NZ Code of Practice 2021-22
Practicing Equity
What is Disability?
Disabled people or disabled learners include those with permanent impairments, those with impairments resulting from long or short-term injury or illness, the deaf community and those with learning disabilities, neurological or cognitive difficulties, mental health conditions and other hidden impairments. These impairments may last for six months or more.
This toolkit has been designed to assist tertiary education providers to achieve a fully inclusive environment for disabled learners through the ongoing identification and removal of barriers in all areas of their learning experience.
Examples of the current situation for disabled learners and disability support staff will help to clarify ways in which the real world context has not reached the goal of an inclusive education environment.
Learning supports, known legally as reasonable accommodations, allow disabled learners to access the curriculum, pedagogy, lab work, field work, assessment and examination in ways that meet their needs. Reasonable accommodations apply to invisible impairments as well as more obvious impairments. Not meeting the need for reasonable accommodations of academically capable disabled learners places tertiary providers at risk of Human Rights Act complaints.
From 2022 the Tertiary Education Commission will require tertiary providers to develop a Disability Action Plan (DAP).
This Kia Ōrite Toolkit has various tools to assist tertiary education providers with the development of your DAP. We recommend you use this toolkit alongside the DAP guidance issued by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC).