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Education

UCP’s Education Channel provides resources for parents, teachers, and others involved in the education of students with disabilities and other special needs.

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Education

ADA Information

Frequently Asked Questions About the ADA and Education

Frequently Asked Questions from the National Schools Project

Question: If my school district does not have any students with disabilities, is the school district excused from ensuring that its programs, services, and activities are accessible?

Answer: Example: General Program Accessiblity-A rural school district has only one elementary school and it is located in a one-room schoolhouse accessible only by steps. The school board asserts that there are no students in the district who use wheelchairs. Students, however, who currently do not have a disability may become individuals with disabilities through, for example, accidents or disease. In addition, persons other than students, such as parents and other school visitors, may be qualified individuals with disabilities who are entitled to participate in school programs. Consequently, the apparent lack of students with disabilities in a school district's service area does not excuse the school district from taking whatever appropriate steps are necessary to ensure that its programs, services, and activities are accessible to qualified individuals with disabilities.

Reference: TAM II-5.1000

Question: How can a conflict between the integrated setting requirement and the obligation to provide program acessibility be resolved?

Answer: The integrated setting requirement may conflict with the obligation to provide program accessibility, which may not necessarily mandate physical access to all parts of all facilities (see II-5.0000). Provision of services to individuals with disabilities in a different location, for example, is one method of achieving program accessibility. Public entities should make every effort to ensure that alternative methods of providing program access do not result in unnecessary segregation.

Example: Separate program relationship to "program accessiblity" requirement-A school system should provide for wheelchair access at schools dispersed throughout its service area so that children who use wheelchairs can attend school at locations comparable in convenience to those available to other children. Also, where "magnet" schools, or schools offering different curricula or instruction techniques are available, the range of choice provided to students with disabilities must be comparable to that offered to other students.

Reference: TAM II-3.4200

Question: What ADA considerations must be made when a nursery school with several steps at its entrance renovates one of its classrooms?

Answer: Example: Alterations-Path of Travel: On February 1, 1992, a nursery school with several steps at its entrance renovates one of its classrooms. The renovations total $500, triggering up to $100 worth of path of travel obligations (20 percent of $500). Because $100 will not buy a ramp and because no other accessible features needed in that particular nursery school can be added for $100, no path of travel features are added. On October 1, 1992, more renovations are done at a cost of $1,000, this time triggering path of travel obligations of up to $200. As before, no path of travel features are added. Then, on March 1, 1993, another minor renovation ($2,000) is made to the same area, this time triggering path of travel obligations of up to $400. Had the nursery school done all three small renovations at the same time, the cost would have been $3,500, triggering a path of travel obligation of up to $700. For $700, an accessible ramp could have been installed. In determining amounts that must be spent on path of travel features at the time of the March 1, 1993, renovation, the nursery school must spend up to 20 percent not just of the $2,000 renovation taking place on March 1, but, rather, up to 20 percent of all of the renovations in the preceding three years put together. Thus, on March 1, 1993, the nursery school must spend up to 20 percent of $3,500 or $700 (the total cost of the three small renovations) rather than up to 20 percent of $2,000 or $400 (the cost of just the March 1, 1993, renovation).

Reference: TAM III-6.2000

Question: Is a parent with a disability entitled to participate in public school programs and activities?

Answer: Public schools generally operate programs and activities that are open to students' parents, such as parent-teacher conferences, school plays, athletic events, and graduation ceremonies. A parent who is a qualified individual with a disability with regard to these activities would be entitled to title II protection.

Reference: TAM II-2.8000