Surrey Schools reflects on accessibility plan progress on International Day of Persons with Disabilities

In recognition of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and its theme of advancing social progress, Surrey Schools is reflecting on the progress of the district's three-year Accessibility Plan and its ongoing efforts to reduce barriers and improve accessibility.

Dec. 3^rd marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and this year, Surrey Schools is reviewing the progress of the district’s three-year Accessibility Plan to date in its ongoing efforts to reduce barriers and improve accessibility for students, staff and community members with disabilities.

Established by the United Nations in 1992, the day serves to promote awareness for persons with disabilities, both visible and invisible, with this year’s theme being Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress.

“Recognizing International Day of Persons with Disabilities in Surrey Schools is an important part of the work we do to raise awareness of the barriers people with disabilities face,” said Sheri Hoegler, Director of People Services with Human Resources and Co-Chair of the district’s Accessibility Working Group. “It is a reminder that we should all take time to learn about and identify barriers that may exist within our community, and continue to address, reduce and eliminate those barriers.”

In September 2023, the district launched the Surrey Schools Accessibility Plan, a comprehensive document outlining its commitment to improving the experiences for students, staff, families and community members with disabilities, and to provide equitable access to opportunities.

In keeping with the theme, the latest accessibility plan progress report highlights the steps the district has taken to enact the plan’s priorities of developing accessible recruitment and hiring practices, increasing accessibility across school and district sites, building a common understanding of related terms and improving district employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. To date, these efforts have included:

• adopting an assessment tool to evaluate the accessibility of school and district sites;
• developing a detailed training resource to support inclusive hiring by addressing six key barriers and providing actionable strategies for hiring managers;
• creating four animated videos to universally define accessibility, disability, barriers and inclusion and instill a stronger understanding of the lived experiences and amazing contributions of those with disabilities;
• annually celebrating National AccessAbility Week and supporting awareness efforts around accessibility and inclusion; and
• regularly reviewing feedback from the ongoing accessibility plan feedback survey and barrier survey.

“It is great to take a moment to look back at the progress we have made,” said Colin Reid, District Principal with Student Support and fellow Accessibility Working Group Co-Chair. “From the creation of Surrey Schools’ first Accessibility Plan, Accessibility Working Group and Accessibility Advisory Committee to the advancements in our recruitment and hiring practices, it is exciting to be a part of the work underway this year as we look forward to implementing site accessibility assessments in the new year.”

Additionally, in centring the district’s work around the sentiment Nothing About Us Without Us, the Accessibility Working Group and Accessibility Advisory Committee – of which each member is either a person with a disability, someone supporting a person with a disability or someone who works with an organization that supports persons with disabilities – will consult and collaborate throughout the remainder of the 2025-26 school year to put together the next iteration of the Surrey Schools Accessibility Plan, likely following another three-year timeline.

“As we work together with the goal of creating a barrier-free Surrey Schools, it is important to acknowledge the work of all of the members of our Accessibility Advisory Committee and Accessibility Working Group,” said Reid. “Their commitment to this work and to working together toward a common goal is what is ensuring we continue to make progress in this area.”

Surrey Schools is proud of the continued progress being made to improve and enhance accessibility in Surrey and White Rock schools.

For more information on accessibility in the district, read the Surrey Schools accessibility plan and progress report. To provide feedback on the plan or highlight an accessibility barrier, please take the district’s accessibility plan survey or the accessibility barriers survey.