Detach BSWD funding from OSAP eligibility
Detach BSWD funding from OSAP eligibility
The Issue
Human rights should not be tied to income eligibility.By tying the BSWD to OSAP it means students and parents of students who do not qualify for OSAP subsidize the university’s legal obligation to accommodate students.The BSWD should be separated from OSAP so that all disabled students* can access bursary funds equally.
The Supreme Court of Canada decision in Eldridge[123] states that, when governments provide services, they have an obligation to take positive steps to ensure that members of disadvantaged groups, such as disabled persons, benefit equally from these services, subject to the undue hardship standard. Having undertaken programs such as the BSWD, the government is obliged to design it in an inclusive manner, taking into account the needs of all disabled students. If the BSWD requirements have an adverse impact on students with particular types of disabilities/learning differences, it is de facto discriminatory. Further, blanket approaches to accommodation, that do not take into account the unique and individual needs of disabled students, are also discriminatory. Disability service providers within post-secondary institutions are not themselves providers of the service of education. The creation of offices for students with disabilities (accessibility services) is one way in which post-secondary institutions have attempted to meet their duty to provide equal education. However, the responsibility for accommodation rests with the post-secondary institution as a whole, and not simply with the disability service providers. Tying the BSWD to OSAP removes this responsibility from the education provider and assigns the duty to accommodate to parents and students themselves, counter to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Ontario Human Rights Code.
Ultimately it means that only certain types of students are accommodated/welcome in the post-secondary system - those who do not require additional tools (adaptive technology, etc.) to gain equal access to the service of education.
*I use the term disabled students to indicate that students are disabled by the system and are not inherently disabled because they learn and produce knowledge in ways that don't conform to the majority of students whose learning profiles are accommodated by existing system.
BSWD is the Bursary for Students with Disabilities
https://osap.gov.on.ca/OSAPPortal/en/A-ZListofAid/PRD9197088.html
The Issue
Human rights should not be tied to income eligibility.By tying the BSWD to OSAP it means students and parents of students who do not qualify for OSAP subsidize the university’s legal obligation to accommodate students.The BSWD should be separated from OSAP so that all disabled students* can access bursary funds equally.
The Supreme Court of Canada decision in Eldridge[123] states that, when governments provide services, they have an obligation to take positive steps to ensure that members of disadvantaged groups, such as disabled persons, benefit equally from these services, subject to the undue hardship standard. Having undertaken programs such as the BSWD, the government is obliged to design it in an inclusive manner, taking into account the needs of all disabled students. If the BSWD requirements have an adverse impact on students with particular types of disabilities/learning differences, it is de facto discriminatory. Further, blanket approaches to accommodation, that do not take into account the unique and individual needs of disabled students, are also discriminatory. Disability service providers within post-secondary institutions are not themselves providers of the service of education. The creation of offices for students with disabilities (accessibility services) is one way in which post-secondary institutions have attempted to meet their duty to provide equal education. However, the responsibility for accommodation rests with the post-secondary institution as a whole, and not simply with the disability service providers. Tying the BSWD to OSAP removes this responsibility from the education provider and assigns the duty to accommodate to parents and students themselves, counter to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Ontario Human Rights Code.
Ultimately it means that only certain types of students are accommodated/welcome in the post-secondary system - those who do not require additional tools (adaptive technology, etc.) to gain equal access to the service of education.
*I use the term disabled students to indicate that students are disabled by the system and are not inherently disabled because they learn and produce knowledge in ways that don't conform to the majority of students whose learning profiles are accommodated by existing system.
BSWD is the Bursary for Students with Disabilities
https://osap.gov.on.ca/OSAPPortal/en/A-ZListofAid/PRD9197088.html
Petition Closed
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The Decision Makers
Petition created on January 12, 2015