Perceptions of Students with Disabilities on Reasonable Accommodation at a Tertiary Education: A Case of a Rural University in Limpopo Province, South Africa

The advent of democracy in South Africa has put initiatives to redress social injustice suffered by women and people with disabilities. Enrollment of students with disabilities at universities increases yearly, influencing an increase in buying of assistive technologies to enable a teaching and learning environment. This paper explores the perceptions of students with disabilities on the role of reasonable accommodation in terms of accessibility and facilitation of teaching and learning at the university based on the human rights approach. A pre-corvid 19 pandemic survey used a convergent parallel mixed-method design to evaluate perceptions of reasonable accommodation on the campus. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected roughly simultaneously and integrated into the interpretation of the overall results. A focus group comprised of the representatives of students with disabilities was interviewed. The surveyed population comprised all students with disabilities between the ages of 18 to 25 registered with the Disability Support Unit (DSU) of the University of Venda. The questionnaires collected reasonable accommodation perceptions and satisfaction rates from students about organizational support and training. The distributed questionnaires produced a 90% response rate. The findings highlighted that students with disabilities encountered barriers of inaccessibility to classrooms and residents. Adequate learning material is a barrier for students with visual disabilities. Institutional budget and item costs render buying assistive technologies and building new infrastructures for students with disabilities a constraint. Policy and practice in the institution remain a limitation to interfacing education and disability smoothly.

Crocifisso “per scelta”. Dall’obbligatorietà alla facoltatività dell’esposizione del crocifisso nelle aule scolastiche (in margine a Cass. civ., sez. un., ord. 9 settembre 2021, n. 24414)

SOMMARIO: 1. La giusta presa di distanza da paradigmi di approccio dello Stato verso l’esperienza religiosa estranei al nostro modello costituzionale di diritto ecclesiastico - 2. L’esclusione del carattere discriminatorio del provvedimento adottato dal dirigente scolastico - 3. Il principio di laicità e l’interpretazione conforme a Costituzione dell’art. 118 del r.d. 30 aprile 1924, n. 965 - 4. L’ipotesi di una “incompletezza” della norma regolamentare in rapporto alle diverse esperienze e convinzioni di fede ridefinite in una dimensione prettamente storico-culturale - 5. I residui profili di peculiare rilevanza del crocifisso rispetto agli altri simboli religiosi - 6. Le competenze degli organi di autonomia scolastica in tema di esposizione dei simboli religiosi e la composizione dei conflitti affidata agli “accomodamenti ragionevoli” - 7. Brevi notazioni conclusive. Crucifix “by Choice”. From Compulsory to Optional Display of Crucifixes in Italian Classrooms (Some Remarks on the Decision September 9th, 2021, no. 24414 of the United Sections of the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation) ABSTRACT: This article analyzes the decision September 9th, 2021, no. 24414, of the United Sections of the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation, concerning the display of the crucifix in the classrooms. The Court has ruled that the presence of the crucifix on the wall does not discriminate against anyone. However, not the government authorities, but the students during an Assembly and the Class council must decide if display the crucifix and if eventually place other religious symbols next to it, seeking “reasonable accommodation” between the different positions of people in the school community.

Le Sezioni Unite della Cassazione sul crocifisso a scuola: alla ricerca di un difficile equilibrio tra pulsioni laiciste e giurisprudenza europea

SOMMARIO - 1. Il crocifisso in classe davanti alle Sezioni Unite - 2. Laicità dello Stato e autonomia scolastica - 3. Conflitto tra diritti e reasonable accommodation - 4. La regola della reasonable accommodation nella giurisprudenza straniera e italiana - 5. Il crocifisso come simbolo “essenzialmente passivo” nella giurisprudenza europea - 6. Reasonable accommodation in assenza di una lesione di diritti: rilievi critici - 7. Bilanciamento dei diritti e legislazione scolastica - 8. Il rapporto asimmetrico tra docente e alunni nella scuola: un dato del tutto omesso - 9. La rimozione del crocifisso da parte del docente: un atto lecito? Osservazioni conclusive. The Supreme Court’s United Sections on the Crucifix controversy in schools: searching for a difficult balance between laicism and European case-law ABSTRACT: This paper examines critically, in the light of the Italian and European case-law, the contents and the juridical arguments of a recent decision issued by the United Sections of the Italian Court of Cassation concerning the Crucifix controversy arisen in a State school. The judges established, on one hand, that the crucifix may be hung in a classroom upon demand of the students as it does not infringe the dissenting teacher’s freedom of conscience or of teaching, according to Lautsi ECHR decision (2011); on the other hand, the clash of values involved would need a reasonable accommodation which could require other religious symbols alongside the crucifix or its removal during the lessons of the dissenting teacher. Such a decision, according to the author, appears to be somewhat contradictory and ambiguous, and it does not resolve the case in a well-balanced way.

Capacity building as a strategic tool for employment equity implementation in the financial sector

Orientation: Employment equity (EE) has gradually seeped into various levels of many organisations, from private to public companies and small to large companies, in both developing and developed countries.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of capacity building on EE implementation with particular reference to the financial sector.Motivation for the study: The rise in demand for EE appointees and the lack of skills and reasonable accommodation of these employees in the workplace hamper EE implementation in South Africa. For this reason, a pool of employees from the designated groups remains stuck at the unskilled and semi-skilled skills levels.Research approach or design and method: This study utilised the exploratory research approach. In addition, the study adopted a quantitative research methodology. A sample size of 172 was considered appropriate for this study and returned usable responses were n = 95.Main findings: The key findings revealed that capacity building is imperative in promoting the implementation of EE in the workplace. Based on the findings of this study, it is undeniable that improved capacity building is a strong catalyst for executing EE.Practical or managerial implications: The findings of this study serve as a guide for decision-making and provide advice related to capacity building and implementation of EE to both business leaders and line management.Contribution or value-addition: The current study contributes new insights and builds the knowledge base on how capacity building influences EE implementation.

Il crocifisso ‘accomodato’. Considerazioni a prima lettura di Corte cass., Sezioni Unite civili, n. 24414 del 2021

SOMMARIO: 1. Introduzione - 2. La decisione (in sintesi): una soluzione subottimale - 3. Il ruolo determinante del principio supremo di laicità - 4. Laicità sostanziale, laicità procedurale, accomodamento ragionevole - 5. Discriminazione diretta e indiretta. - 6. Conclusioni. The crucifix ‘accommodated’. Considerations at first reading of the judgment no. 24414/2021 by the United Sections of the Italian Supreme Court of cassation ABSTRACT: With decision no. 24414/2021 the United Sections of the Italian Supreme Court of cassation have provided an unprecedented solution to the issue of religious symbols in the classrooms of public schools. In this essay the author analyses the judgment, focusing in particular on three aspects: the relationship between the so-called ‘Italian principle of secularism’ and the reasonable accommodation; the existence or not of discrimination against the teacher who has been obliged to teach under the crucifix; the practical ways in which this ruling can become 'living law' in the Italian legal system.

Teaching in the Aftermath of a Pandemic: Must an Employer Provide an Accommodation for Commuting for a Disabled Employee?

Part I of the paper discusses the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA, its requirements, and various protections for persons who suffer from a recognized disability which impacts their ability to work under certain circumstances and conditions. The context of this study is American higher education. Part II will discuss the obligation of an employer to offer a “reasonable accommodation” of the nature sought by an employee which would permit the employee to continue teaching while otherwise meeting all of the obligations imposed on faculty members under appropriate university policies. Specifically, the research question considered in Part II relates to whether “commuting” is a covered activity under the ADA which would trigger the responsibility of providing the employee with a reasonable accommodation, allowing an employee to teach in the employee’s preferred combination of online and hybrid modalities.

COVID-19 and the Violation of the Right to Basic Education of Learners with Disabilities in South Africa: An Examination of Centre for Child Law v Minister of Basic Education

This article explores the extent to which the right to basic education of learners with disabilities in South Africa was guaranteed during the COVID-19 pandemic. It uses the Centre for Child Law v Minister of Basic Education (Centre for Child Law) as the main canvas for discussion. It argues that, notwithstanding its normative compliance with the international regime of the right to an inclusive basic education, the government has failed learners with disabilities during COVID-19. An examination of Centre for Child Law reveals that, not only did the government's directions for the phased return to school exclude learners with disabilities, they also required the closure of special schools where compliance with social distancing rules was impossible. This violated the right to inclusive education and substantive equality of learners with disabilities and highlighted the need to advance these rights through reasonable accommodation initiatives.

Does Institutionalising Reasonable Accommodation Increase Conscientious Objections of Medical Professionals?

"In January 2020, the Council of Europe has rejected a resolution that recommends reasonable accommodation of employee’s religious practices in the workplace. The concept of reasonable accommodation emerged in the United States and in Canada to allow some flexibility in the application of laws to achieve substantial equality for all, as uniform application of seemingly neutral laws can cause disadvantages to ethnic or religious minorities, and people with disability. However, reasonable accommodation of religious practices in the workplace such as hospitals is often criticised in two ways; first, it makes it easier for the doctors to register a conscientious objection against providing abortion or reproductive treatment and thus harms women’s reproductive rights. Second, in the same manner, medical professionals may use reasonable accommodation as an excuse to refrain from providing certain medical care to sexual minorities. The purpose of this paper is to indicate that such secularist criticisms of reasonable accommodation are implausible. To show this, this paper first reviews the idea of reasonable accommodation in North America and Europe. Then, the reasonable accommodation debate occurred in Québec, Canada and the report by Bouchard-Taylor Commission (2007-2008) are examined in light of theories of deliberative democracy to illustrate the asymmetry of power between the majority and the minority groups in the negotiation process. Lastly, this paper argues that reasonable accommodation as a means to negotiate the demands for accommodation of religious practices is limited. Thus it is unlikely to undermine the fundamental liberal values of the majority. "

Teaching in the Aftermath of a Pandemic: Must an Employer Provide an Accommodation for Commuting for a Disabled Employee?

Part I of the paper discusses the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA, its requirements, and various protections for persons who suffer from a recognized disability which impacts their ability to work under certain circumstances and conditions. The context of this study is American higher education. Part II will discuss the obligation of an employer to offer a “reasonable accommodation” of the nature sought by an employee which would permit the employee to continue teaching while otherwise meeting all of the obligations imposed on faculty members under appropriate university policies. Specifically, the research question considered in Part II relates to whether “commuting” is a covered activity under the ADA which would trigger the responsibility of providing the employee with a reasonable accommodation, allowing an employee to teach in the employee’s preferred combination of online and hybrid modalities.

On the obligation to make reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) features interesting labour law related aspects. The goals of this article are to reconcile horizontal human rights and contract law in the context of reasonable accommodation in working life and to establish guidelines by which to assess the obligation to make accommodation, for example in relation to the EU Employment Equality Directive. This article utilises the framework of just social practice, which makes reference to welfarism in Nordic contract law. Just social practice creates a theoretical framework in which to investigate the rights and obligations attached to reasonable accommodation in working life, because it may be argued that its basic premises correspond to the ultimate justification of the accommodation rights provided for by the UNCRPD: the idea of social inclusion. The first part of the article seeks to identify common features between the UNCRPD and contract law. It sketches the theoretical framework of just social practice, in which contract law and human rights coincide within the context of employment. The second part of the article elaborates what the process of reasonable accommodation within the framework of just social practice constitutes and introduces specific steps that are followed when the right to accommodation is in question. The article also identifies the factors that have an influence on reasonableness evaluations as being either internal or external to the contractual relationship and exemplifies how contract law principles are to be applied when assessing reasonableness. The article argues that reconciliation of the goals of private law and human rights within the framework of just social practice makes it possible to argue that contract law principles can function as a tool for social inclusion.