Osgoode announces innovative program in disability law

Osgoode law to launch new experiential educational program in 2013
Osgoode law to launch new experiential educational program in 2013

In September 2013, Osgoode law will launch The Disability Law Intensive Program, a hands-on course for second and third-year law students in the practice of disability law. The program, which will be the first of its kind in Canada, was approved by the Osgoode Faculty Council on the International Day of Disabled Persons, December 3, 2012.

The program will be co-directed in 2013-14 by Osgoode Professor Roxanne Mykitiuk and Marian MacGregor, director of Osgoode’s Community and Legal Aid Services Program (CLASP). As part of the 15-credit course, students will attend seminars, complete a research paper and participate in a clinical placement in collaboration with ARCH Disability Law Centre — a legal aid clinic which advances the equality rights of people with disabilities in Ontario. Students will be involved in individual client advocacy and systemic policy-based advocacy.

On a related note, the Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) released its Framework for the Law as it Affects Persons with Disabilities on December 10, 2012. The Framework aims to engage a better understanding of the effect of laws, policies and practices on persons with disabilities, and provide a foundation for law reform efforts.