Inclusion and accessibility in STEM education: Navigating the duty to accommodate and disability rights

The duty to accommodate is a fundamental legal concept embedded in Canadian human rights law. The concept itself makes a contribution to advancing the goals of human rights law by attempting to extend the right to equality by protecting people from discrimination. In post-secondary institutions, pursuant to human rights legislation, the duty to accommodate requires that educators and administrators should attempt to accommodate students with disabilities short of undue hardship. Despite these legal requirements, students with disabilities are often underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, mathematics and engineering) disciplines because they face multiple barriers to accessing reasonable accommodation within the classroom and laboratory environments in Canadian universities (Sukhai and Mohler, 2017, Sukhai et al, 2014).