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ACCESSIBILITY - Developing our new accessibility plan

Our vision

Our vision is to create safe, inclusive and academically excellent learning experiences for all. We are committed to creating barrier-free schools and work environments where everyone can participate fully and equally.

Our approach

The Accessible Saskatchewan Act, enacted in December 2023, is provincial legislation aimed at removing and preventing barriers that affect people with disabilities. 

We are developing a three-year accessibility plan as a first step to formalize our efforts and to support our commitment to meeting the Act’s requirements. This plan will guide our priorities, budgets and short, medium and longer-term actions to advance accessibility across all schools in the division.

Squarely Accessible, a consulting firm, has been contracted by the North East School Division to assist with data collection and analysis.

Have your say: Take the North East School Division Accessibility Survey

Your voice matters. Take the survey and help us shape meaningful change. The deadline to complete the survey is June 23 at 5 p.m.

Choose the survey that best fits your point of view:

Survey for students and families
Survey for the community / general public
Survey for all staff 

If you have any questions or concerns, or if you’d like to request an alternate format of the survey, please contact divisionoffice@nesd.ca or 306-752-5741, press 1 for reception.

Community consultation process

We are launching a consultation process to gather input from students, families, staff and from others in our division to make sure our accessibility plan reflects real experiences and needs. Key steps include:

Accessibility Advisory Group

• Working with Squarely Accessible, an accessibility consultancy, our division will create an Accessibility Advisory Group and hold regular meetings to develop and refine consultation tools, including surveys and focus groups.

• Feedback from these meetings will shape the overall approach to our accessibility plan.

Engagement activities

• A survey to collect input about accessibility barriers and solutions

• Focus group sessions to gather in-depth feedback from families, students and staff

Accessibility plan development

• After public engagement activities, a full draft report will be developed with stakeholders, summarizing key findings and next steps.

• The finalized report will be developed and submitted to the Province.

Project background

Why we are undertaking this work now

As a division, one of our goals has been to create an inclusive, welcoming environment by supporting students, staff and community members in our schools. 

We recognize there is still much work to be done. While we’ve made progress, we will continue to address gaps and improve our practices. 

Our new accessibility plan will capture a clear picture of the current state of accessibility. It will highlight the policies and processes we have in place now and will lay out the steps to build on the work already underway.

The plan will also outline how we will keep identifying and removing remaining barriers on an ongoing basis. We will continue to listen, learn and adapt to meet the evolving needs of our community.

What is a disability? 

The Accessible Saskatchewan Act defines disability as any impairment that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders an individual’s full and equal participation in society. It includes physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairments and a functional limitation. These can be permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, or evident or not.

The Act aims to remove all types of barriers that prevent or limit full participation for people with disabilities. 

Please refer to the Province of Saskatchewan’s Accessible Saskatchewan Act website for additional definitions and other helpful information.

Why we are launching a survey

Your insights and feedback will help us better understand the barriers people face and what meaningful accessibility looks like in the North East School Division.

We encourage you to share your experience so we can create spaces that reflect everyone’s needs.

If you don’t identify as a person with a disability

The survey is open to everyone in our community. You do not need to have a disability to participate. We encourage all staff, family members, students and the general public to share their experiences and perspectives.

By including a variety of voices, we can better understand the needs, challenges and opportunities within the North East School Division community. This information will guide our efforts moving forward.

Is the survey anonymous? 

Yes, the survey is completely anonymous.

Your privacy and confidentiality are our top priorities. We have engaged a third-party specialist, Squarely Accessible, to collect and interpret the data, which means your responses will be protected by the highest standards in research ethics, legal requirements and data storage.

Your feedback will be used only for the purpose of enhancing our accessibility plan, and we will never share or misuse your personal information. 

Which barriers to accessibility are expected to be addressed as a result of the survey findings?

The information gathered from the survey will help us identify key barriers, concerns and preferences. This data will play a key role in shaping our accessibility plan by helping us identify themes, priorities and areas of improvement to inform strategic decision-making. 

While certain barriers may not be fully removed due to existing constraints (i.e., structural or financial), we are committed to making every reasonable effort to identify and address any gaps and improve accessibility wherever possible.

How will the findings of the survey be shared?

We will publicly share our accessibility plan across a variety of channels, including our website and social media, in late 2025.

What happens after the plan is developed?

The plan will guide the first three years of activities. Updates on progress will be released every year to follow the guidelines set out in The Accessible Saskatchewan Act.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact divisionoffice@nesd.ca or 306-752-5741, press 1 for reception.