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| ADA - State and Local Government Services and Operations - |
| Title II - Summary Effective January 26, 1992.
Public entities may not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. Includes
public entities that were not previously covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 because
they did not receive Federal funding. The ADA also applies to government activities that
are actually carried out by private contractors or agencies. School systems must be
accessible. A government agency must provide the "auxiliary aids and services"
the person needs in order to ensure effective communication. The government may not charge
any extra fee for providing an interpreter or other auxiliary aid. |
| Title III - Summary Effective January 26,
1992. The following private entities are considered public accommodations for
purposes of this subchapter, if the operations of such entities affect commerce.
"A nursery, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, postgraduate, private school, or
other place of education." Auxiliary aids and services must be provided to
individuals with hearing impairment or other individuals with disabilities to ensure
effective communication, unless an undue burden would result. The ADA also requires
private organizations that offer examinations or courses for licensing, certification, or
credentials to provide appropriate auxiliary aids or interpreters. This applies to
high school or college education and to professional and trade training.
Examinations must be used that best reflect an individual's aptitude or achievement level
rather than reflecting the person's impairment. |
| Public Law 94-142 Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act renamed in 1990 from the Education of All Handicapped Children Act
passed in 1975, for the purpose of assuring that states provide "free appropriate
public education and related services designed to meet the unique needs" of all
handicapped children. Provides the states with money for special education.
Education must take place in the least restrictive environment, requiring states to ensure
to the maximum extent possible, handicapped children are educated with children, who are
not handicapped called "mainstreaming or inclusion". Special classes and
separate school placements are appropriate only when the handicap is of such a nature or
severity that placement in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services
will not meet the educational needs of that child satisfactorily. Public or private
schools may not require parents to pay for the cost of educating handicapped
children. The term "functional exclusion" is used when a child is
physically exposed to the same experiences as the other children, but does not gain
anything from the instruction, the experiences are mostly incomprehensible without support
services. The school system must devise an appropriate "individual Educational
Program", (IEP) under PL 94-142 for each child with a disability. |
| Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
School systems and educational agencies that receive federal financial assistance
are prohibited from discriminating against handicaped people. Their programs
must be accessible to and usable by handicapped people. Public elementry and
secondary schools are required to provide a "free, apropriate public
education" to qualified handicapped children, regardless of the nature of
their handicap. If the local school system does not have appropriate teachers or
programs to educate a child, it must send the child to another school that does, paying
the child's tuition if the school is private. The school system cannot make the
child's parents pay for any of the special services the child needs.
Federal regulations published in 1977 define "handicapped children" to
include those who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and who, because of those impairments, need
special education and related services. |
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