Webinar – Reasonable Accommodation of Students with Complex Needs to the Point of Undue Hardship and Teacher/EA Safety

Thursday, February 27, 2025, 9:00 – 10:30 a.m.

This webinar is eligible for 1.5 CEP credits for regulated member’s professional learning.

Webinar Description:

On October 11, 2024, a New Brunswick arbitrator held in New Brunswick Teachers’ Federation v New Brunswick (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development) that the provision of inclusive education does not override an employer’s duty to ensure a safe, violence-free school environment. Arbitrator Perry found that the harm suffered by the school employees outweighed the educational benefits to the student.

This webinar will focus on the legal and practical implications of balancing the provision of inclusive education against the duties of school authorities to provide healthy, safe, and violence-free work environments. The following topics will be addressed:

• recent case law dealing with a school authority’s duty to accommodate students with complex needs against employee safety;
• key principles regarding student accommodation plans;
• what it means to accommodate a student with complex needs to the point of undue hardship – what is undue hardship;
• case law guidance for system leaders, special education system leaders, school psychologists and superintendents regarding health and safety-related risk management steps for EAs and teachers;
• seclusion rooms; and
• work refusals.

Presented by:

Teresa Haykowsky is a powerful and dedicated bilingual advocate for her clients. She provides practical advice and solid solutions based on her depth of knowledge in education law, labour and employment, constitutional, administrative, occupational health and safety, municipal, and privacy law.

Teresa has a strong commitment to exceptional service. She is dedicated to advising and representing public, separate, Francophone public, and Francophone separate school boards, charter schools and independent school authorities in the decisions they make to support education. In addition to her education law clients, Teresa assists municipalities, government, and the management-side of organizations from many different industry sectors.

Teresa provides legal advice and representation in the areas of day-to-day labour, employment and human resources matters, employment litigation, grievance arbitration hearings, collective bargaining, collective agreement interpretation, wrongful dismissals, draft of employment contracts and confidentiality agreements, workplace policies, including respectful workplace, OHS and general employment policies and practices. Teresa also works in all areas affecting school authorities in Alberta including corporate governance-related issues, governance training, school trustee codes of conduct, code of conduct trustee hearings, conflict of interest issues, school board hearings (teacher transfer, suspension and termination hearings, school closure hearings, student hearings) and internal investigations. Teresa also conducts workplace investigations in the areas of harassment, discrimination and allegations of inappropriate employee or student conduct.

Teresa has depth in the evolution and changes which have occurred in education law over the past twenty-five years. She is particularly well-versed in the School Act and the new Education Act. With her creativity and experience, she has the ability to look outside of purely theoretical or academic solutions.

Authentic and dedicated, Teresa’s reputation for reliable and smart advice is well-earned. Her clients have relied on her keen advocacy for decades. Teresa has a unique understanding of education (K-12) industry, as well as the law. She strives to understand what will work for each individual client and knows sometimes the law is only one part of what they’re looking for and other times it is the whole answer.