Access Currents
Over 2,500 Comments Received on Proposed ADA-ABA Guidelines
Comment Period Closes on Standards for Electronic and Information Technology
GSA Launches Initiative to Help Federal Agencies Comply with Section 508
Board to Celebrate the ADA’s 10th Anniversary with a Public Forum
Board to Publish Summary of Draft Final Guidelines for Recreation Facilities
Board Issues Research Report on Detectable Warnings
Position Available for Technology Access Specialist
Over 2,500 Comments Received on Proposed ADA-ABA Guidelines
More than 2,500 comments were received on the Board’s proposal to update its accessibility guidelines for facilities issued under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). This proposal was published last November and made available for public comment for 120 days. The Board later extended the comment deadline an additional two months to May 15, 2000. The proposal would update the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), which cover the construction and alterations of facilities in the private and public sectors covered by the ADA. It also would revise guidelines under the ABA, which applies to facilities in the Federal sector and others designed, built, altered, or leased with Federal funds.
The vast majority of comments (74%) were submitted by individuals, primarily persons with disabilities. Most of these comments addressed reach range requirements for people of short stature, access for people with multiple chemical sensitivities, movie theater captioning for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, and access to certain elements, such as ATMs, for people with vision impairments. Comments were also submitted by trade associations and manufacturers 9%), disability groups (6%), design and codes professionals (5%), governments (3%), building owners and operators (1%), and others (2%). Some of the most common topics included alarms, handrails, assembly areas, van spaces and ATMs.
Comments received after the deadline were entered into the docket as the Board has a policy of considering late comments to the extent possible. The docket is available for inspection at the Board offices during regular business hours. Included in the docket are comments received at public hearings on the proposal the Board held in Los Angeles in January and in the Washington, D.C. area in March. About 140 persons provided testimony at these hearings. The hearing testimony is posted on the Board’s web site: www.access-board.gov.
Now that the comment period has closed, the Board is reviewing and analyzing the comments and will deliberate on changes to the proposed guidelines based on the comments. After completing and approving a final document, the Board will submit it to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance. Once cleared by OMB, the final guidelines will be published in the Federal Register. The updated requirements must then be adopted by other Federal agencies responsible for the actual enforcement standards that are based on the Board’s guidelines. The Department of Justice and the Department of Transportation maintain standards for facilities under the ADA. Four agencies maintain standards for federally-funded construction under the ABA: the Department of Defense, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the General Services Administration, and the U.S. Postal Service.
Comment Period Closes on Standards for Electronic and Information Technology
Senate Takes Action to Revise Section 508's Effective Date
Last March the Board proposed standards for Federal electronic and information technology that were available for public comment until May 30, 2000. Over 100 individuals and organizations submitted comments on the standards. Comments were submitted by Federal agencies, representatives of the information technology industry, disability groups, and persons with disabilities.
The standards cover various means for disseminating information, including computers, software, and electronic office equipment in the Federal sector. They provide technical criteria specific to various types of technologies and performance_based requirements, which focus on the functional capabilities of covered technologies. Specific criteria cover controls, keyboards, and keypads; software applications and operating systems (non_embedded); web_based information or applications; telecommunications functions; video or multi_media products; and information kiosks and transaction machines. Also covered is compatibility with adaptive equipment people with disabilities commonly use for information and communication access.
The Board is developing these standards under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 which requires access to the Federal government’s electronic and information technology. The law applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Federal agencies must ensure that this technology is accessible to employees and members of the public with disabilities to the extent it does not pose an "undue burden."
The comments are available for inspection at the Board’s offices during regular business hours. The Board will finalize the standards according to its analysis of the comments and republish them in the Federal Register. The final standards will be incorporated into the Federal government’s procurement regulations.
Senate Action on Law’s Effective Date
In May, the Senate passed an amendment to extend the effective date of section 508's enforcement provisions to allow more time for compliance with the Board’s final standards. As originally passed, section 508 would take effect August 7, 2000. This date was based on final standards being completed last February, which would have allowed six months before enforcement provisions took effect.
The Senate amendment, introduced by Senator James Jeffords (R-VT), would revise the effective date to 6 months from publication of the Board’s final standards, consistent with the law’s intent. The amendment was made to a military appropriation’s bill (Military Construction Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2001, S. 2521) which the House has already passed. According to Senate staff, chances are good that the amendment will survive the Senate-House conference committee, which will work out differences between the Senate and House bills. This action is responsive to industry concerns about sufficient time for compliance with the new standards. However, it does not effect the Board’s work in the finalizing the standards, which the Board plans to complete as quickly as possible.
GSA Launches Initiative to Help Federal Agencies Comply with Section 508
The General Services Administration (GSA) has launched the Federal Information Technology Accessibility Initiative to help Federal agencies provide access to electronic and information technology and to meet the requirements of section 508. This program will coordinate the Federal government’s effort to comply with the law through outreach, training, and information sharing. GSA issued a memo on May 22 to all Federal chief information officers requesting that each agency name an IT access coordinator and team to ensure compliance with section 508. GSA will work with designated IT access coordinators to provide assistance and support and is organizing seminars and workshops targeted to the coordinators, IT professionals, procurement officers, and webmasters. GSA has highlighted access to agency web sites as a priority in this effort and has set a target date of July 26, 2000 (the 10th anniversary of the ADA) for agencies to make accessible their principal web sites and web pages. Although the section 508 standards proposed by the Board are not yet finalized, GSA has indicated that the sections covering web access will serve as a source of interim guidance in making existing sites and pages accessible. GSA has organized a free half-day course on web access that is offered on the following dates: June 7 and 27, July 5 and 20, August 2, 17, and 30, and September 13. Registration is required and is available on the web at www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/cita/. For further information on this course, contact GSA at (202) 501-4906.
Board to Celebrate the ADA’s 10th Anniversary with a Public Forum
July 26, 2000 marks the 10th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark civil rights law that recognizes and protects the rights of people with disabilities. A number of events will take place in the Washington, D.C. area and elsewhere to celebrate the ADA and its achievements over the past decade. While celebrating the last ten years of achievement, the Access Board is equally interested in looking ahead to the next ten and the work yet to be done under the ADA. On July 27, 2000 the Board will hold a forum, The Access Board and the ADA: The Next 10 Years, that will allow the public to weigh in directly on the Board’s agenda to further fulfill its ADA mission over the next decade.
Under the ADA, the Board develops and maintains accessibility guidelines for new and altered facilities and transit vehicles. It also provides technical assistance and training on these guidelines and other aspects of accessible design. One year after the ADA was signed into law, the Board published its guidelines for facilities, the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), and not long after that issued guidelines for transit vehicles. Since then, the Board’s work has focused on supplementing the guidelines to cover areas where specific guidance on access was deemed essential. Most of these areas represent new territory not previously addressed by an access guideline or standard in any kind of depth. These include new guidelines for prisons and courthouses and other public sector facilities, children’s environments, public rights-of-way, passenger vessels, and various recreation facilities, including amusement parks and golf courses, playgrounds, and outdoor environments. Since most of these initiatives have been completed or are well underway, the Board thinks the time is right to take look ahead to the work that remains to be done over the next ten years.
The Board plans to use the public forum to initiate an active dialogue on topics and areas that it should address under the ADA, including recommendations for future research. This information will be helpful in setting a long-term agenda. The Board also will invite any other recommendations related to its ADA mission, which includes not only writing and updating guidelines, but providing technical assistance and training on them as well. All are welcome to the forum, which will be free and open to the public. It will be held July 27, 9:00 to 12:30 at the The Renaissance Hotel at 9999th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. For additional information, contact the Board at (202) 272-5434 ext. 127 (voice) or (202) 272-5449 (TTY), e-mail: news@access-board.gov.
For information on other ADA anniversary events, including the Spirit of ADA Torch Relay, visit www.spiritofada.org on the web or contact the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) at (202) 457-0046 (voice or TTY) or by e-mail at aapd@aol.com.
Board to Publish Summary of Draft Final Guidelines for Recreation Facilities
By late July, the Board plans to publish a summary of draft final guidelines for recreation facilities that will be available for public review and comment. When finalized, these guidelines will supplement the Board’s ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) by adding a new section covering a variety of recreation facilities, including amusement rides, boating facilities, fishing piers and platforms, golf courses, miniature golf, sports facilities, swimming pools and spas. They will provide both scoping requirements, which specify what has to be accessible, and technical requirements, which spell out how access is to be achieved.
Due to key issues raised in this rulemaking, the Board is taking this extra step of making a summary of the final version publicly available. This summary will be placed in the rulemaking docket and a "notice of availability" will be published in the Federal Register. The summary will be posted on the Board’s web site: www.access-board.gov. In addition, the Board will hold public meetings on the summary in Washington, D.C. (tentatively August 21 and 22) and in San Francisco, CA (tentatively September 6 and 7). The notice to be published will include further details on the time and location of the meetings.
The guidelines were first published in proposed form last July and were available for comment until December 8, 1999. More than 300 comments were received on the proposed guidelines. Since then, a committee of the Board has reviewed the comments and recommended changes according to them. The full Board is scheduled to vote on the final guidelines early next year.
Board Issues Research Report on Detectable Warnings
In May, the Board completed a study on detectable warnings that surveys the state-of-the-art in the U.S. and abroad and summarizes the installation and effectiveness of various designs. These warnings provide tactile cues at intersections, drop-offs, and other potential hazards to people with vision impairments. This study was conducted by Accessible Design for the Blind under a contract with the Board.
The results are provided in a 150-page report, Detectable Warnings: Synthesis of U.S. and International Practice, which was developed to provide guidance to transportation engineers, planners, and others involved in the design of public rights-of-way. The report includes information on the need for warning surfaces in public rights-of-ways, a review of research, guidelines, and standards on detectable warnings, the use of detectable warnings in the U.S. and abroad with illustrative case studies, product manufacturers, and recommendations. Copies of the report are available free from the Board by calling (202) 272-5434 (voice) or (202) 272-5449 (TTY) and requesting publication A-39.
This information was presented to members of the Public Rights-of-Way Access Advisory Committee at its most recent meeting (May 18-20). The Board established this committee last October to develop recommendations on newly constructed and altered sidewalks, street crossings, and other related pedestrian facilities. The Board will use these recommendations in future rulemaking.
Position Available for Technology Access Specialist
The Access Board has an employment opportunity for a Technology Accessibility Specialist. Main duties of this position include providing technical assistance on access to telecommunications and information technology, and developing and recommending accessibility requirements for such technology. For additional information, contact Ms. Tanya Johnston at (202) 272-5434 ext. 156 (v), (202) 272-5449 (TTY), e-mail: johnston@access-board.gov. The vacancy announcement and application process is also available on the Board’s web site: www.access-board.gov.
To Contact the Access Board:
800-872-2253 (v) 800-993-2822 (TTY) fax: 202-272-5447
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