Section #15: Educational and Training Resources and Materials

What the standard says

(1) Every obligated organization that is an educational or training institution shall do the following, if notification of need is given:

  • Provide educational or training resources or materials in an accessible format that takes into account the accessibility needs due to a disability of the person with a disability to whom the material is to be provided by,
    1. procuring through purchase or obtaining by other means an accessible or conversion ready electronic format of educational or training resources or materials, where available, or
    2. arranging for the provision of a comparable resource in an accessible or conversion ready electronic format, if educational or training resources or materials cannot be procured, obtained by other means or converted into an accessible format.
  • Provide student records and information on program requirements, availability and descriptions in an accessible format to persons with disabilities. O. Reg. 191/11, s. 15 (1).

(2) For the purposes of this section and sections 16, 17 and 18, an obligated organization is an educational or training institution if it falls into one of the following categories:

  • It is governed by the Education Act or the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005.
  • It offers all or part of a post-secondary program leading to a degree pursuant to a consent granted under the Post-secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000.
  • It is a designated public sector organization described in paragraph 3 or 4 of Schedule 1.
  • It is a public or private organization that provides courses or programs or both that result in the acquisition by students of a diploma or certificate named by the Minister of Education under paragraph 1 of subsection 8 (1) of the Education Act.
  • It is a private school within the meaning of the Education Act. O. Reg. 191/11, s. 15 (2).

Suggested approach

In accordance with requirements under the Ontario Human Rights Code, all Ontario universities are expected to provide accommodations to students upon request.  Normal procedures should therefore be followed. Institutional staff should be reminded of this requirement regularly.

In particular, Registrar offices should be reminded of the obligations of Section 15(1)2 to provide student records and information on program requirements in an accessible format when requested by persons with disabilities.

Institutions should ensure that faculty and others responsible for selecting educational material are aware that it must be available in accessible formats, whether it is purchased or created by the faculty member. Please see resources below.

Suggested best practices

Repositories of electronic educational materials:

Procurement policies:

Accessibility plans:

Evaluating accessibility resources:

Creating accessible documents:

Definitions related to Section #15, as defined in the IASR

  • “Large designated public sector organization” means a designated public sector organization with 50 or more employees.
  • “Large organization” means an obligated organization with 50 or more employees in Ontario, other than the Government of Ontario, the Legislative Assembly or a designated public sector organization.

How does the IASR relate to the Ontario Human Rights Code?

In Section 1 (2), the IASR states that, “the requirements in the standards set out in this Regulation are not a replacement or a substitution for the requirements established under the Human Rights Code nor do the standards limit any obligations owed to persons with disabilities under any other legislation.”

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