Education Standard Development Committee

Recommendations to the Minister of Justice

An important part of our goal of creating an accessible Nova Scotia by 2030 is the development of accessibility standards. The accessibility standard in education is intended to prevent and remove barriers to accessing education.

The Accessibility Advisory Board established a committee of internal and external stakeholders and experts to develop recommendations for an accessibility standard in education. The Education Standard Development Committee developed recommendations in 2 phases. The committee’s work informed the recommendations that the Accessibility Advisory Board submitted to the Minister of Justice.

These recommendations are being used to prepare Nova Scotia’s accessibility standard in education.

Phase 1 recommendations for accessibility standard in education

• Recommendations to the Government of Nova Scotia on Accessibility Standards in Education: Phase 1 (PDF 287 kB)
• Recommendations to the Government of Nova Scotia on Accessibility Standards in Education: Phase 1 Summary – Plain Language (PDF 252 kB)
• Recommendations to the Government of Nova Scotia on Accessibility Standards in Education: Phase 1 Summary – American Sign Language (ASL) video

Phase 2 recommendations for accessibility standard in education

• Recommendations to the Government of Nova Scotia on an Accessibility Standard in Education: Phase 2 (PDF 793 kB)
• Recommendations to the Government of Nova Scotia on an Accessibility Standard in Education: Phase 2 Summary (PDF 137 kB)
• Recommendations to the Government of Nova Scotia on an Accessibility Standard in Education: Phase 2 Summary – Plain Language (PDF 109 kB)
• Recommendations to the Government of Nova Scotia on an Accessibility Standard in Education: Phase 2 Summary – American Sign Language (ASL) video

About the committee

The majority of committee members identify as having a disability. Committee members include:

• persons with disabilities
• representatives from organizations that provide services to persons with disabilities
• representatives from private and public early childhood, primary, secondary, and post-secondary education
• representatives from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Department of Advanced Education and Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration

Committee members

• Rosalind Penfound, Chair - Vice-President, Organizational Development, Nova Scotia Community College, Dartmouth

• Cynthia Bruce, Vice-Chair - Assistant Professor, Department of Creative Arts Therapies, Concordia University, Kentville

• Denise Cameron - Department Head, Learning Centre and Resource, Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education, Truro

• Jacqueline Cote - Manager, Accessible Learning, Cape Breton University, Sydney Forks

• Alice Evans - Executive Director, Prescott Group, Halifax

• Mary Goya - Manager, Policy and Planning, Adult Education Division, Department of Labour and Advanced Education, Dartmouth

• Sheila Jamieson - Classroom Teacher, Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority, Halifax

• Diane Johnson-Snook - Program Co-ordinator, Achieve Program, Nova Scotia Community College, Port Hawkesbury

• Alex LeBlanc – Retired Tradesman, Human Rights Advocate, Wolfville

• Chrissi Lynch – Co-ordinator, Student Services, Strait Regional Centre for Education, Queensville

• Patricia Monaghan - Executive Director, Nova Scotia Early Childhood Development Intervention Services, Halifax

• Adela N'Jie - Student Services Co-ordinator, Conseil scolaire acadien provincial, Dartmouth

• Kevin Penny - Equipment Grants Co-ordinator, Post-Secondary Accessibility Services, Department of Labour and Advanced Education, Halifax

• Ann Power - Executive Director, Student Equity and Support Services, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Halifax

• Cornelia Schneider - Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Mount Saint Vincent University, Porters Lake

• David Steele - Registrar, Dexter Institute Private Career College, Lower Sackville

• Sue Taylor-Foley - Executive Director, Innovation, Programs and Services, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Chester

• Matt Walsh - Accessibility Mentor and Advocate, Subway Employee, Upper Tantallon

• Barbara Welsford - Assistive Technology Specialist, South Shore Regional Centre for Education, Mahone Bay

• Jillian Wood - Classroom Teacher, Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education, Hastings