This mom sits outside her child's school all day. She wants more help for students with disabilities

Michelle Cousins follows her 14-year-old daughter Colette to school each morning.

Cousins meets her bus at Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School in north Toronto. Shehelps Coletteand her wheelchair onto the groundand parks her van on a nearby street.

She stays there until the end of the school dayin case she needs to help her daughter, who has arthrogryposis, which causes joint stiffness and affects her mobility, among other conditions

"It's been really, really challenging," said Cousins, a single mom.

"Had there been a proper assessment, had people been doing their job and doing it properly, I don't think we'd be here."

For every school day since September,Cousinshas been sitting in her van in case Colette needs her help going to the washroom. That'ssomething educational assistants usually do, but it's the best option tomaintainColette's dignity, she says, until a better solution from the school and the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) materializes.

Cousins says she's been told there are only two educational assistants whoare able to lift Colette out of her wheelchair when needed, with no guarantee of trained replacements in case they're away. On top of that, the support equipment the school does have has either been inoperableor unable to fit in the washroom, Cousins says.

Coletteisn't the only childwith disabilitiesfacing accommodation issues in schools across the province. About onein sixstudents in Ontariohave a disability, according to a prominent advocate, and it's common for them toface physical, technologicaland bureaucratic barriersthat get in the way of theireducation.

Even though the school confirmed Colette's admission in the spring, and had her accommodation needs assessed this summer, Cousins says she's resorted totaking on the support role to giveherdaughter as normal of a high school experience as possibleamidst bureaucratic and labour issues at play.

While Colette appreciates her mom's help, she says she knows it shouldn't be this way.

"It's not fair that my mom has to sit in a van,"said Colette.

Who's responsible for accommodation?

The TCDSB, in an email to CBC Toronto, says it works with parents and students case-by-caseto accommodate special needsin line with the province's main disability rights legislation, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

The board stresses it can't speak aboutindividual cases due to privacy laws. But it says Colette's high school has an elevator, an accessible washroom, alternative and operable equipmentand support staff whoare "available and assigned as needed" to help students with disabilities.

However, Cousins refutes most of that anda high-profile advocate for people with disabilities in Ontariosays these issues can't be dealt with at the board level alone.

"The bureaucracy handcuffs the teachers and principals and other staff who want to do the right thing,"said David Lepofsky, the chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance.

"This is emblematic of a much bigger problem a problem that the provincial government has known about for years."

Lepofsky, who is also a member of the provincially-appointed Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) Education Standards Development Committee, helped draft recommendations for an accessibility standard in all publicly-funded schools.

"All that is available to our kids [right now]is for their parents to try to negotiate withthe bureaucracy of a school board, and if that doesn't work, to lawyer up at personal expense," said Lepofsky.

Work began in 2017, and the committee put forwarddozens of recommendations in Februaryaimed at creating equipment, support and staffing standards for school boards to better help students with disabilities. The committee also called for a user-friendlyprocess for parents to get unique accommodations in a fast and easymanner.

But the committee hasn'theard word on if or when they'll be implemented, Lepofskysays.

In an email to CBC Toronto, the Ontario Ministry of Education says it's working withthe Ministry of Seniors and Accessibility to reviewthe recommendations.

In the meantime, the ministry says it'sconsistently added more educational assistants in schools each year since 2018, withmore than 1,700in special education this school year alone.

But that's not what Cousins says she'sseeing on the ground. At this rate, she saysshe'll be in her car bythe school for another four to six weeks, fighting for the board to approve another way for Colette to attend classesindependently, to repair or order in extra equipment,or get the staff needed to support her.

"I hope there's some sort of systemic change."