Introduction

Whilst increasing participation it is imperative that we ensure fair access for all. It is therefore increasingly likely that some of the students with whom we work will have a disability. This guide is designed to provide background information on changes in legislation as well as pointers to useful resources and areas of support.

Legislation and Guidelines      

More recently the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (DDA) amends the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA 1995) and ensures that meeting the needs of disabled students is a core activity for all HE and FE providers.

The Disability Rights Task Force (DRTF) published a report in December 1999 ‘ From Exclusion to Inclusion ' outlining plans to increase accessibility to schools for disabled pupils.

Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education Section 3: Students with disabilities - October 1999

IMS Guidelines for Developing Accessible Learning Applications A set of guidelines developed by the IMS Accessibility Working Group to ensure education that is truly accessible to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

The Scottish Accessible Information Forum (SAIF) was set up to take forward the recommendations made by the Scottish Working Group on information Services for Disabled People and Carers in it's final report Enabling Information (1995). SAIF supports the rights of disabled people and carers in having access to timely and accurate information about a wide range of services including information on Scottish Disability Laws.

Accessible Curricula: Good practice for all, a book by Carol Doyle and Karen Robson edited by Simon Ball and David Campy is available online via the TechDis website.