What are the human rights perspectiveson inclusive education?
Answers
Education is the foundation for a fulfilling community life. The school experience is pivotal in shaping our opportunities for employment, our relationships, our contributions to our community and our vision for the future. Lifelong patterns of inclusion are established in early childhood education programs, preschools, in the classroom and on the playgrounds of neighbourhood schools.
In Canada the right to education is contained in provincial/territorial education acts. These acts typically provide access to public education for children from ages 5/6 years to 18/21 years of age. In addition, human rights acts ensure both access as well as protection from discrimination.
In 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) handed down a landmark decision on disability rights. The decision in the Moore case (Moore vs B.C.) states that students with disabilities are entitled to receive the accommodation measures they need to access and benefit from the service of public education. In this regard, the Court said that adequate special education is not “a dispensable luxury”. The Court acknowledged that such measures serve as “the ramp that provides access to the statutory commitment to education made to all children in British Columbia.”
Moore (SCC) reaffirms that human rights law requires education providers to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities. This means that where a barrier is identified, accommodations must be provided to overcome that barrier, unless to do so would cause an undue hardship.
School districts in Canada must take a proactive approach to budgeting and programming, to ensure that the rights of students with disabilities to accommodation are taken into account. Appropriate budgeting by provincial governments is also crucial. School districts make program choices within budgetary envelopes determined by provincial governments. Children and families must be ensured of their right to the benefits of public education in an inclusive community or neighbourhood school.