ADA
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which is based on
the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution,
provides that:
"No qualified individual with a disability shall by reason
of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied
the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public
entity or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity.”
The ADA prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities
in:
- Employment (Title I),
- State and local government (Title II),
- Public accommodations (Title III), and
- Telecommunications (Title IV).
Title II applies to all programs, services and activities carried
out by school districts, even those that are not covered by Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or the state special education
regulations.
Since the ADA is based on Section 504, the definition of disability
is basically the same and many of the requirements are the same.
In addition, all programs, services and activities carried out
by school districts are to required to conduct a self-evaluation
of policies and practices by public entities to identify and correct
those that are not consistent with the ADA. A complaint procedure
must also be established by the public entity. Information about
the ADA must be available to the public and a responsible employee
must be designated to coordinate any efforts to comply with the
ADA. The public entity must operate each service, program or activity
so that when viewed in its entirety, it is readily accessible
and usable to individuals with disabilities.
In addition to a complaint procedure within the public entity,
complaints may be filed with the Office of Civil Rights, Region
1, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, McCormick
POCH, Rm. 222, Boston, MA. 02109, (617) 565-7220, which has been
designated to enforce the ADA. Private lawsuits are allowable
by the ADA and the prevailing party may be awarded attorney's
fees.
