1 Introduction
This report is one outcome of a two-year research project, funded by the York University Academic Innovation Fund and led by the Collective Inclusion Pathways to Access (CIPA) team. The purpose of this report is to (1) communicate to decision-makers and individuals in positions of power at York University the need for immediate, concrete change to address oppressive academic accommodation systems in place at York University and (2) introduce possibilities for more just pathways to academic access.
This report presents the findings from a systematic literature review, targeted web search, and key informant interviews to acquire a comprehensive understanding of how access is negotiated within academic accommodation processes. We also focus on best practices that are being developed and mobilized by access leaders to co-create pathways to academic access that are anti-ableist, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive in other ways. Our hope is that our discussion of practices can be used to support real change at York University, particularly by surfacing examples of alternatives to the ways that disabled, mad, and sick[1] students are supported (or not) and demonstrating that such alternatives are not so “impractical or unfathomable” as they might seem (Ahmed et al., 2022, p. 3, bolded in original). We also attempt to leave evidence[2] of the individual efforts of students and faculty working to create more access-centered[3] education experiences in racist and ableist scholarly environments.
The first sections of this report provide more background information about CIPA, the research problem, report principles, and research questions and methods. We then present our findings and discussion across three sections:
- First, we examine pitfalls in academic accommodation processes, centering the lived experiences and expertise of multiply marginalized and underserved (MMU) students navigating interlocking systems of oppression in post-secondary education settings.
- Second, we consider existing practices that move away from medicalized academic accommodation processes and provide potential models or examples that can be used to support institutional change at York University.
- Third, we elevate the aspirations of students, faculty, and staff; this report articulates a landscape of future possibilities in which the responsibility of access is shifted from the individual to the collective and systemic, i.e., the institution.
We conclude this report with three calls to action that we argue require immediate and meaningful attention to address racism, ableism, and classism ingrained in York’s existing academic accommodation process and pave more equitable pathways to access for York students and community members.
- These terms are being used because they are being claimed by the communities themselves. Rather than a discriminatory medical term, these are terms that are being claimed with pride. These are the terms that the students used to describe themselves. ↵
- Leaving Evidence is a blog by Disability Justice educator, Mia Mingus. Mingus describes leaving evidence as follows: “We must leave evidence. Evidence that we were here, that we existed, that we survived and loved and ached. Evidence of the wholeness we never felt and the immense sense of fullness we gave to each other. Evidence of who we were, who we thought we were, who we never should have been. Evidence for each other that there are other ways to live--past survival; past isolation”. Please click here. ↵
- The term access-centered is attributed to India Harville and/or Springlove as part of the framework of the Access-Centered Movement. Broadly speaking, access-centered means making access central to our systems and processes and not an afterthought. For more information please see: a) Embrace Body; b) Access Centered Movement; and c) Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network (AWN) ↵
The term "systems of oppression" helps us better identify inequity by calling attention to the historical and organized patterns of mistreatment. In the United States, systems of oppression (like systemic racism) are woven into the very foundation of American culture, society, and laws. Other examples of systems of oppression are sexism, heterosexism, ableism, classism, ageism, and anti-Semitism. Society's institutions, such as government, education, and culture, all contribute or reinforce the oppression of marginalized social groups while elevating dominant social groups.
Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture
Academic accommodations consist of arrangements that allow a student with a disability a fair opportunity to engage in academic activities and fulfill essential course and program requirements.
Academic accommodations are put in place to provide equitable access to education for students with disabilities. Academic accommodations address disability-related barriers that prohibit accessing materials in a course and the demonstration of knowledge and skills. (York University Student Accessibility Services: https://students.yorku.ca/accessibility)
Anti-ableism means actively working to dismantle ableism. It begins with recognizing that ableism exists, that it causes serious harm, and that nondisabled people benefit from this system. This is known as privilege.
Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups.
Anti-oppression is recognized as attempts to mitigate the effects of systemic oppression and eventually equalize the power imbalance in our communities.
Systems of oppression: “Forms of discrimination and inequality that are backed by laws and policies and work together to compound negative impacts and make it difficult to fight back against them (Skin, Tooth, & Bone, Sins Invalid, Glossary).”
Source: Deanna Parvin Yadollahi from Kery Gray Consulting Group
Ableism means intentional or unintentional prejudice against disabled
people.
Source: Cripping the Arts Access Guide. Tangled Arts and Disability. https://tangledarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cta-access-guide-spreads-digital.pdf