The Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA) was passed in 1990
as a means to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability by public
accommodations and requires places of public accommodation and commercial
facilities to be designed, constructed, and altered in compliance with
accessibility standards established by the legislation. The standards developed
by the ADA affect everything from the presence of wheelchair ramps, the
height of water fountains and public telephones to the availability of
assistive hearing devices and other technologies. Within the ADA a disability
is defined, with respect to an individual, as a physical or mental impairment
that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of the
individual; a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having
such an impairment. The phrase physical or mental impairment means:
- any physiological disorder or condition. cosmetic disfigurement,
or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems:
neurological; muscoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, including
speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genitourinary;
hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine;
- any mental or psychological disorder such as mental retardation,
organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning
disabilities;
- it includes, but is not limited to, such contagious and noncontagious
diseases and conditions as orthopedic. visual, speech, and hearing impairments,
cerebral palsy, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer,
heart disease, diabetes, mental retardation, emotional illness, specific
learning disabilities, HIV disease (whether symptomatic or asymptomatic),
tuberculosis, drug addiction, and alcoholism;
- it does not include homosexuality or bisexuality.
When ratified the ADA had the largest impact upon businesses
and educational facilities in the public sector. Public educational facilities
were compelled to initiate policies that would lead to increased accessibility,
since they were largely funded by federal money. Private educational institutions
on the other hand were to varying degrees all but able to ignore the ADA's
mandates. These institutions were not direct in their refusal to comply,
but rather they developed committees whose aim it was to analyze the campus
infrastructure and recommend improvements. The net effect of many such
committees was the postponement of any real progress on the issue of accessibility.
To counteract such procedures the Federal Government issued an addendum
to the ADA in 1994. This addendum clarified some of the more vague aspects
of the law and toughened the penalties imposed for non-compliance. After
1994, non-compliance could lead to the imposition of a stiff fine, and
ultimately to the revoking of all federal loans and or grants; all private
educational institutions receive some degree of federal aid.
Problem 1: Handicapped Accessibilty