Backgrounders and research

The Right to Read report has garnered sustained and significant public interest and support from provincial, national and international audiences. The response has been overwhelmingly positive with leading reading experts and equality rights advocates from Canada and around the world acknowledging the report’s accuracy and significance.

The community adds its voice to the Right to Read inquiry report.

Engaging with the public: the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) received significant input from the public, and analyzed both quantitative and qualitative data.

Why an inquiry? On October 3, 2019, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) began a public inquiry into whether students with reading disabilities have meaningful access to education as required under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code).

September 23, 2021 The OHRC is proposing the following content for inclusion in a policy statement on the discriminatory display of names, words and images: Scope The purpose of the policy statement on the discriminatory display of names, words and images is to:

[The] public school refused to acknowledge or accept the dyslexia diagnosis until she was seven. … Without timely remediation, my daughter is barely able to read and write in English as she enters Grade 3. … In the meantime, her mental health is strained because she is keenly aware of her learning differences and extremely frustrated by the fact that she struggles to read and write. … Last year she asked Santa Claus for “the power to read” – she’s still wondering if she’ll ever get her wish. Parent of 8-year-old  

The Learning Disabilities Associations (LDAs) across Canada started from the Toronto office in 1963 and today is overseen coast-to-coast by the LDA of Canada. The LDAC led the efforts involving the Geoffrey Moore case where the Supreme Court of Canada examined the rights to education and considered the “ramp” required for those with Learning Disabilities to have the access they deserve. Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario (LDAO) is committed to students with Learning Disabilities being given the best possible opportunities to succeed in Ontario schools and there

The Ontario Human Rights Commission is conducting a public inquiry into human rights issues affecting students with reading disabilities in Ontario’s public education system.

2019 Letter to Minister of Education re: Policy/Program Memorandum (PPM) – school board policies on service animals Letter The OHRC responded to the Ministry of Education’s consultation on its draft PPM for school board policies on service animals in schools. The OHRC recommended revisions such as recognizing that the duty to accommodate disability also includes individual needs not related to learning needs.

Reading is a fundamental skill that students must have to navigate their school experience and their later lives. Our public schools should be able to teach students to read. Yet, this may not be the reality for students with reading disabilities.