Report PAGEREF _Toc423511840 \h 6 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511841" 2.2 Background and Context PAGEREF _Toc423511841 \h 6 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511842" 2.3 Objectives and Scope of the Engagement PAGEREF _Toc423511842 \h 7 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511843" 2.4 Methodology PAGEREF _Toc423511843 \h 8 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511844" 3 Jurisdictional Scan – Education PAGEREF _Toc423511844 \h 11 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511845" 3.1 Summary of Research PAGEREF _Toc423511845 \h 12 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511846" 3.1.1 Regulatory Requirements and Standards PAGEREF _Toc423511846 \h 12 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511847" 3.1.2 Policies and Programs PAGEREF _Toc423511847 \h 17 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511848" 3.1.3 Grants and Loans for Students with Disabilities PAGEREF _Toc423511848 \h 24 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511849" 3.2 Ontario’s Relative Position PAGEREF _Toc423511849 \h 29 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511850" 3.2.1 Background on Accessibility in Ontario PAGEREF _Toc423511850 \h 29 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511851" 3.2.2 Comparison to other Jurisdictions PAGEREF _Toc423511851 \h 32 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511852" 4 Literature Review PAGEREF _Toc423511852 \h 37 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511853" 5 Emerging Trends and Issues PAGEREF _Toc423511853 \h 44 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511854" 6 Industry Leaders and Experts PAGEREF _Toc423511854 \h 49 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511855" 7 Leading Practices PAGEREF _Toc423511855 \h 54 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511856" 8 Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc423511856 \h 58 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511857" 9 References PAGEREF _Toc423511857 \h 59 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc423511858" 10 Appendix – Research Findings PAGEREF _Toc423511858 \h 69 Executive Summary Introduction The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) provides accessibility standards for both private and public sectors, with a goal to make Ontario accessible by 2025. The Accessibility Directorate of Ontario (ADO) was established to manage the implementation of the AODA by developing and enforcing the current accessibility standards. Legislation requires that the effectiveness of the regulations, standards and policies be reviewed every four years and that all the standards be reviewed by a Standards Development Committee within five years of being enacted in regulation. The ADO intends to begin the review of the Transportation Standard in 2015. In order to meet current commitments and ensure accessibility for all Ontarians is achieved by 2025, the Ontario government has begun to shift focus to areas where the current standards can be improved, as well as areas where new standards need to be assessed and developed in order for barriers to be removed and the overall goals of the AODA reached. Supported by the Minister’s 2014 Mandate Letter, developing new standards in the areas of Healthcare and Education was identified throughout the Moran review’s consultation process and serves as one of the report’s final recommendations. The purpose of this Final Report is to summarize and analyze the results of secondary research gathered by KPMG LLP for an engagement with the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario (ADO) on accessibility in the transportation, healthcare and education sectors. The research questions guiding this project were: How are other jurisdictions or leading organizations working to make public sector transportation and taxi services more accessible to people with disabilities? How are other jurisdictions or leading organizations working to make healthcare more acc

FAQs

What is the AODA and what timeline does it target?

The AODA, 2005, sets accessibility standards for private and public sectors, with a goal of making Ontario accessible by 2025.

Why was this final report commissioned?

It summarizes and analyzes KPMG LLP secondary research collected for an engagement with the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario (ADO) to support accessibility improvements, with education receiving focused analysis.

How was accessibility in education assessed in the report?

The report examined 24 jurisdictions, reviewing regulations, standards, policies, and programs supporting equitable education access for people with disabilities, and comparing Ontario’s position and leading practices.

Aug 31, 2026

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