In many countries, disability laws and policies require education and workplace settings to be inclusive; that is, made reasonably accessible and for accommodations to be provided to ensure equitable access to education and work. How this looks in each specific country will vary, and there is an absence of unified disability laws and policies in many countries. In general, the principles of accessibility and accommodation promote the following:

• Ensuring physical access to buildings and work/learning materials

• Promoting the use of accessible and assistive technology

• Supporting accessible and alternative communication such as sign language, braille, and other means of communication

• Providing flexibility in schedules, curriculum/work tasks, location of work/learning, and other accommodations that modify policies

• Differentiated instruction or work tasks

The most common misconception from employers and learning institutions is that providing accessibility and accommodation for persons with disabilities are cost-prohibitive. In fact, nearly all reasonble accommodations cost nothing to implement, or require a small one-time investment (Job Accommodation Network). Also, some of the most common means to provide accessibility and accommodation benefit everyone. While some investments in new infrastructure and technology may be prohibitive in low-resource contexts, the majority of accommodations that can be made are conceptual and involve flexibility, creativity, and design-thinking.

For example, in a study on workplace accommodations in India, the most effective accommodations were work schedule flexibility, supports to improve work efficiency, modifications to the work environment (low cost), modifications in appraisal, more supportive employer policies, and greater integration of services. None of these accommodations were high cost, and most of them cost no money at all.

Accessibility and accommodation are vital strategies to enable persons with disabilities to be successsful in education, training, and employment. The impact of these low-cost and high-impact strategies are clear. According to a study on workplace accommodation in China, "When employees perceive a high level of workplace accommodation in the organization, they are able to participate in most formal and informal organizational activities, and they contribute their talents such as creativity, thereby realize their self-worth in the organization." More directly, workplace accommodation to provide equitable accessibility help employers retain quality employees, eliminate the cost of hiring new employees, increase productivity, increase worker morale, and increase employee attendance (Solovieva & Walls, 2013). In post-secondary education, providing easily-accomplished accommodations such as extra time for tests and assignments, modifying class materials, and assignment accessibility improved student achievement and learning (Kim & Lee, 2015).