OLC Policies | Ontario Literacy Coalition (OLC)

The OLC Board of Directors develops and review all our policies on behalf of the moral ownership. While the Clear Language Policy, Privacy and Legal Policy and the Protocol for Membership Complaints are standing policies, OLC bylaws are reviewed and edited each year to ensure they are aligned with the organizational brand and values.

For enquiries about other OLC policies, contact the OLC office by phone at 416-963-5787 or by email at olc@on.literacy.ca.

OLC Bylaws

OLC 2008 Bylaws govern the internal affairs of the OLC.

Clear Language Policy

Policy No. OLC-2003-08, Approved: August 2003

The Ontario Literacy Coalition (OLC) believes in including all people who want to improve literacy in Ontario. All our members, including those who have literacy challenges, have much to give.

Policy No. OLC-2003-08, Approved: August 2003

The Ontario Literacy Coalition (OLC) believes in including all people who want to improve literacy in Ontario. All our members, including those who have literacy challenges, have much to give.

To help everyone take part, our operating guidelines state: "We will make our written material as easy to read as possible." In all of our communications, we will take into account:

the purpose of the communication and
the reading needs of the target audience

When written words are a barrier to inclusion and participation, we will do our best to find other ways to share information. When we are able, the OLC will use testing and feedback to find out if our communication is successful.

Scope

This policy covers all OLC communication both internally and externally, and the OLC expects compliance with this policy from:

OLC staff
volunteers and Board Members
contractors and consultants

Resources and Support

In all project planning, the OLC will build in the costs of clear communication. Project budgets will include the communication resources needed such as time, training and money.

The OLC will give new volunteers a copy of Ruth Baldwin's Clear Writing and Literacy as part of their training. The OLC will also refer them to other useful resources and web sites.

Standards and Guidelines

Organization of information

The OLC will strive to organize its communication pieces in a manner that is logical, easy to follow, and clearly communicates the needed message and information.

Consistency

The OLC will aim for consistency at all levels of communication.

This includes:

adherence to agreed upon guidelines for the look (organizational branding) of all OLC materials. This includes OLC design standards for items such as type styles, font sizes and logo placement
consistent usage in grammar, punctuation and spelling
use of consistent terms (e.g., if the word "salary" is used in one sentence we will not say "remuneration" in the next sentence)

To help us be consistent, the OLC will adopt a style authority. That means choosing a dictionary that everyone uses and a stylebook such as the Canadian Press Stylebook. We will also develop our own "house style" for terms that are specific to the OLC.

The OLC will design templates for its different document types. These templates should help the reader to navigate the document and have a consistent OLC "look and feel." These templates will become part of the house style guide.

Grade Reading Level Benchmarks

Grade Reading Levels are benchmarks. They help teachers to choose harder texts as their students move through their years of schooling. Grade Reading Levels are based on two factors: 1) the length of sentences, and 2) the number of syllables in the words.

For this policy, the OLC used the Reading Effectiveness Tool on the Clear Language and Design website to set the benchmark reading levels. This tool also takes organization, tone and appearance into account.

The OLC has set three benchmark levels for its communications:

"Must know" information for members and the public (Grade 5 — 6 Reading Level)
Grade Reading Level 5 — 6 is about the same as Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) Level 3. Adults at LBS Level 3 can read many texts written at Grade Level 5 — 6 on their own.

The writer should aim for a Grade 5 — 6 Reading Level when:
- adults with literacy challenges are a significant part of the reading audience
- the purpose of the document includes getting a response or action from adults with literacy challenges
Note: When there are new terms and complex concepts, the reading level for some parts of a document may have to go up to the next benchmark level. The OLC has a duty to be accountable and to promote growth and learning. These standards must not be used to justify leaving out information or making it too simple.
Day-to-day information for the OLC staff and member groups, and information for the public (Grade 7 — 9 Reading Level)
Grade Reading Level 7 — 9 is about the same as LBS Levels 4 and 5. The writer should aim for this reading level range when conducting day to day business that does not have a significant audience of people with literacy challenges. Well-written texts at Grade Reading Levels 7 — 9 have a clear, well-organized, succinct style. New terms and concepts, as well as any special language, are clearly defined and explained.
Special language for an informed audience (Grade Reading Level 10+)
The OLC conducts research and makes recommendations on public policy. This sometimes means that we must use special terms and a formal style higher than Grade Reading Level 9. This is acceptable within our Clear Language Policy as long as:
- no one with literacy challenges is part of the target audience and no action is required of them
- special terms and formal style are used only to serve and inform the reader

Alternatives for adults who do not read on their own
Adults who have not yet reached LBS Level 3 may not read on their own, even when the material is at a level below Grade 5. When these adults form a significant part of the audience and are expected to respond to the message, the OLC will use alternative forms of communication, such as:

person to person contact
telephone
radio or television
tapes
website audio and video
pictures

The OLC will also:

organize supports within the OLC, such as a mentor system
encourage people with literacy challenges to find supports in their communities
work to ensure that members have the support they need

Privacy & Legal

The Ontario Literacy Coalition (OLC) believes strongly in respecting the privacy of your information. We value the trust of those we deal with and recognize that maintaining this trust requires that we be transparent and accountable in how we treat the information that is shared with us.

Privacy practices:

We review overall, not individual, trends in the use of our web site. This means that we track data related to the number of visits to our website and to each section within the website and we do not track each user's particular activities on our site. We use this information to measure the effectiveness of our website.
We only gather information that is voluntarily disclosed. We do not collect any information without the user's knowledge and permission, and personal information gathered by the OLC will be treated with respect.
We do not sell, rent, share or otherwise make available personal information to other organizations. All information we collect serves the OLC's purposes only. Personal information that you provide will not be shared with other groups. This also includes financial information.
Disclosure to third parties. Like other organizations, the OLC does hire external companies to provide certain administrative services that require access to employee, member, and stakeholder information. These services include payroll/benefit supplies, credit card payment processing and external auditors. The OLC may release personal information when we are required by law or in situations where we need to protect the rights or property of the OLC.
We only contact individuals for purposes related to our projects and activities.
We comply, at any time and for any reason, with an individual's wish to be removed from our mailing list. You may contact us directly by phone (416-963-5787) or by email at olc@on.literacy.ca to remove yourself from our mailing list.
The OLC makes every reasonable effort to keep information accurate and current. Questions, concerns and updates to information such as address changes, legal name changes or corrections can be forwarded to:

Office Manager
The Ontario Literacy Coalition
65 Wellesley Street East, Suite 503
Toronto, ON M4Y 1G7
Phone: 416-963-5787
olc@on.literacy.ca
We support the efforts of parents and legal guardians of children under the age of 13 to monitor their children's Internet usage and to caution them against providing personal information to any web site over the Internet without permission.

The Ontario Literacy Coalition uses reasonable precautions to keep the information disclosed to us secure. The OLC is not responsible for any breach of security or for any actions of any third parties that receive the information. The OLC also provides links to a wide variety of other websites on the Internet. We are not responsible for the privacy policies of these sites or for how these sites manage information about their users. We strongly urge you to check with these websites to determine their privacy policies. Any changes to this Privacy Policy will be posted on this page so that you are always aware of the information that we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.

Legal Notice

Your use of this website, hosted by the Ontario Literacy Coalition, is subject to the following terms and conditions:

Copyright & Permission Rules

All materials on the Ontario Literacy Coalition website (www.on.literacy.ca) are the copyright property of the OLC or are reproduced with permission from other copyright owners. All rights are reserved.

Permission to use
Individuals and organizations may reproduce, in whole or in part, the Ontario Literacy Coalition's (OLC) publications and educational materials, provided that

the intended use is for non-commercial purposes,
prior written consent has been obtained from the OLC,
a copy of the reproduced material is sent to the OLC, and
any reproduction of data is accompanied by an acknowledgement of the OLC as the source by setting out the title of the publication, the OLC name, and the year of publication.

This does not apply to pages and images with explicitly reserved reproduction right: © followed by the right owner and the year of publication. Reproduction of the latter requires prior authorization from the author.

Disclaimer
The Ontario Literacy Coalition makes every effort to ensure, but does not guarantee, the accuracy or suitability of the information on its family of web sites. Opinions expressed in individual articles do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the OLC. The OLC reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to review, edit or delete any material which its deems defamatory, unlawful, threatening, obscene or otherwise objectionable. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the OLC expressly disclaims any responsibility or liability for any material communicated by third parties through this web site. The OLC makes no guarantees that the services provided by this web site will be uninterrupted, error-free or that the website or the server that hosts the web site are free from viruses or other forms of harmful computer code. In no event shall the OLC, its employees or agents be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential damages resulting from the use of this web site. This exclusion and limitation only applies to the extent permitted by law and is without prejudice to any express provisions to the contrary in any written license or subscription agreement from the OLC with respect to the use of any online service provided through this web site.

Links
Links to other web sites are provided by the OLC in good faith and for information only. The OLC disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any web site linked to this site. We are not responsible for privacy practices or the content of any web site linked to our site.

Protocol for Membership Complaints

It is important for the Board of Directors of the Ontario Literacy Coalition (OLC) to understand and respond to the needs of the literacy field. Effective communication is one of our values: we believe that our members, including people who have literacy challenges, have much to give to the OLC. The Board of Directors wants to make sure that there are many ways that you can take part and have your voice heard.