Education Standard Development Committee

Recommendations to the Minister of Justice

In August 2020, the Accessibility Advisory Board submitted the first phase of recommendations to the Minister of Justice.

These are recommendations for commitments that Nova Scotia’s education system needs to make to ensure students with disabilities have equitable access to education. The recommendations address barriers in areas including:

• capacity building and professional development
• teaching practices
• learning materials
• assistive technology
• accessibility services
• communication
• research

Recommendations for an accessibility standard in education will be submitted to the Minister of Justice in the next phase of work.

First phase of recommendations

• Full recommendations (PDF 287 kB)
• Recommendations – Plain Language (PDF 252 kB)
• Recommendations – 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, and Department of Labour and Advanced Education members of the Accessibility Advisory Board

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 of 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