Demand Our Access

In this episode, Desiree and I discuss the issues we are facing because the child support web page run by the attorney general of Texas and documents required by the child support program are inaccessible to those of us with disabilities. When we recorded this episode, we were hopeful it would demonstrate why the Department of Justice’s rule on accessible web and mobile content shouldn’t be delayed or weakened. Sadly, since we recorded this episode, the Department of Justice has chosen to give state and local governments an additional year to comply with the rule.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In this episode, we will be continuing our look at emergency preparedness. Specifically, we are going to look at how we can advocate for emergency alerts that are accessible to those of us with disabilities. Questions and Comments I greatly appreciate your feedback. If you want to contact me about this episode, or about Demand Our Access in general, you can fill out the contact me form on the Demand Our Access website. If you prefer email, you can write me at [email protected]. The Next Episode The next live episode of the Demand Our Access podcast will be on Saturday, April fourth at two Eastern. As of now, I don’t have a topic for that episode. If you have suggestions, let me know. Advocating for Accessible Emergency Alerts Introduction to Advocating for Accessible Emergency Alerts In continuing our look at the life-saving work of ensuring our state and local governments include those of us with disabilities in their emergency preparedness plans and operations, I thought I would demonstrate how we can advocate for accessible and inclusive emergency preparedness by working through a specific, narrow example. Since emergency alerts are the most important part of emergency preparedness because they warn us of pending emergencies, tell us what to expect, and tell us what we should do, it makes sense to focus this discussion on emergency alerts. If people find this episode helpful, I would be happy to continue this kind of work in future episodes. We could consider discussing advocating for accessible transportation during emergencies, sheltering, or something else. In order to help us better advocate for accessible emergency alerts, I will first briefly describe the basics of accessible emergency alerts. I will then set forth a series of four questions for us to consider. If there is time, we will work through a scenario. The Basics of Accessible Emergency Alerts When a government issues warnings or updates about wildfires, flooding, earthquakes, hurricanes, or warnings of an active shooter (I hated including that one), they are all examples of governments issuing emergency alerts to the public. As you will see, the accessibility of emergency alerts are governed by requirements placed on government and broadcasters by the Department of Justice (DOJ) through its ability to define compliance with Title II of the ADA, and by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) through its ability to regulate television and radio broadcasters. The Structure of Emergency Alert Systems The systems for providing emergency alerts are highly technical. In putting this episode together, I have only provided the information I believe we need to advocate for more accessible and inclusive emergency alerts. If you want to learn more about emergency alerts, I will link to sections of the Code of Federal Regulations when this episode is published to the Demand Our Access Website. Wireless Emergency Alerts Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are the alerts that appear directly on compatible mobile phones with a distinctive tone and vibration pattern. Wireless Emergency Alerts are used to transmit presidential alerts, imminent threat alerts, Amber alerts, and public safety messages. Wireless Emergency Alerts are regulated under 47 C.F.R. Part 10 by the Federal Communications Commission. WEA uses cell broadcast technology rather than traditional SMS messaging. That means one broadcast message is transmitted to all compatible devices within a defined geographic area. It does not depend on subscriber lists and does not require prior registration. WEA messages are limited to 360 characters. Originally, the limit was 90 characters. The FCC expanded the limit after concluding that the shorter format reduced clarity and created confusion. The 360-character limit applies only to the WEA transmission itself. It does not govern websites, linked content, or private alert systems. The 360-character limit includes URLs and phone numbers people can call for additional information about the alert. Emergency Alert System The second major system is the Emergency Alert System (EAS). EAS interrupts television and radio programming. It is governed under 47 C.F.R. Part 11. When activated, it delivers an audio message and, on television, a visual crawl. Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Both WEA and EAS operate through a federal gateway known as the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). IPAWS is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Governments must register with FEMA, execute a formal Memorandum of Agreement, complete training, and use approved software before issuing alerts. Alerts are digitally authenticated before distribution. Emergency alerts are treated as secure infrastructure. Broadcast Accessibility Requirements Under 47 C.F.R. § 79.2, emergency information presented visually must also be conveyed aurally for individuals who are blind or have low vision. Conversely, emergency information presented aurally must be conveyed visually for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Specifically, when emergency information is presented during a regularly scheduled newscast, or during a newscast that interrupts regular programming, that emergency information must be made accessible to people who are blind or low vision. Generally, emergency information that is not provided during a regularly scheduled newscast or as part of a newscast that interrupts regularly scheduled programming must be made accessible to people who are blind or low vision through use of the secondary audio programming channel. Emergency information that is presented through the audio portion of programming must be made accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing through the use of closed captioning. When putting together this episode, I was shocked to discover this section of law. I have never watched a television newscast where the entirety of emergency information that was created to appear strictly as visual content was made accessible to me as a blind person. The ADA Effective Communication Under Title II of the ADA (Title II), covering state and local governments, government is required to ensure all communications are as effective for those of us with disabilities as they are effective for people without disabilities. This means that under Title II all emergency communications created by or on behalf of any state or local government must be accessible to those of us with disabilities. Private Notification Platforms Many state and local governments contract with private companies to use digital platforms that can call, email, or text emergency alerts to people who sign up for the service. These services are not covered by any character limits. These platforms usually allow governments to include links to websites, links to social media posts, and in some cases the ability to access video content. Since the communications going out through these third-parties are going out on behalf of state and local governments, the communications published through these platforms are covered by Title II. So, these communications must be as effective for those of us with disabilities as they are effective for those without disabilities. Websites and Social Media When a government sends out an emergency alert that includes a link to a government website or a social media post created by the government to provide the public with more information about an emergency, all of that digital content is covered by Title II. This is especially true in the aftermath of the Department of Justice’s rule on web and mobile accessibility under Title II. Advocacy Questions Don’t worry, this is not a pop quiz. Obviously, no one has to participate unless they feel like doing so. How are emergency alerts supposed to be accessible to those of us with disabilities? What entities have a role in ensuring emergency alerts are accessible to those of us with disabilities? Given what we have learned, what are some of the things you would want to know about your government’s plans to ensure emergency alerts are accessible? What are some of the steps you could take to have some of your questions answered? Scenario Your local government has contracted with a community organization, like Upstream Access, to hold a listening session with members of the disability community about emergency preparedness. For the purposes of this exercise, I will pretend I am the representative from the government. All of you are attending the listening session to find out how the government’s emergency alerts are made accessible to the disability community.

This is a special episode of the Demand Our Access podcast. In this episode, I describe my journey with emergency preparedness for those of us with disabilities. I also describe my personal advocacy to ensure my local area has emergency preparedness plans and operations that are accessible to and inclusive of those of us with disabilities.

This episode was a very special one in the history of the Demand Our Access podcast because it was the first time I was joined by a guest. Erin Taylor from Upstream Access joined me to discuss emergency preparedness for those of us with disabilities. I was thrilled to have Erin join me because she is one of the people doing the most to ensure those of us with disabilities are prepared when emergencies strike. Among other things, Erin and I discussed Person-Centered Emergency Preparedness (P-CEP) a program developed in Australia and brought to America by Erin and Upstream Access. P-CEP is a program that certifies people in assisting disabled people in developing our individual emergency preparedness plans. Currently, I’m getting certified in P-CEP. If, after listening to the interview, I would appreciate your feedback on dedicating an episode to P-CEP.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In this episode, we will be discussing emergency preparedness for those of us with disabilities. Specifically, I will explain why emergency preparedness is the most important issue we could ever advocate for, review what state and local governments are required to do to ensure their emergency preparedness is accessible to and inclusive of those of us with disabilities. After the review, we will use scenarios to see how we can advocate with our state and local governments to work with them on making their emergency preparedness accessible to and inclusive of us. Questions and Comments I greatly appreciate your feedback. If you want to contact me about this episode, or about Demand Our Access in general, you can fill out the contact me form on the Demand Our Access website. If you prefer email, you can write me at [email protected]. The Next Episode The next live episode of the Demand Our Access podcast will take place on Saturday, February seventh at two Eastern. I believe we will be continuing our look at emergency preparedness during that episode. We may even have a guest join us. I will keep you updated through the Demand Our Access website. Reviewing Accessible and Inclusive Emergency Preparedness Why This Really Matters Emergency preparedness is the most important issue we will advocate for with our state and local governments. Not being able to access web content matters. Not being able to apply for jobs matters. Not being able to enter buildings matters. Not having interpreters if you need them matters. Emergency preparedness is literally life or death. If we die in an emergency because our state and local government didn’t properly accommodate us, it won’t matter to us if a website is inaccessible, or if we can access a building. Since there are very few advocacy efforts addressing emergency preparedness, and because most state and local governments hardly comply with the ADA to begin with, the odds are extremely high that if a disaster took place in your community people with disabilities would die deaths that would have been preventable had your state and local government followed their legal requirements and ensured their emergency planning was accessible to and inclusive of those of us with disabilities. If we want to ensure we don’t die a preventable death when an emergency hits our communities, we must advocate with our governments for accessible and inclusive emergency planning and response. If you are one of those people who doesn’t believe government could or should have a role in your protection during an emergency, I want to ask you to consider what happens when an emergency requires you to evacuate your home and the government’s notice is inaccessible to you? What happens if you are required to evacuate but there is no accessible way for you to evacuate? What if you are required to evacuate to an inaccessible shelter? Issues like these and many more can and must be addressed by proper emergency preparedness on the part of our state and local governments. Introduction to Emergency Preparedness Six years ago I found two resources that have profoundly influenced my interest in emergency preparedness for people with disabilities. The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies released an after action report in May of 2018 detailing widespread governmental failure to properly plan for people with disabilities as a part of emergency preparedness. The report made numerous suggestions as to how emergency preparedness could be more inclusive of people with disabilities while illustrating how ineffective planning led to preventable death, injury, and illness. Appendix G of the after action report has a detailed discussion of the limitations of additional needs registries. Additional needs registries became somewhat popular among state and local governments in the 1990s as a reported way to ensure people with disabilities got assistance during emergencies. The report from The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies found too few people register, the registries do not guarantee help but planners count on them, knowing someone’s home and/or work address does not mean you know where they are in a disaster, and far better data is available. The Department of Homeland Security conducted several listening sessions on emergency preparedness and people with disabilities. The listening sessions also detailed widespread governmental failure at all levels to adequately plan to accommodate people with disabilities during disasters. Two sections of this episode will demonstrate what the Department of Justice (DOJ) requires of state and local governments under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II) when comes to ensuring emergency preparedness planning is inclusive of those of us with disabilities. The next section will discuss emergency preparedness requirements in settlements DOJ has made with local governments under Project Civic Access. The subsequent section will discuss a guide issued by DOJ in October of 2008 to assist local governments in incorporating accessibility into their Emergency Action Plan (EAP). Project Civic Access and Emergencies The primary way DOJ enforces compliance with Title II is through Project Civic Access. To date, DOJ has reached more than 220 settlements with at least 206 cities, counties, and villages in all 50 states. Every settlement I have reviewed includes emergency preparedness. To demonstrate what DOJ typically requires of state and local governments when it comes to ensuring emergency plans are inclusive of people with disabilities, I will discuss the emergency preparedness requirements in the 2018 settlement between DOJ and the City and County of Denver, Colorado (Denver). I will paraphrase what Denver is required to do in its emergency operations plan its (EOP). If you are interested, the emergency preparedness provisions of the settlement are set forth in section h of the Remedial Actions section. Procedures to get input from people with disabilities on the EOP Community evacuation plans enabling people with disabilities to self-evacuate or be evacuated by others Procedures to effectively warn people who are deaf or hard of hearing of impending disasters Emergency shelters are required to have back-up generators and a way to keep medications refrigerated Procedures ensuring people are not separated from their service animals Information about temporary housing will notify people about accessible housing Denver has additional requirements related to physical changes to emergency shelters: If a shelter is subject to Title III (which covers places of public accommodation), the agreement does not reduce liability under Title III. Denver will notify shelter facilities subject to Title III that they have a year from the effective date of the agreement to remove barriers to access for people with disabilities. Within one year of the effective date of the agreement, an independent architect hired by Denver will survey the shelters for compliance. If all barriers are not removed within 18 months, Denver will identify alternate accessible shelters as confirmed by the independent architect. Within three months of the effective date of the agreement and until all shelters are accessible, Denver will widely publicize a list of accessible shelters. A Guide for Local Governments Note, there is a more modern resource on emergency preparedness published by DOJ on including people with disabilities in emergency operations plans under Title II called Emergency Planning. I am working off of the older document in this podcast because the subjects covered in both are very similar. Most of the differences between the two documents are more technical than I think we need to cover here. Still, I will link to the more modern DOJ document on emergency preparedness on the website so you can consider it too. I will say the newer document does link to a few more resources. So, there are good reasons for folks interested in inclusive emergency preparedness to look at both. In Making Community Emergency Preparedness and Response Programs Accessible to People with Disabilities, DOJ gives local governments more specific advice around creating accessible EOPS. The guide breaks its advice into seven categories: Notification – Warning methods should be developed to ensure all citizens have the information to make sound decisions and take appropriate, responsible actions. A combination of methods (audible and visual alerts) will reach the most people. Evacuation – Procedures should be in place to allow people with disabilities to evacuate with or without assistance. Whether or not a registry is used, plans should address accessible transportation needs for people with disabilities. Emergency transportation – Contract with entities possessing accessible vehicles to use them to transport people with disabilities during emergencies. Sheltering – Survey shelters for barriers to access. Until all shelters are accessible, publicize accessible shelter locations. Generally, people with disabilities cannot be segregated into separate shelters. Access to medication, refrigeration, and back-up power – Ensure a reasonable number of shelters have a way to keep medications refrigerated and back-up power. These shelters should be made available to people with disabilities needing these services first. Access to mobility devices and service animals while in transit and shelter – People with mobility devices should have access to the devices they need during transit and at shelters. That means government must be prepared to provide mobility devices and meet other needs in shelters. Access to information – Train shelter staff on providing basic effective communication. This includes reading printed material to someone with a disability that makes reading print difficult and exchanging notes with someone who has a speech and/or hearing disability. Pacific ADA Center The Pacific ADA Center (a member of the ADA National Network) has produced a lot of great resources on emergency preparedness and people with disabilities. Their page on state and local governments planning for inclusive emergency operations will be well worth your time if you want to learn more about what our local governments are supposed to do to better protect those of us with disabilities during emergencies. The Pacific ADA Center’s page of resources for individuals with disabilities during emergencies is a great place to start learning about how we as people with disabilities can plan to ensure we have better odds at coming through emergencies. Scenarios As a reminder, the scenarios we will work through are not to be considered advice you should strictly follow when you need to advocate. It is doubtful your situation will be an exact replica of any of the scenarios discussed here. So, you should learn tips you can apply to your own advocacy situation, but don’t think what is covered here is the exact way you should advocate. The Status of Planning How should you begin to figure out what your local government has done to include us in their emergency preparedness? Things to Consider What things should you be looking for in your state and local government’s emergency planning? Including us What is the initial way governments should include us in their emergency planning

This is the recording from the October 18,2025 live episode. In this episode, we had a good discussion about how to advocate for our rights in private housing situations when the landlord or property manager knows nothing about the rights we have under the Fair Housing Act. To make this easier to follow, the content has been edited to remove the breaks and pauses. All of the discussion that took place during the episode is part of this recording.

In this episode, I tried something new. I began with a brief recap of our rights under the Fair Housing Act in private housing situations. Then, I posed some scenarios to the people listening live in Zoom and we had interactive discussions as to how we could advocate for our rights under the fictional scenarios. Note, I haven’t yet figured out how to make a transcript of these kids of recordings. So, I don’t know how to yet make them accessible to people with hearing disabilities. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In this episode, I am briefly introducing the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and its amendments. Since this is intended to be an introduction to the FHA, I will only be covering the protections afforded people based on disability status in this episode. If we continue this discussion in future episodes, I would be happy to discuss the protections based on other protected classes. Questions and Comments I greatly appreciate your feedback. If you want to contact me about this episode, or about Demand Our Access in general, you can fill out the contact me form on the Demand Our Access website. If you prefer email, you can write me at [email protected]. The Next Episode The next episode of the Demand Our Access podcast will take place on Saturday, September sixth. As of now, I’m not sure what I will cover in that episode. If there is interest in more about the Fair Housing Act, let me know. Citations As always, I will not be providing citations to sections of law during this episode. But the citations will be provided when this episode is posted to the Demand Our Access website. Introducing The Fair Housing Act Since I have not yet covered the Fair Housing Act (FHA) through Demand Our Access, this episode is intended to be a brief introduction to the FHA. I’m keeping this introduction brief, because I want to gage interest from the community in the subject of fair housing. If there is interest in diving deeper into housing discrimination, I’m very open to continuing this discussion into future episodes. Since this is a brief introduction, I have sought to keep the explanations at a very high-level. If we continue the housing discrimination discussion in future episodes, I will take deeper dives into specifics based on your feedback. I’m trying this new approach to introducing new subjects to see if community will assist me in planning what subjects are covered and how they are covered. I’m also hoping that by breaking things into smaller pieces they will be more relatable. With that explanatory information out of the way, let’s begin our introduction to the Fair Housing Act. Roadmap In this episode, I will be covering the following five topics: Brief history of the Fair Housing Act Intent of the Fair Housing Act Enforcement agencies Protected Classes and Scope Impact on People with Disabilities Brief History The Fair Housing Act (FHA) was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1968, one week after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. When it became law, the FHA was added as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The original statute barred housing discrimination in terms of race, color, religion, and national origin. In 1974, the FHA was amended to add sex as a protected class. In 1988, the Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA), added familial status and disability as protected classes when it comes to housing. The FHAA also added accessibility requirements that applied to newly constructed multi-family dwellings of four or more units intended to be occupied after March 13, 1991 to include certain accessibility features. Those accessibility features include: an accessible entrance on an accessible route; accessible common and public use areas; doors wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair; and more. The FHAA also granted the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) additional enforcement powers through the introduction of administrative hearings, civil penalties, and expanded judicial remedies. The FHAA transformed the Fair Housing Act from being a law that was largely symbolic to a law that would actually try to provide protections to those facing housing discrimination through meaningful enforcement. In 1995, the Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA) provided criteria for 55+ and 62+ housing and modified the familial status provisions of the FHA. In 2021, HUD issued a directive covering gender and sexual identity under the FHA’s provision barring sex-based discrimination. Not to get too political, but I think most of us understand that today HUD is not likely to follow the 2021 directive. Intent of the FHA The FHA became law with the promise of eliminating housing discrimination and to promote more integrated, inclusive communities. It prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, financing, advertising, or zoning of housing on the bases of protected class. The protected classes under the FHA are: Race Color National origin Religion Sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation) Disability Familial status (including homes with children under the age of 18, people who are pregnant, and families with adopted or foster children) Enforcement Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD enforces the provisions of the FHA through its Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO). Among its responsibilities, the FHEO: Investigates complaints Conducts compliance reviews of recipients of federal funding Initiates charges through administrative law judges Issues policy guidance Refers cases to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in cases of systemic discrimination The Department of Justice DOJ enforces its responsibilities under the FHA through its Housing and Civil Enforcement Section. DOJ is responsible for the following housing discrimination issues: Pattern or practice cases involving widespread or egregious violations Lawsuits filed in federal court seeking injunctive relief, monetary damages, and civil penalties Criminal cases involving harassment, violence, or threats that interfere with housing rights Accepts referrals from Hud in cases of failed conciliation or serious systemic allegations Summing up Enforcement In most cases, housing discrimination you face will be addressed by HUD. DOJ only gets involved when the discrimination involves at least several people, when HUD cannot resolve the discrimination, or when the discrimination involves criminality. As I have mentioned in previous episodes, like when we discussed our rights under Title II of the ADA, your state may also have an agency that can investigate housing discrimination. In some cases, your state agency may even partner with HUD in investigating Housing discrimination. Given today’s political realities, you may want to see if your state has its own housing laws and an agency that enforces them. If your state does have its own housing discrimination laws, you may want to consider filing with your state. In some cases, your state’s laws may provide greater protections than are provided under the FHA. If there is interest, I would be happy to discuss that possibility in a future episode. Scope The FHA covers nearly all forms of housing including: Privately owned rentals or sales Public housing and subsidized developments Mortgage lending and insurance Appraisals Homeowners associations Zoning decisions It prohibits discriminatory actions such as: Refusing to rent, sell, or negotiate Setting different terms or conditions Making discriminatory advertisements or statements about housing Steering people to different areas Failing to make reasonable accommodations for disabled people Discrimination may be intentional or unintentional. I understand some of the terms discussed above may be confusing. If you have specific questions about who is covered and/or what acts or practices are covered, I can revisit any of that in future episodes. Again, this episode is intended to be a brief introduction. Impact on People with Disabilities The FHA affords those of us with disabilities the following protections: Reasonable Modifications of existing Premises Reasonable Accommodations Design and Construction Requirements Assistance Animals Reasonable Modifications of Existing Premises What we are talking about here is the need to make changes to an existing home so that it is more accessible to a disabled person. Think about someone needing to add grab bars in the bathroom to make using the toilet, shower, or tub more accessible. In these cases, the disabled person cannot be denied the opportunity to have the accessibility improvements made, but the cost of those improvements is entirely the responsibility of the disabled person. Even worse, landlords can insist the disabled person have the accessibility improvements removed when they leave the home. When the landlord insists the accessibility improvements be removed, the cost of removing the accessibility features is also entirely the responsibility of the disabled person. Additionally, the landlord can require the disabled person to establish an escrow account to ensure funds will be available to restore the premises to its prior, less accessible state. The landlord may also condition approval of the modification on the disabled person providing a description of the work to be done and assurances that the work will be done correctly. These requirements are a huge part of the reason why so few homes are accessible to people with mobility devices and why people using mobility devices have an incredibly difficult time finding accessible housing. To make sure there is no confusion, I have used the term “home” in this section to keep things simple. But all housing covered by the FHA including houses, apartments, condos, and more are covered by these requirements. Reasonable Accommodations It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a disabled person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling unit, including public and common use areas. This is the section of law that enables people to bring their service animals into housing. The reasonable accommodation right is one those of us with disabilities will use any time we need an accommodation to equally enjoy the premises. Design and Construction Requirements Since this is a brief introduction to the Fair Housing Act, I’m not going to discuss all of the technicalities involved in construction. For now, I will mention that while at first blush multifamily buildings with at least four units that were originally occupied after March 13, 1991 are required to have certain accessibility features, there is an exception related to the terrain or any unusual characteristics at the site making the inclusion of the accessibility features impractical. Assistance Animals Note, I’m using the term “assistance animals” in this episode because in housing situations both service animals and support animals (including animals providing emotional support) are covered. Assistance animals are not subject to typical fees associated with pets in housing situations. So, your landlord cannot require you to provide pet deposits because you have an assistance animal. Conclusion This completes my brief introduction to the Fair Housing Act. I look forward to your feedback, especially feedback related to what you would like to know more about under the Fair Housing Act.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Preliminary Information Questions and Comments I greatly appreciate your feedback. If you want to contact me about this episode, or about Demand Our Access in general, you can fill out the contact me form on the Demand Our Access website. If you prefer email, you can write me at [email protected]. The Next Episode Since the ACB convention is the first week in July and given that our family has a lot happening in July, I will not be doing a live episode of Demand Our Access in July. So, the next live episode of the Demand Our Access podcast will take place on Saturday, August second. As of now, I don’t know what topic I will cover in August. As always, I’m open to your ideas. Updating the Website Since I won’t be doing any live episodes during the month of July, I will be working on updating the Demand Our Access website. I will have more information about the updated website and maybe even demo it in August. Complaints Under Title II Introduction As a reminder, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II), primarily covers state and local governments. I have mentioned complaints under Title II in previous episodes. But this time I will be taking a deeper dive into complaints under Title II. I’m doing that because I think it is more important than ever for us to understand our options for filing complaints under Title II and the rights we have in filing directly with our state or local government. Citations Again, I will not be mentioning citations to sections of law during this episode. I will post the citations to the specific sections of law when this episode is posted to the Demand Our Access website. Public Entities As a reminder, Title II often confers responsibilities to what the law calls “public entities.” In general, public entities are an entire local government or individual sections of a local government. Sometimes, different responsibilities under the law apply to public entities depending on whether or not they employ at least 50 employees. To keep this simple, I will, most of the time, refer to local governments (not public entities). The rights we have and the responsibilities the government must meet will be the same. The technical differences in what defines a public entity don’t change our rights as disabled people. Roadmap In this episode, I will cover the following five topics: General complaint information Filing complaints with your local government Filing complaints with Federal Agencies Filing Complaints with the Department of Justice Tips on filing complaints General Complaint Information Where you Can File When a local government is discriminating against you based on your status as a disabled person, you can file your complaint in one of three places: The local government that is discriminating against you A federal agency that oversees the program that is the basis of your complaint With the Department of Justice (DOJ) You are not limited to filing in only one of the three places; for example, you could file both with your state or local government and with DOJ. Time Periods for Filing One important thing to remember is the time periods in which you must file. Complaints filed with DOJ or a federal agency must be filed within 180 days of the alleged discrimination. State and local governments, on the other hand, can require that complaints under Title II be filed within 60 days of the alleged discrimination. When facing discrimination, it is a very good idea to figure out your local government’s complaint procedures (if any), because you may need to file within 60 days of the events comprising the discrimination. Who can File You don’t have to be the person who actually experienced the disability discrimination in order to file a complaint. As long as you have the permission of the disabled person or you are their guardian, you can file a complaint under Title II. If you are so inclined, you can also file a complaint on behalf of a class of disabled people. But that’s something most people won’t try. So, I’ll leave it there. Filing with a State or Local Government Notice of Rights Under Title II, public entities are required to notify those of us with disabilities of, among other things, of our right to file a complaint with them when we believe they are violating our rights under Title II. In this case, I have used the term “public entity” because I have seen situations where a state or local government has adopted a general framework for complaints but has allowed individual agencies within the local government to establish their own procedures for the investigation and resolution of complaints filed under Title II. While it would be nice to assume that the filing deadlines are the same among agencies of a state or local government, it’s important to remember they may not be the same. If you are interested in filing a complaint with your state or local government, I would begin by seeing if they have published a notice of rights. If they have and it was done correctly, the notice of rights should give you the basic ideas as to how you should file your complaint with them and the time period in which they are requiring you to file your complaint. If the language in the notice of rights leads you to believe there is a question as to with whom the complaint would be filed, I would ask their designated ADA coordinator to tell you how you should file your complaint, with whom, and about the time period you have to file. To keep this simple, you could just file your complaint within 60 days of the alleged discrimination. As long as you file with your state or local government within 60 days, your complaint will be considered timely. Elements of Your State or Local Government’s Complaint Procedures The complaint procedures developed by your state or local government (whether they are applicable to the entire state or local government or if agencies within the state or local government have developed their own complaint procedures) must be designed to ensure the investigation of complaints is equitable and that complaints are resolved in a timely manner. Here are steps they are to take to ensure they investigate complaints equitably and resolve them in a timely manner: Complaints are to be in writing, but the process of filing complaints must be accessible. Once your complaint is filed, you should be able to meet with someone to discuss your complaint within a reasonable amount of time (typically 15 days). You should get an update on your complaint within 15 days of that initial meeting. All communications to you from your state or local government regarding the complaint should be accessible to you. The complaint procedures should include a right to appeal. The contact information for someone to ask about the complaint should also be provided. I want to briefly touch on some of the above points. Accessibility of the Complaint Process The question of accessibility is, obviously, really important. Since it’s better for everyone if your complaint is filed in writing, there are many ways this could be accomplished. Either they could provide an accessible online form, they could have someone assist you in completing an inaccessible online form, or someone could take your complaint over the phone. No matter how it’s done, your state or local government must provide you an accessible way to file your complaint. Once your complaint has been filed, any communication from your state or local government to you about your complaint including but not limited to their initial response, questions they may have, their initial determination, and anything related to their appeals process and the ultimate decision must be accessible to you. As soon as you contact them about your complaint, you should let them know how you wish to be contacted about the complaint. Remember that when it comes to effective communication, your state or local government is required to give primary consideration to the method(s) you wish them to use when contacting you. They also need to ensure you have an accessible way to contact them about every aspect of your complaint and the complaint process. ADA Coordinator The issue of who to contact can also be tricky. Most people refer to the person who is supposed to address complaints as the ADA coordinator. Some state and local governments have one ADA coordinator for the whole state or local government. Others have created a situation where individual agencies have their own person designated as the ADA coordinator. In those cases, it is very unlikely that each agency of the state or local government will have its own ADA coordinator; rather, it is likely that a few large, public-facing agencies will have a designated ADA coordinator, but smaller agencies will not. If your state or local government has not designated anyone to be the ADA coordinator, you should figure out how they address complaints under other civil rights las, like Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. No matter what, your state or local government must have someone, even if they don’t know how to do it, designated to investigate and resolve civil rights complaints. Appeals Process Even some of the state and local governments that claim to have a complaints procedure under Title II, don’t have the required appeals process in their complaint procedures. But there are some state and local governments that have properly included an appeals process in their complaint procedures. If there is an appeals process, the appeal should be heard by someone who was not involved in the original investigation and/or resolution of your complaint. If the appeals process is not independent from the initial investigation and resolution of your complaint, you should really let them know their appeals process violates Title II. If your state or local government doesn’t have an appeals process and you disagree with their determination, you should let them know you will file with the Department of Justice. If you have the option, you may also want to let them know you will file with a state agency that will investigate civil rights complaints. This is especially important given the current political climate in Washington, DC. Filing with Federal Agencies Agencies that Accept Title II Complaints In addition to DOJ, the following 10 federal agencies accept complaints filed under Title II: Department of Education Department of Transportation Department of Health and Human Services Department of Housing and Urban Development Department of Labor Department of agriculture Department of the Interior Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Homeland Security Environmental Protection Agency Honestly, I have no idea how these agencies are currently doing many of the functions they once did, including investigating civil rights complaints; for example, I think the Department of Health and Human Services is now overseeing the education of disabled people. But if you find a federal agency that will still accept civil rights complaints, there still is a chance it could be investigated faster than it would be investigated by DOJ. There is also a chance that by filing with one of these other federal agencies you could avoid some of the politics around the Department of Justice. If you are interested in filing with one of these other federal agencies, I would visit their website and see if you can find anything about civil rights complaints. If nothing is obvious, you may want to call them on the phone and ask where you should file your Title II complaint. Review for Jurisdiction When you file with a federal agency, the agency will first review the complaint to ensure it is the proper agency to investigate your complaint. If the federal agency determines it is not the proper agency to investigate your complaint, it has the responsibility to forward your complaint to the right federal agency. The Time Period to File Remembering the 180 days from the alleged discrimination in which you must file, the complaint is considered filed as soon as it is filed with a federal agency. Even if the agency you filed with determines it is not the correct federal agency to investigate your complaint, your complaint is considered filed in a timely manner as long as it was filed with a federal agency within the 180-day window. Complete Complaints Once a complaint is determined to be complete (there is enough information for the federal agency to investigate) you will be notified that your complaint has been accepted and that an investigation has begun. If a federal agency notifies you that your complaint is not complete and you provide no further information, your complaint will be closed. If your complaint is closed because it wasn’t complete, it is considered closed without prejudice. This means you are able to file the complaint again; however, the newly-filed complaint must also be filed within the 180-day window. Informal Dispute Resolution Where appropriate, a federal agency can attempt informal dispute resolution to bring the state or local government into compliance with Title II. Informal dispute resolution typically involves mediation, conciliation, or negotiated settlement. Without getting too far into the weeds on this, the basic idea of informal dispute resolution is when the federal agency brings the parties together and attempts to help them reach agreement on a settlement. If informal dispute resolution doesn’t bring about an agreement, the federal agency will send a letter to both parties with its findings. The so-called letter of findings will also be sent to DOJ if the federal agency determines there is at least one violation of Title II. Filing with the Department of Justice You can always file with DOJ when you believe you have been discriminated against by a state or local government. To file, you can contact the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The form is pretty straightforward. Personal experience has taught me it could be a months-long process to get anywhere with your complaint. Still, it’s worth filing. Tips On Filing Complaints Make Sure Your Complaint is Complete No matter where you file your complaint, you need to provide enough information to enable them to do a proper investigation. So, your complaint should include the following: Your name Your address Your phone number Your email address The date of the discrimination A location where the discrimination took place The name of the entity you believe discriminated The name and/or position description of those who you believe discriminated against you A description of the discrimination A list of any witnesses If you can, you should also include the following: A description of why you believe Title II was violated Any accommodations you may need to participate in the complaint process If you are completing an online form, you should be given fields to enter your name, address, phone number, email address, and a field where you can describe the discrimination. It is unlikely the form you are completing will enable you to tell them what accommodations you need to participate in the complaint process. So, you will need to make room for that in the field where you describe the discrimination. In my view, this is discrimination. But it’s the way things usually are when these forms are created. Note, if you are completing an online form, it’s likely you will be completing a generic civil rights complaint form. If this is true, just do your best with the fields you have been provided. If you don’t feel like the provided fields are sufficient, make sure you let them know you can provide additional information that didn’t fit in the fields you were provided. Conclusion This completes my deeper dive into complaints under Title II. Thank you for listening. I appreciate your support.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Preliminary Information Questions and Comments I greatly appreciate your feedback. If you want to contact me about this episode, or about Demand Our Access in general, you can fill out the contact me form on the Demand Our Access website. If you prefer email, you can write me at [email protected]. The Next Episode The next live episode will take place on Saturday June 21 at 2:00 PM Eastern time. Unless something changes, I will be diving deeply into complaints under Title II in that episode. Since I’m expecting to be preempted by the ACB convention during the first week in July, and with some things that will be happening with our family during the month of July, I will be taking the month of July off from the Demand Our Access podcast. So, after the June 21st episode, there will not be another episode until August. Maintenance of Accessibility Features, Assistive Mobility Devices, and Existing Facilities Under Title II Introduction In this episode, I am continuing my revisited look at Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II). As a reminder, Title II primarily covers state and local governments. In this episode, I will be covering topics I haven’t covered before as a part of the Demand Our Access project. So, I will not be discussing effective communication, service animals, general prohibitions against discrimination, and other topics previously covered. For information about those topics, please check out the episodes previously posted to the Demand Our Access website. During the month of July, I will be updating the website so that the page on Title II links to the episodes I think will help you best understand Title II. In this episode, I am also not covering topics that primarily tell state and local governments how to comply with Title II. The Roadmap section will tell you exactly what will be covered in this episode. Citations Again, I will not be mentioning citations to sections of law during this episode. I will post the citations to the specific sections of law when this episode is posted to the Demand Our Access website. Public Entities As a reminder, Title II often confers responsibilities to what the law calls “public entities.” In general, public entities are an entire local government or individual sections of a local government. Sometimes, different responsibilities under the law apply to public entities depending on whether or not they employ at least 50 employees. To keep this simple, I will, most of the time, refer to local governments (not public entities). The rights we have and the responsibilities the government must meet will be the same. The technical differences in what defines a public entity don’t change our rights as disabled people. Roadmap In this episode, I will be covering the following three topics: Maintenance of Accessible Features Assistive mobility devices Existing Facilities Since I have decided, where possible, to title this episode and future episodes with the topics to be addressed, I may not include the roadmap section in future episodes. I included the roadmap section here, because I wanted it to be consistent with the previous episodes on revisiting Title II. Maintenance of Accessibility Features Defining Accessibility Features Accessibility features are those facilities and equipment necessary for a local government to provide access to its activities, programs, and services to those of us with disabilities. This means that things like elevators provided to enable people with disabilities to move between floors are required to be maintained in working order. Electronic door openers are also examples of accessibility features that must be maintained in proper working order. There are only two things you need to know about local governments being required to maintain accessibility features: Local governments are required to maintain in operable and working condition those features of facilities and equipment that are required to be readily accessible and usable by people with disabilities. This section does not prohibit isolated or temporary interruptions of access or service due to maintenance or repairs. If a local government installs automatic door openers to assist people with disabilities in opening the heavy doors at city hall, the local government must ensure the electronic door openers are maintained in working condition. While it may be reasonable for a service interruption to last for a day or two if the electronic door openers fail, not repairing them for weeks is very likely to violate this provision of Title II. Assistive Mobility Devices The rules related to assistive mobility disabilities are set forth in two sections: Use of Wheelchairs and Manually-Powered Mobility Aids and Use of Other Power-Driven Mobility Devices. Use of Wheelchairs and Manually-Powered Mobility Devices Local governments shall permit the use of wheelchairs and manually-powered mobility aids, crutches, walkers, canes, braces, and others in any areas open to pedestrian use. Use of Other Power-Driven Mobility Devices Other power-driven mobility devices are devices not specifically designed for use as mobility aids that rely on motor power, not manual effort. The best examples of power-driven mobility devices that have not been expressly designed as mobility devices but that are typically used as assistive mobility devices are scooters and golf carts. A local government shall make reasonable modifications in its policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of other power-driven mobility devices by individuals with mobility disabilities, unless the public entity can demonstrate that the class of other power-driven mobility devices cannot be operated in accordance with legitimate safety requirements. The phrase “legitimate safety requirements” relates to the ability of local governments to establish legitimate safety requirements necessary for the safe operation of their activities, programs, and services. But those legitimate safety requirements must be based on actual risks, not on mere speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations about disabled people. I want to make sure you understand that when a local government is considering your request to use a power-driven device as an assistive mobility device, the local government cannot ask you questions about the nature and extent of your disability. The only thing they can consider is whether the class of power-driven device you want to use as an assistive mobility device can be safely operated in the facility where you wish to use it as an assistive mobility device. Local governments can ask for assurance that use of the power-driven device is related to a disability. In doing so, local governments shall accept as proof of your disability a state ID or parking placard issued to disabled people. If you don’t have physical state-issued proof of disability, the local government shall accept verbal assurance, not contradicted by observable fact, that you are disabled. For example, if you want to use a scooter in a historic park where power-driven devices aren’t typically allowed, your verbal assurance is enough to justify the contention that the scooter is being used by you as an assistive mobility device as long as you aren’t also walking around and doing other things that would tend to call into question your need to use the scooter as an assistive mobility device. Another thing you should know is that when a local government makes this determination, they are allowed to consider potential damage to the land and the environment where you wish to use the power-driven device. Existing Facilities I called this section of the episode Existing Facilities, because we are talking about the accessibility of facilities that existed prior to the ADA and related laws required the physical facilities of local governments to be accessible to those of us with disabilities. But it’s worth noting that there are three related sections of law that affect the requirement of local governments to provide accessible existing facilities: Discrimination Prohibited; Existing Facilities; and New Construction and Alterations. Discrimination Prohibited Except as provided in the Section on existing facilities, no qualified individual with a disability shall, because a local governments facilities are inaccessible to or unusable by individuals with disabilities, be excluded from participation in, or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a local government, or be subjected to discrimination by any local government. What this section is trying to say is that regardless of the accessibility of a local governments physical facilities, the activities, programs, and services offered by that local government must be accessible to those of us with disabilities. Existing Facilities General A public entity shall operate each service, program, or activity so that the service, program, or activity, when viewed in its entirety, is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. This requirement does not: Necessarily require a local government to make all of its existing facilities accessible to and useable by people with disabilities Require a local government to take any action that would threaten or destroy the historic significance of a historic property Require a local government to take any action it can demonstrate would fundamentally alter the activity, program, or service, or would result in undue administrative and financial burdens When a local government determines making a portion of or the entirety of an existing facility accessible would result in fundamental alterations and/or undue administrative and financial burdens, the local government has the burden to prove that making the existing facility accessible would result in the alterations and/or burdens. The decision that compliance would result in alterations or burdens must be made by the head of a public entity or by their designee after considering all resources available for use in the funding and operation of the activity, program, or service. The finding of alterations and/or burdens must be provided in writing and must offer justifications to demonstrate the alterations and/or burdens. If a determination of alterations and/or burdens is made, the public entity must make any available changes to ensure people with disabilities have access to the activities, programs, and services. Remember, when considering undue financial burdens, it is the budget of the entire local government that is considered. We are not talking about the budget for the program in question or even the budget of the office providing the program in question. For the cost of making an existing facility to be an undue financial burden, the cost is compared with the entire budget of the local government. Methods of Compliance When an existing facility cannot be made accessible, the law provides several options local governments can use to ensure people with disabilities have access: Redesign or acquisition of equipment Reassignment of services to accessible facilities Assignment of staff to assist in the navigating of inaccessible facilities Home visits, Delivery of services to your home An more To make this clear, when a local government determines the area of an existing facility where a particular program of that local government is offered cannot be made accessible without fundamentally altering the program, and/or without resulting in undue administrative and financial burdens, the local government must find other ways to ensure disabled people have access to that program. Maybe the program is moved to an accessible facility. Maybe a staff member comes to your house to help you get what you need from the program. Maybe the local government has something you need delivered to your house because you can’t enter the inaccessible facility to get it. No matter what, the local government must do what it can to ensure those of us with disabilities have access to its activities, programs, and services. The Rest of Existing Facilities The remaining subsections in the Existing Facilities section of Title II are technical and not necessary for me to cover here. New Construction or Alterations New Construction or Alterations is a very technical section of the law addressing how local governments are required to make their existing facilities accessible. I’m not going to cover those here. Summing up Accessibility of Existing Facilities In general, local governments are required to make their activities, programs, and services accessible to and useable by those of us with disabilities. This requirement applies even if some of their facilities existed prior to the ADA and related requirements that apply to the accessibility of the facilities of local governments, resulting in those facilities being inaccessible today. Even if a local government determines that a portion of or the entirety of an existing facility cannot be made accessible, it is required to ensure the activities, programs, and services offered in that facility can be provided accessibly. This is true even if the local government must take action it doesn’t want to take, like moving programs to more accessible facilities. Conclusion This is the end of our latest revisited look at Title II of the ADA. Thank you for listening. I very much appreciate your support.

In this episode, Desiree and I discuss those terrible accessibility overlays that promise to make websites more accessible while actually doing little to improve accessibility. As Desiree’s demonstration shows, these overlays are hard to use, don’t behave consistently, and provide little in the way of greater access.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In this episode, I am continuing my revisited look at Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II). As a reminder, Title II primarily covers state and local governments. In this episode, I will be covering topics I haven’t covered before as a part of the Demand Our Access project. So, I will not be discussing effective communication and service animals. For information about those topics, please check out the episodes previously posted to the Demand Our Access website. In this episode, I am also not covering topics that primarily tell state and local governments how to comply with Title II. The Roadmap section will tell you exactly what will be covered in this episode. Comments and Questions As always, I want to hear from you. To share your comments and questions about the material covered in this episode, or general thoughts about Demand Our Access, you can contact me by completing the contact form on the Demand Our Access website. If you would rather email, send your message to [email protected]. Citations To make the material easier to follow, I will not provide citations to sections of law. The links to the relevant sections of law will be included when this episode is posted to the Demand Our Access website. Roadmap In this episode, I will cover the following topics: Discrimination prohibited Illegal use of drugs Retaliation and coercion Personal mobility devices and personal services Continuing Our Look at Title II Discrimination Prohibited Even though the discrimination that is prohibited under Title II is largely in the law to tell state and local governments what they should be doing as a starting point for complying with Title II, it’s important for us (as disabled people) to understand what our local governments are supposed to be doing to include us. The material in this section is a bit dense. So, I have tried to summarize it in a way that communicates what you should know while leaving out a lot of legal language. Qualified Person with a Disability The definition of a qualified person with a disability is found in the Definitions section of Title II. I’m including here, because the Discrimination Prohibited section repeatedly references qualified people with disabilities. Defining a Qualified Person with a Disability Qualified individual with a disability means an individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable modifications to rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural, communication, or transportation barriers, or the provision of auxiliary aids and services, meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or the participation in programs or activities provided by a public entity. I know I said I wouldn’t include a lot of legal language, and I generally will not. I included the exact definition of a qualified person with a disability because it’s a definable term that’s used throughout Title II. All of that legal language can be simplified down to this: A qualified person with a disability is a person with a disability who, with or without an accommodation or modification, can participate in the activity or program they wish to join. If you want to swim and there are no physical limitations associated with your being able to swim, you are a qualified person with a disability for the purposes of taking swimming lessons. You are qualified to take swimming lessons even if you need an accommodation to take swimming lessons. No Disability Exclusion A state or local government cannot, based on our being disabled, prevent us from participating in its programs, nor may it deny us the benefits of its services. This is true even if the program in which we choose to participate or if the service we wish to benefit from is administered completely by a third party or jointly between our government and a third party. If your local government contracts with a company to provide its water bills, the water bills they provide must be accessible. The government cannot say that they aren’t responsible for the inaccessible bill because they contracted with a company to process them. 4Types of Discrimination In order to stay away from things that may be confusing, I’m not going to cover all the types of discrimination listed; instead, I’m going to focus on the ones I believe are most likely to be encountered by you in your dealings with your local government. Afforded Opportunities Local governments cannot provide us an aid or service that is not as effective in affording us an equal opportunity to obtain the same result, to gain the same benefit, or to reach the same level of achievement as that provided people without disabilities. If your local government offers barbecuing lessons and the goal of the lessons is for each person enrolled in the lessons to independently barbecue a steak and vegetables by the end of the lessons, you (as a disabled person) cannot be told you will cook the steak on the stove. If you were told you would need to make your steak on the stove, your local government would be denying you the opportunity to obtain the same result and to reach the same level of achievement. Maybe you would agree to use a gas grill. Maybe you would agree to use different cooking tools. But at the end of the lesson, you need to have the same opportunity to learn how to grill your steak and vegetables. That is the only way you could have the chance to obtain the same result and reach the same level of achievement offered to participants without disabilities. The Provision of Different Aids and Services Local governments cannot provide you with aids and services that are different from the aids and services provided program participants who are not disabled unless the provision of different aids and services is necessary to ensure the aids and services you are provided are accessible. Returning to the example of the barbecuing lessons: it would be acceptable for a local government to provide you a talking meat thermometer instead of providing you a meat thermometer that doesn’t talk. The different thermometer is clearly necessary for you to tell the temperature of your meat. Participation in Advisory Boards Local governments must make accommodations to enable people with disabilities to participate in their advisory bodies and their public boards. This requirement is not limited to those bodies they may establish to get input from the disability community. It applies to all of their advisory bodies and public boards. If you have an interest in joining your local government’s taskforce on the selection of a new public portal to process tax collections, your local government is required to ensure you can fully participate. Most Integrated Setting Local governments are to provide those of us with disabilities the opportunity to participate in the most integrated setting possible. This means they cannot establish a group for hikers with disabilities and force all disabled hikers to participate in that group. If you, as a person with a disability, wish to participate in hikes open to the general public, your local government is required to follow the provisions of Title II and accommodate you to the best of its ability and with certain limitations. Separate Programs Local governments can offer the disability community separate, segregated programming. A good example of this is wheelchair basketball. Since it would be very difficult to make traditional basketball games accessible to someone using a wheelchair, wheelchair basketball is a good accommodation for a local government to offer. Completely Different Programming Nothing in Title II prevents local governments from offering programming that is entirely created for those of us with disabilities. For instance, a local government could establish a goalball program for those of us who are blind or low vision. This is true even though there is not a goalball program for the general community. Choosing Facilities Local governments cannot choose facilities for events that are not accessible to those of us with disabilities. Sadly, this is a part of Title II that is violated on a very regular basis. Eligibility Criteria Local governments cannot use eligibility criteria that screen out or tend to screen out those of us with disabilities unless the eligibility criteria being used is necessary for the provision of the service being offered. Returning to our example of the barbecue lessons, the local government couldn’t say that eyesight is necessary for someone to safely barbecue. So, a requirement that people participating in the barbecue lessons need to be able to see would result in the local government establishing eligibility criteria for the barbecue lessons that would screen out anyone who is blind and potentially lots of people who are low vision. Since eyesight is not necessary to barbecue that eligibility requirement would be illegal. No Surcharges I’m sure I have said this before, but it’s worth repeating: local governments cannot charge those of us with disabilities for the cost of the accommodations we need. This rule applies to even a portion of the cost. The cost of our accommodations is completely the responsibility of the local government. Legitimate Safety Requirements Local governments may impose legitimate safety requirements. But those safety requirements must be based on actual risks. Mere speculation about those of us with disabilities and/or disabilities is not permitted. Neither is developing safety requirements that depend on stereotypes of those of us with disabilities and our disabilities. If a local government has safety requirements related to a particular program, it must approach each case by using an individualized assessment. This means that even if someone else with the same disability as you cannot meet the safety requirements for a particular program, you must be given the chance to demonstrate you can individually meet those safety requirements. Illegal Use of Drugs Current use of illegal drugs is not protected. Local governments can discriminate against someone for actively being a drug user. Local governments can discriminate against someone for previous drug use with the following exceptions: If you have successfully completed a supervised drug rehabilitation program If you have otherwise been successfully rehabilitated If you are currently participating in a drug rehabilitation program If they erroneously believe you are using illegal drugs Rehabilitation Services Local governments cannot deny rehabilitation services to someone currently using drugs if they are qualified for services. Drug rehabilitation services may deny coverage to someone who uses illegal drugs while in the program. Drug Testing Local governments can administer reasonable policies, including drug testing, to ensure someone is not using drugs while participating in a drug rehabilitation program. Alcohol and Marijuana I don’t want to get bogged down in this, but I do think that people should know alcoholism is considered a disability under the ADA. Marijuana use, even used of medical marijuana, is not covered by the ADA. Retaliation and Coercion Local governments cannot discriminate against someone because they opposed a practice made unlawful under Title II. Nor can a local government discriminate against someone for filing a complaint under Title II, testifying in a proceeding related to a Title II violation, or otherwise assisting in the investigation of a local government’s violation(s) of Title II. No one, public or private, shall coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with any individual in any exercise or enjoyment of any activities, programs, and services offered by a local government. Nor may anyone coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with an individual who is filing a charge of discrimination under Title II or otherwise assisting in the investigation of a charge under Title II. All of this means you have a right to hold your local government accountable when it violates your rights. It also means that anyone can assist in the investigation of a complaint under Title II without facing retaliation and/or coercion from the local government. Personal Devices and Services Local governments do not have to provide people with disabilities personal mobility devices that would enable us to participate. Personal mobility devices are things, like wheelchairs, that we are supposed to have for ourselves. Local governments also do not need to provide services that are strictly of a personal nature in order for us to participate. This means they don’t need to help us eat or use the bathroom in order for us to participate. Let me be clear: when I say they don’t need to help us use the bathroom, I am strictly talking about the act of using the bathroom. They must help us find the bathroom. They don’t need to help us use the bathroom. Conclusion That completes our continued revisited look at Title II for this time. Thank you for listening. I very much appreciate your support.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In the last episode of the Demand Our Access podcast, I discussed Texas v. Becerra, a lawsuit seeking to have Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) declared unconstitutional. If you want to learn more about the lawsuit, please listen to that episode or read the transcript of what I said about the lawsuit. During the questions and comments portion of that episode, there was a lot of interest in advocating for the protection of Section 504. So, this episode will present strategies those of you living in the 17 states can take to try to protect Section 504 and things those of us who don&#8217;t live in one of those 17 states can do to be heard. Before discussing how we can advocate to protect Section 504, I will discuss the next episode and let you know how you can contact me. The Next Live Episode The next live episode will take place on Saturday, April sixth at 2:00 PM EDT. In that episode, I am planning to continue my revisited look at Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act, primarily covering state and local governments. Comments and Questions If you have any comments and/or questions about the Demand Our Access project, you can fill out the contact form on the Demand Our Access website or you can email me at [email protected]. How You Can Advocate for Section 504 If You Live in One of the 17 States As a reminder, the 17 states suing to have Section 504 declared unconstitutional are as follows: Alabama Alaska Arkansas Florida Georgia Indiana Iowa Kansas Louisiana Missouri Montana Nebraska South Carolina South Dakota Texas Utah West Virginia Contacting Your Attorney General If you live in one of the 17 states, the best thing you can do is contact your attorney general and let them know why you support Section 504 and that you want them to withdraw from the lawsuit. In order to make contacting your attorney general easier, I have worked with ChatGPT to create a table of contact information for the 17 attorneys general involved in the lawsuit. The table provides the name, mailing address, phone number, and website for each attorney general. I didn&#8217;t include an email address and/or contact form, because those methods of contact weren&#8217;t consistent enough among the attorneys general for them to be easily included in a table. if you would rather send an email or complete a contact form, visit your attorney general&#8217;s website to see how you can do that. I&#8217;m not going to read the names of the attorneys general and their individual contact information. The table of contact information will be provided at the end of the transcript when this episode is posted to the Demand Our Access website. What to Say Obviously, you should voice your support in a way that is comfortable for you and that reflects your voice. So, I can&#8217;t tell you exactly what to say when contacting your attorney general. Also, I can&#8217;t provide a different script for every possible method of communication you may use to contact your attorney general. So, I have developed a short sample script that works whether you contact your attorney general over the phone, through email, by using a contact form, by writing a letter, or even if you meet them. Before providing the script, I want to make one important point: the more personal your appeal the more likely it is to be heard. That doesn&#8217;t mean you should provide health information or anything else that you typically don&#8217;t provide strangers. What it means is that the more you can demonstrate how Section 504 has personally helped you, the more impactful your support of Section 504 will be when offered to your attorney general. I say that because attorneys general hear from lots of people every day. Much of what they receive is from people who are simply regurgitating what one organization or another has told them to say by providing a template or sample script. While that will be what you will also be doing, you can make your support of Section 504 more impactful by adding some of your personal experience with Section 504 to what I will provide here. In my view, the more personal information about how Section 504 has been a positive in your life really matters in this case because your attorney general doesn&#8217;t understand the benefits to those of us with disabilities that have been gained as a result of Section 504. Even worse, they believe it shouldn&#8217;t exist. This means convincing them to stop opposing Section 504 is an uphill job. The more they come to believe their voters support Section 504 for personal reasons, the better the chance they will realize their opposition to Section 504 is not smart. Before providing the script of what you could say, I want to make one more important point: please contact your attorney general. Even if you aren&#8217;t comfortable sharing any personal experiences, contact them. Even if you don&#8217;t really know how Section 504 has benefited you, contact them. Even if all you are comfortable doing is using the below script, contact your attorney general if you live in one of the 17 states and ask them to withdraw from Texas v. Becerra. The Script For the purposes of developing a script, I&#8217;m pretending my name is John Smith, I live in Waterloo, Iowa, and that I&#8217;m calling the office of the attorney general of Iowa. Obviously, you should edit the script as necessary if you don&#8217;t live in Iowa. Now for the script: My name is John Smith. I&#8217;m a resident of Waterloo. In the last election, I voted for Attorney General Bird. As a person with a disability, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 has helped me achieve things I would have never achieved without it. I&#8217;m calling to ask Attorney General Bird to please withdraw our state from Texas v. Becerra. If Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is declared unconstitutional, those of us with disabilities will have even a harder time realizing our potential. Something like that is all you need to do to let your attorney general know Section 504 is important to you and that you want your state to withdraw from the lawsuit. But I will include a script that has more personal details, in case that&#8217;s helpful to those of you who would be comfortable sharing some personal information. A More Personal Script My name is John Smith. I&#8217;m a resident of Waterloo. In the last election, I voted for Attorney General Bird. As a blind person, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 has helped me achieve things I would have never achieved without it. When I was a child, my public school education was more accessible to me than it would have been had Section 504 not been the law. As an adult, Section 504 allows me to request accommodations from federal agencies I wouldn&#8217;t be able to request without Section 504. As a resident of Iowa, Section 504 means I can better participate in all programs offered by our state in ways I could never participate without Section 504. I&#8217;m asking Attorney General Bird to please withdraw our state from Texas v. Becerra. If Section 504 is declared unconstitutional, those of us with disabilities will have a much harder time reaching our potential. As you can see, the more personal script is longer. It&#8217;s longer because it highlights ways Section 504 helps those of us with disabilities. If the generic examples I included in the more personal script doesn&#8217;t apply to you, or if you can think of state-specific examples that would resonate better with your attorney general, feel free to replace them with ones that better fit your life and represent the programs offered by your state that are more accessible to you because of Section 504. If you&#8217;re having trouble coming up with more personal ways Section 504 has helped you, discuss it with others in your state. Maybe others have ideas that sound better to you than what I included as examples here. Other Things to Try I have listed three items in this section based on the impact I believe they would have. The three things you can also try to protect Section 504 if you live in one of the 17 states are as follows: Organize a protest Contact the media Tell your community Organize a Protest If you aren&#8217;t comfortable with the word &#8220;protest&#8221; think of what you will be organizing as an event in Support of Section 504 and the civil rights of those of us with disabilities. To be effective, this kind of protest, obviously, needs many participants. So, contact groups of which you are a member and/or those groups with which you have an affiliation and gage their interest. This could be as simple as a local chapter of ACB or a state affiliate of ACB deciding to organize a local event in support of Section 504. This could be ACB chapters and affiliates working in a cross-disability manner with other organizations of those of us with disabilities. Consider Blinded Veterans of America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and others. To give your protest even more of a chance at success, contact groups not specifically dedicated to increasing accessibility to those of us with disabilities. Think about teachers organizations and teachers unions. Maybe look at organizations of local government workers. In short, think which groups would be affected if Section 504 was declared unconstitutional and see if they want to work on a protest in support of Section 504. Lastly, look at organizations in your community that may already be organizing protests in opposition to what is happening politically. Maybe there is a local organization of democratic socialists. Maybe there is a group affiliated with the Democratic Party that is active in your community. You don&#8217;t have to agree with everyone who is interested in supporting Section 504 on every issue or even most issues. the only thing that matters here is building support for Section 504. Contact the Media Write letters to your local newspaper. Tell them how and why you support Section 504. The language from the sample scripts discussed above would be good starting points for letters to your local papers. Call local and/or national talkshows and educate hosts and listeners about Section 504 and why you support it. Contact local reporters, especially those covering politics and human interest stories, and see if they are interested in helping you spread the word about the threat to Section 504. Talk to Your Community Tell your family, friends, and members of any community groups of which you are a member about the threat to Section 504. See if they would be interested in coming to your protest or contacting the media too. The more people who know about and understand the threat to Section 504 and the civil rights of those of us with disabilities the better! <h3 id="how-you-can-advocate-if-you-dont-live-in-one-of-the-17-states">How you can Advocate if You Don&#8217;t live in One of the 17 States Contact the Department of Justice The Department of Justice still has not said how it is going to participate in the lawsuit. Even though getting the Department of Justice to side with those of us with disabilities is a long shot, it&#8217;s a shot worth taking. The threat to our civil rights is so real that I believe we should do all we can to try to protect Section 504 and through it our civil rights. The Department of Justice has a Contact Us page you can use to find a link to a web form, a mailing address, a phone number, and more ways to make contact with them. The current attorney general is Pamela Bondi. A Script for Contacting DOJ I have written this script so it will work whether you call, complete the contact form, or send a letter. Obviously, if you are sending a letter through the mail, you will need to format appropriately. All I&#8217;m providing is what could be the main text of your letter. My name is John Smith. I&#8217;m a resident of Winchester, Massachusetts. I&#8217;m writing to ask Attorney General Bondi to defend Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in the lawsuit Texas v. Becerra. As a person with a disability, I have benefited greatly from the rights afforded me by Section 504. As a child, I benefited from a more accessible education because of Section 504. Thanks to Section 504, I can get accommodations from federal agencies I wouldn&#8217;t get without Section 504. Since Section 504 is the law, I can receive accommodations from the state of Massachusetts I wouldn&#8217;t receive without Section 504&#8217;s protections. If the Department of Justice doesn&#8217;t defend Section 504, those of us with disabilities will be less likely to reach our potential. That&#8217;s about all you need to do to let the Department of Justice know you support Section 504 and that you want them to defend it in court. If you are willing, your examples could be less generic than mine were. Here, I was only trying to put together something that would work for most people. Again, the more specifics you provide about your life, without sharing things you wouldn&#8217;t share with strangers, the better. <h4 id="other-things-you-can-do-if-you-dont-live-in-one-of-the-17-states">Other Things You can do if You Don&#8217;t Live in One of the 17 States If you don&#8217;t live in one of the 17 states, you can still contact the media and educate your community about the value of Section 504. If you want to contact the media, I would focus on national outlets. For newspapers, think papers like the New York Times, USA Today, and the Washington Post. For talkshows, I would focus on shows with a national reach too. For those of us not living in one of the 17 states, focusing on national media makes sense because there is a chance our thoughts will reach people in the 17 states. There is also a chance our support of Section 504 will be received by politicians and Department of Justice staff living and working in the DC area. Conclusion This is the end of my thoughts on how you can advocate for Section 504. If you have any questions about your advocacy efforts, please contact me. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Demand Our Access podcast. I appreciate your support. Table of Attorney General Contacts State Attorney General Phone Number Address Website Alabama Steve Marshall (334) 242-7300 501 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36130 www.alabamaag.gov Alaska Treg Taylor (907) 465-3600 P.O. Box 110300, Juneau, AK 99811-0300 law.alaska.gov Arkansas Tim Griffin (501) 682-2007 323 Center Street, Suite 200, Little Rock, AR 72201 arkansasag.gov Florida Ashley Moody (850) 414-3300 The Capitol, PL-01, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050 myfloridalegal.com Georgia Chris Carr (404) 656-3300 40 Capitol Square SW, Atlanta, GA 30334 law.georgia.gov Indiana Todd Rokita (317) 232-6201 Indiana Government Center South, 302 W. Washington St., 5th Floor, Indianapolis, IN 46204 www.in.gov/attorneygeneral Iowa Brenna Bird (515) 281-5164 Hoover State Office Building, 1305 E. Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50319 www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov Kansas Kris Kobach (785) 296-2215 120 SW 10th Ave., 2nd Floor, Topeka, KS 66612 ag.ks.gov Louisiana Elizabeth B. Murrill (225) 326-6705 1885 N. 3rd St., Baton Rouge, LA 70802 www.ag.state.la.us Missouri Andrew Bailey (573) 751-3321 Supreme Court Building, 207 W. High St., P.O. Box 899, Jefferson City, MO 65102 ago.mo.gov Montana Austin Knudsen (406) 444-2026 Justice Building, 215 N. Sanders, Helena, MT 59601 dojmt.gov Nebraska Mike Hilgers (402) 471-2682 2115 State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509 ago.nebraska.gov South Carolina Alan Wilson (803) 734-3970 P.O. Box 11549, Columbia, SC 29211 www.scag.gov South Dakota Marty Jackley (605) 773-3215 1302 E. Highway 14, Suite 1, Pierre, SD 57501 atg.sd.gov Texas Ken Paxton (512) 463-2100 300 W. 15th Street, Austin, TX 78701 www.texasattorneygeneral.gov Utah Sean D. Reyes (801) 538-9600 Utah State Capitol Complex, 350 North State Street, Suite 230, Salt Lake City, UT 84114 attorneygeneral.utah.gov West Virginia Patrick Morrisey (304) 558-2021 State Capitol, 1900 Kanawha Blvd E., Charleston, WV 25305 ago.wv.gov

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In this episode I will be covering the lawsuit threatening Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504). Sharing my Feelings Usually, I try to avoid my personal feelings when I discuss the law as a part of Demand Our Access. In preparing this episode, I had an impossible time fully separating my feelings of anger and hurt from the material I’m presenting. Given the reality that if the states are successful all of us with disabilities will have significantly fewer civil rights, I’m hoping you can understand why some of my feelings and opinions have made their way into this material. Before discussing Section 504 I will briefly describe the next episode and provide my contact information. The Next Episode The next live episode of the Demand Our Access podcast will take place on Saturday, March 15. In that episode, I will continue my revisited look at Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Questions and Comments As always, I’m interested in hearing from you. Please provide any feedback by completing the contact form on the Demand Our Access website or by emailing me at [email protected]. The Threat to Section 504 Briefly Describing Section 504 So we all understand the potential magnitude of this lawsuit, I want to briefly describe Section 504’s history and what it covers. As mentioned earlier, Section 504 is a section of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which was signed into law by President Richard Nixon. The regulations implementing Section 504 were not published by the Department of Health and Human Services until 1977, after the protests addressed in the documentary Crip Camp. Simply put, Section 504 applies to programs of the federal government and programs receiving money from the federal government. This means that Section 504 currently provides legal protections to those of us with disabilities in all public programs offered by the federal government and all programs receiving any funding from the federal government. For more information about Section 504, check out the episode titled <a href="https://demandouraccess.com/section-504-of-the-rehabilitation-act-of-1973/">Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Texas v. Becerra On September 26, 2024, a group of 17 states led by Texas filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the Northern District of Texas. The currently named defendant in the suit is Xavior Becerra (the secretary of HHS during the Biden administration). This is why the lawsuit is currently referred to as <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/HHS%20Rehabilitation%20Act%20Complaint%20Filestamped.pdf">Texas v. Becerra. Note, the link to the complaint filed by the 17 states posted to the Demand Our Access website when this episode of the podcast is posted goes to a reasonably accessible PDF on the Texas attorney general’s website. Participating States The 17 states participating in the lawsuit are as follows: Alabama Alaska Arkansas Florida Georgia Indiana Iowa Kansas Louisiana Missouri Montana Nebraska South Carolina South Dakota Texas Utah West Virginia Things to Know About the Lawsuit To, hopefully, not get too technical, I want to briefly cover the seven major aspects of the complaint filed by the 17 states. After briefly highlighting the important aspects of the complaint, I will delve into more specifics about some of them. I have organized the list of seven things you currently need to know about the lawsuit in a way that, I hope, addresses questions in an order most of you may be thinking about them: In a <a href="https://dredf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025-02-19-50-Status-Report.pdf">status report filed with the court on February 19, the Department of Justice, which has not yet said how it will participate in the lawsuit, and the 17 states asked for a pause in the cases timeline. Despite previous reporting, all 17 states that initially joined the lawsuit are still participating. The lawsuit seeks to have Section 504 declared unconstitutional. The lawsuit wants the rules developed by the Biden administration to further codify how Section 504 applies to health care providers dismissed. A lot of the complaint mentions how the HHS rules will affect Medicaid. The complaint seeks to limit the so-called integration of those of us with disabilities into community programs. Much of the language in the complaint focuses on HHS’s determination that gender dysphoria is covered under Section 504 and that people with gender dysphporia are protected by Section 504. The Unconstitutionality of Section 504 Since this is not an episode about constitutional law, I’m not going to dive deeply into constitutional arguments. Here, my goal is to provide a basic amount of education around the argument being made by the states that Section 504 is unconstitutional. Here are things to know about the argument that Section 504 is unconstitutional: The state’s argument is based around the Constitution’s Spending Clause. The Spending Clause grants Congress permission to raise and spend money for the nation’s defense and general welfare. There are three primary arguments being advanced by the states for why Section 504 violates the Spending Clause: Section 504 fails to provide unambiguous conditions for states receiving federal funds Section 504’s broad application imposes conditions on federal funding unrelated to the original purpose of the funds Section 504 is coercive, as it compels states to choose between complying with its extensive requirements or forfeiting all federal funding I can’t leave a discussion of the state’s argument that Section 504 is unconstitutional without highlighting the jeopardy our community faces from the second of the three arguments. The second argument being advanced for the unconstitutionality of Section 504 is the most important. By arguing that applying Section 504 to programs that are not specifically designed to cover those of us with disabilities, the states are trying to ensure that, even if they can’t convince the courts to deem Section 504 unconstitutional, they may be able to restrict its application to only those programs specifically designed for those of us with disabilities. If they were to win this point, only programs, like rehabilitation services, would continue being covered by Section 504. Programs including Medicaid and public education would no longer be covered by Section 504. The Biden Administration’s Rules on Health Care Providers and Accessibility On May ninth, 2024, HHS’s Office of Civil Rights announced new rules designed to make <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/disability/section-504-rehabilitation-act-of-1973/ocr-detailed-504-fact-sheet/index.html">health care more accessible to those of us with disabilities. Three of the more important provisions of the updated rules are as follows: Child welfare agencies cannot remove children from the custody of disabled parents without an individualized determination that the child is not safe in the parent(s) custody. Within certain limitations, the websites and mobile apps of health care providers must be accessible. Equipment used in the provision of health care services is to be accessible to people with disabilities. If the 17 states win their case, the updated rules will be removed resulting in parents facing the loss of their children because of discrimination, people not being able to access accessible digital content, and people not having important medical exams and procedures because medical equipment is not accessible to them. Medicaid The states are arguing against the strengthened integration rules because of the ways they will affect Medicaid. In the simplest terms, the states are arguing against home-based health care services to be provided to people with disabilities who rely on Medicaid for their health care. In their complaint, the states actually argue that Medicaid was constructed to favor institutionalization. While there, sadly, may be truth in that argument, the provision of integrated health care services has been strong since the 1990s. In 1999, the Supreme Court in a case called Olmstead, supported the idea that services should be provided in the most integrated setting possible, with those certain limitations. So, plaintiffs are not only trying to have Section 504 declared unconstitutional, but they are trying to overturn nearly 26 years of Supreme Court rulings supporting the idea that services should be provided to those of us with disabilities in the most integrated setting possible. Integration Under the rules codified by Biden’s HHS in May of 2024, the government strengthened the integration provision under Section 504 as it applies to health care by indicating that recipients of federal money, including states, are required to provide services in settings that enable individuals with disabilities to interact with non-disabled persons to the fullest extent possible. The regulation explicitly prohibits actions that result in unnecessary segregation or pose a serious risk of such segregation. Examples of prohibited actions include policies that limit access to integrated settings, offering greater benefits in segregated environments, imposing more restrictive rules in integrated settings, or failing to provide community-based services, which could lead to institutionalization or a significant risk thereof. There are two main arguments being made by the states against the strengthened integration rules: The states argue that requiring states to administer programs in the &#8220;most integrated setting appropriate” imposes obligations beyond what Congress intended in the original statute. The integration mandate infringes upon states’ rights. By compelling states to modify their programs and services to align with federal integration standards, the plaintiffs claim this mandate disrupts the balance of power between federal and state governments as outlined in the Constitution. The two arguments being advanced by the states in opposition to strengthened integration rules are really troubling. If the courts strike down the notion that those of us with disabilities should be served in the most integrated setting possible, where is the end on that reversal? Would it just be limited to health care settings? Or will all provisions, like those guaranteeing disabled children the ability to be integrated in mainstream classrooms, also be eventually repealed? Gender Dysphoria Gender dysphoria is a psychological condition recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR), published by the American Psychiatric Association. It refers to significant distress or impairment caused by a mismatch between an individual’s gender identity (their internal sense of being male, female, or another gender) and their sex assigned at birth. Obviously, a discussion of gender dysphoria is not at all related to what we are discussing here. I need to mention gender dysphoria here because of the sad reality that the 17 states are using HHS’s decision to consider gender dysphoria a disability as a justification to invalidate most of the civil rights those of us with disabilities have had for more than half a century. While I don’t doubt that the representatives of the 17 states disagree with the determination that gender dysphoria is a disability, I am personally offended by the idea that state governments are using gender dysphoria to rally support for the idea that Section 504 should be declared unconstitutional. If you disagree with my argument that gender dysphoria is being used here to fire up the public and distract them from the real motivations of the states, don’t forget they could have sued to simply overturn the determination that gender dysphoria is a disability. They could have sued to overturn the rules announced by HHS in May of 2024. Instead of taking one of those more conservative approaches, the 17 states chose to try to have Section 504 declared unconstitutional and to get the courts to reverse themselves on the idea that those of us with disabilities should be fully integrated into society. Following the Lawsuit If you are interested in getting updates on the lawsuit, I encourage you to visit the page dedicated to it authored by the <a href="https://dredf.org/protect-504/">Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF). Conclusion Thank you for listening to this episode of the Demand Our Access podcast. I very much appreciate your support.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. The Next Episode The next episode of the Demand Our Access podcast will take place on Saturday, March first. In that episode, I will continue our second look at Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II). If you have any questions or comments about this episode or Demand Our Access in General, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected]. You can also complete the contact form on the Demand Our Access website. Introduction Title II primarily sets forth the requirements state and local governments are supposed to follow to ensure their activities, programs, and services are accessible to those of us with disabilities. Unfortunately, their isn&#8217;t a single state or local government complying with Title II. Even worse, most state and local governments are demonstrably out of compliance with Title II. This deliberate noncompliance with Title II on the part of every state and local government adds to the discrimination faced by those of us with disabilities on a daily basis. Since we all need to interact with our state and local government, their lack of compliance with Title II causes us lots of stress and difficulty. For those reasons, I chose Title II to be the first topic I discussed through the Demand Our Access podcast. Over the last roughly 2.5 years, I hope my ability to teach important legal concepts has improved. So, I thought it would be good if I revisited Title II now. Much of the substance covered here will be very similar to what was covered more than two years ago. But I am, hopefully, presenting the information in a way that makes it easier to understand. Episode Roadmap I am covering these topics in this episode because they are the foundation of compliance under Title II. In the next episode, I will cover more of the information you will need to effectively request an accommodation or modification from your state or local government. If terms like accommodation and modification don&#8217;t mean anything to you now, they should when I finish our revisited two-part look at Title II. Below are the eight topics I will cover in this episode: Code of Federal Regulations Defining a Public Entity Project Civic Access ADA coordinator Notice of rights Grievance procedure Self-evaluation Transition plan Title II Revisited Code of Federal Regulations Laws don’t often contain all their legal requirements. Congress regularly directs federal agencies to develop or promulgate what the law will require. Under the ADA, several federal agencies have responsibility for developing guidance as to what it means to comply with the ADA. When an agency has responsibility for clarifying what compliance with section(s) of the ADA means, they have enforcement power over those section(s). The Department of Justice (DOJ) has primary responsibility for establishing what guidelines for compliance under title II. DOJ also has primary enforcement power over Title II. When a federal agency establishes what constitutes compliance, those requirements are published in the Code of Federal regulations. When I cite to a section of law (either during the episodes or on the website) I will almost always be citing to the Code of Federal Regulations. Often, the Code of Federal Regulations is referred to as C.F.R. When I refer to a section of C.F.R, I’m referring to a section in the Code of Federal Regulations. For the rest of this episode, I&#8217;m not going to mention any section in the Code of Federal Regulations. I&#8217;m not mentioning specific sections of the Code of Federal Regulations here, because I have realized mentioning the citations is very distracting for listeners. Even though I won&#8217;t mention the citations to the Code of Federal Regulations, they will be provided when the text of this episode and this accompanying audio file are posted to the Demand Our Access website as a podcast episode. Defining a Public Entity A public entity is defined in 28 C.F.R. § 34.104. Section 35.104 is the list of definitions under the ADA. The definition of public entity has three parts: any state or local government any department, special purpose district, or instrumentality of state, states, or local government the National Railroad Passenger Corporation and other commuter authorities All public entities with at least 50 employees should appoint their own ADA coordinator and have their own grievance procedure. Most local governments, if they have an ADA coordinator at all, do not have one in every agency or department. Project Civic Access Project Civic Access is the primary way the Department of Justice (DOJ) enforces Title II. It has conducted audits of communities in all 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. It has done more than 200 audits in total. The agreements are posted online to help communities come into compliance with the ADA. The settlement between DOJ and the City and County of Denver, Colorado is representative of what is typically covered. The settlement includes: notice grievance procedure ADA coordinator physical accessibility of facilities accessible web content emergency preparedness If none of the concepts mentioned in the Denver settlement make sense to you, I hope you will have a better understanding of them when I finish these two episodes. While Project Civic Access, especially now, may not do anything to hold state and local governments accountable, I believe it&#8217;s important to understand what DOJ has already established as the issues it&#8217;s most interested in state or local governments meeting. Even if DOJ won&#8217;t help you now, the language in Project Civic Access settlements can assist you when advocating with your state and local government. ADA Coordinator Information about the requirements for an ADA coordinator, to provide public notice of rights, and grievance procedures can be found in Chapter Two of DOJ’s Title II Tool Kit. The requirement for an ADA coordinator is established in 28 C.F.R. § 35.107(a). Public entities with at least 50 employees must designate a “responsible employee”. Most people refer to the responsible employee as an ADA coordinator. The ADA coordinator is supposed to investigate and resolve complaints filed under Title II and ensure compliance with Title II. The law does not specifically list any qualifications an ADA coordinator must have. Every public entity is required to notify the public of their ADA coordinator and provide that person’s contact information. One critical concept to remember about the requirement for all public entities to have an ADA coordinator is that a public entity is defined, in part, as the agencies, departments, and instrumentalities of a state or local government. If a state or local government took its compliance with Title II seriously, all of its agencies, departments, and instrumentalities with at least 50 employees would designate a qualified ADA coordinator. Sadly, most state and local governments, if they designate anyone as the ADA coordinator, they only designate one person to be the ADA coordinator for the whole state or local government. Notice of Rights Notice of rights is established in 28 C.F.R. § 35.106. The notice requirement applies to all public entities regardless of number of employees The notice should include the following: employment effective communication reasonable modifications no surcharges filing complaints The notice Should be published in all facilities, on the website, and included in event notices. The notice must be available in alternative formats The notice of rights, when offered, can be an important step to advocating for greater access. This is because a proper notice of rights will help you understand what your rights are and how your state or local government hopes to ensure it follows the law and effectively accommodates you. Unfortunately, many communities don&#8217;t publish a notice of rights. Others publish a combined notice of rights that generically states the state or local government will comply with several civil rights laws, but provides little or no specifics about compliance under any of those civil rights laws. Other state or local governments publish a notice of rights and then do little to ensure it&#8217;s followed. No matter what, looking for your state or local governments notice of rights is a good place to start. If they don&#8217;t have one, or if it lacks specifics, you have issues to raise at the beginning of your advocacy efforts. Grievance Procedure The grievance procedure requirement is established in 28 C.F.R. § 35.107(b). Every public entity with at least 50 employees is required to adopt and publish a grievance procedure. The grievance procedure is to allow for the “prompt and equitable” resolution of complaints filed under Title II. The DOJ sample grievance procedure calls for the following: the complaint filed preferably in writing date of and description of the problem should be submitted by the grievant or their designee within 60 days of the discrimination Meeting within 15 days of complaint being received Offer an appeal process All correspondence from the state or local government to you about your complaint are to be provided in accessible (alternative formats) One compliance mistake almost all state and local governments make is their failure to ensure every agency, department, or instrumentality meeting the definition of a public entity has its own grievance procedure. Since many public entities also don&#8217;t have their own ADA coordinator, the responsibility for investigating and resolving complaints for an entire state or local government usually falls on one person. One way we could raise the issue of noncompliance with Title II on the part of our state and local governments would be to figure out if they have a grievance procedure. If they only have one for the entire state or local government, filing a number of complaints under their grievance procedure would highlight the insufficiency of their efforts to comply with title II. Filing with the state or local government directly won&#8217;t result in you collecting damages, but it should result in them better accommodating you. If they do it correctly, it should also result in them making changes so they better follow the law. Self-evaluation The self-evaluation is an examination of a public entity’s activities, programs, and services for accessibility to people with disabilities. The self-evaluation requirement is established in 28 C.F.R. § 35.105. The Deadline for completion of self-evaluations on the part of state and local governments was January 26, 1993. It is required of all Public entities regardless of number of employees. People with disabilities must be given a chance to comment. If there are more than 50 employees, the self-evaluation must be available for public inspection for three years. The documentation made available to the public is to include: list of people consulted facilities inspected description of completed modifications If a Self-evaluation was completed under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, it is sufficient. There is no requirement for updating the self-evaluation. Transition Plan The transition plan is a public entities schedule to remove physical barriers that must be removed to achieve programmatic access. . The transition plan is established in 28 C.F.R. § 35.150(d). Public entities with 50 or more employees must complete a transition plan. Transition plans were to be completed by July 26, 1992. All barriers were to be removed by July 26, 1995. A transition plan should do the following: identify physical barriers Describe how barriers will be removed Set forth a schedule of barrier removal A transition plan should name the person in charge of compliance with the transition plan. To my knowledge, there isn&#8217;t a single state or local government that has removed all physical barriers to access. Most of them haven&#8217;t completed their transition plan. Even when a state or local government has completed their transition plan, it&#8217;s very unlikely they are constantly checking to ensure new physical barriers to access haven&#8217;t been created since their facilities were studied for accessibility as a part of the transition plan process. Advocating Under Title II In case you&#8217;re interested in advocating for greater access with your state and/or local government, check out the episode called Advocating for Our Rights Under title II of the ADA. In that episode, I walk through specific steps you can take when advocating under Title II. Conclusion This completes our revisited look at basics under Title II. I will be back on March first to continue our look at Title II. Thank you for listening to the Demand Our Access podcast. I very much appreciate your support.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction This episode has two main topics: advocacy updates from Desiree and I; and playing the blind card while advocating. The next live episode will take place on February 15 at 2:00 EST. I don&#8217;t yet have a planned topic for that episode. If you have any comments and/or suggestions, please write me at [email protected] or complete the contact form at Demand Our Access. Advocacy Updates From Desiree and I My Advocacy Updates While I can&#8217;t yet discuss everything I&#8217;m working on, I want to mention my complaint with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC), and issues I&#8217;m having with the Oregon Employment Department (OED). My EEOC Complaint The EEOC has accepted my charge of discrimination and notified my former employer. While awaiting their response, I have decided that, if they agree, I will attempt to resolve my discrimination through mediation run by the EEOC. I have made the choice to try mediation, even though I doubt it will be successful, because mediation could bring about a much faster result. Also, there is the reality that the current administration is seemingly considerably less likely to litigate cases of disability discrimination. But even if they don&#8217;t, I still have hope that the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry, which has a partnership agreement with the EEOC, will investigate if mediation fails. My Issues with the Oregon Employment Department After trying for more than a month, I made the difficult decision to stop seeking additional unemployment benefits. The truth is that constantly fighting for the access I need to consistently get the unemployment benefits I&#8217;m entitled to receive from an agency with little to no knowledge of its legal responsibilities under Title I and no desire to meaningfully provide the accommodations I&#8217;m entitled to receive from them was causing me tremendous stress. So, I have begun the process of trying to force them to follow the law by filing with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry. At this point, I don&#8217;t believe the Department of Justice will assist me. So, I hope I can, at least, make it so the next blind person needing accommodations from OED to get the benefits they deserve doesn&#8217;t suffer the amount of discrimination I have suffered. Desiree&#8217;s Traveling with a Service Animal As you may know, Desiree has a new guide dog. While you are listening to this, she is in Florida at a conference. Prior to flying to Florida, she had to complete the forms necessary to fly with a service animal. What you are about to hear is the inaccessibility she encountered while completing the required forms. In her recording, Desiree mentioned the company Open Doors that enables you to register your service animal with five different airlines. Playing the Blind Card Introduction to Playing the Blind Card While I&#8217;m calling what I am talking about here the blind card, it&#8217;s important to note that the analysis I will share here applies to all situations where a disabled person uses stereotypes and assumptions about disabled people and those of us with disabilities to encourage nondisabled people to make something more accessible. Obviously, what I&#8217;m sharing here is strictly my opinion. I recognize and appreciate others will disagree. I&#8217;m sharing this anyway to hopefully stimulate thought and provoke what I believe is an important discussion. The last episode of the Demand Our Access podcast focused on how we can advocate during these difficult political times. During the question and comment portion of the live version of the podcast, the issue of playing the blind card while advocating was raised a couple of times. Since I never play the blind card, I thought I would take some time to explain my personal opposition to playing the blind card while advocating. Why I Never Play the Blind Card I never use the negative stereotypes and negative assumptions many sighted people have about blindness and those of us who are blind when I&#8217;m advocating is that feeding on those stereotypes and assumptions continues the disrespect, whether understood or not, by the sighted person of me and the rest of us who are blind. Simply put, if someone believes blind people are less capable, believes we deserve credit for doing everyday tasks that are easy for them but which they incorrectly assume are more difficult for us than they are, or develops (whether encouraged or not) a feeling of pity for us that person will never fully respect us. Also, that person will never see us as their equal. If someone doesn&#8217;t respect blind people, doesn&#8217;t see blind people as their equal, or pities blind people that person will never believe blind people are entitled to the same rights and privileges they take for granted. This truth often will not prevent the sighted person from granting us a short-term, relatively easy accommodation or otherwise trying to help. In the long run, though, it will prevent the sighted person from working toward the societal change we need to create a world that is accessible and inclusive to us. More problematic with playing the blind card is the greater harm we cause our community. As we all know, those of us who are blind have a difficult time finding work. In many instances, we struggle for equal inclusion in social settings. As I think most of us are aware, the struggles we often face finding work and making true friends results from the negative feelings many sighted people have about blindness and blind people. What we don&#8217;t often consider when playing the blind card to achieve short-term access is how playing that card and creating feelings of pity for us on the part of the sighted person further complicates the ability of all of us to find work and make meaningful friendships. When someone makes a document accessible because they feel sorry for a blind person&#8217;s inability to read print and isn&#8217;t even aware that by failing to make their document accessible they violated the law and the civil rights of blind people that sighted person is unlikely to ever change the processes that resulted in the document being inaccessible. By failing to change those processes, the person will force all blind people to continue to have to request accessible documents; instead of providing the access provided everyone considered worthy of access. If that person is unaware they violated the rights of blind people by creating an inaccessible document and they gave one blind person an accessible document because they felt sorry for them is that sighted person likely to hire a blind person? Is that person likely to be capable of considering a blind person to be their trusted friend? The truth, as I see it, is that by playing the blind card we are encouraging the continuation of negative stereotypes and negative assumptions about blind people and blindness. By assisting in the continuation of those negative stereotypes and assumptions, we are not educating people about our civil rights, holding them accountable for violating our civil rights, and making it harder for our community to achieve the kind of access and inclusion we all individually deserve. By perpetuating the idea that people should accommodate us out of pity or with a nod to our imagined incapabilities, we are enabling society to continue placing the burden of ensuring greater access and inclusion largely on us. We will only create a society that is accessible to and inclusive of us when we are proud enough and strong enough to consistently promote the need for sighted people to see our rights as civil rights and when we refuse to use their negative stereotypes and negative assumptions about us and our disability to foster feelings of pity for us. When someone pityís you that person will never hire you. When someone pitties you that person will never truly love you. I am doing Demand Our Access so we can advocate from a position of education and strength. Hopefully, with greater understanding of our rights, more of us can advocate for our community from the perspective of we have the right to be fully included. In closing, I&#8217;m not suggesting people shouldn&#8217;t, where appropriate, educate people as to why something is inaccessible. But I strongly believe the best way for us to create a society that is accessible to and inclusive of us is for us to mix that education with strong reminders that we have civil rights laws that need to be followed. If so-called hearts and minds advocacy worked, we wouldn&#8217;t be living in a society where much is still inaccessible. Conclusion Thank you for listening to this episode of the Demand Our Access podcast. I appreciate your support.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Briefly Explaining Accessibility Overlays So we are all on the same page, I want to briefly describe the kinds of overlays involved here. Several companies, including AccessiBe, have been marketing overlays to government agencies, businesses, and nonprofits. In marketing these overlays, these companies, including AccessiBe, are selling the myth that installing these overlays will make websites fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The idea is that if these overlays are used, websites will fully comply with WCAG and the websites will be fully accessible. As anyone who uses assistive technologies knows, these overlays don&#8217;t make websites fully usable to those of us who use assistive technologies. As the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) mentions in its document explaining the proposed consent agreement discussed soon, AccessiBe&#8217;s Access Widget doesn&#8217;t even create compliance with WCAG. How you can Comment on the Proposed Fine of AccessiBe Explaining AccessiBe AccessiBe is an Israeli company that develops and sells what it calls AccessWidget. AccessiBe has been promoting the idea that all companies, government agencies, and nonprofits need to do to is install AccessWidget and their websites will be accessible to everyone. Currently, AccessiBe&#8217;s website boasts that more than 100K websites have been made accessible to everyone through the use of AccessWidget. The current price for using AccessWidget is $490 annually for sites with less than 1,000 pages. For websites with less than 10,000 pages and for premium add-ons, the current annual cost for AccessWidget is $1,400. For sites with less than 100,000 pages and for premium add-ons, the current annual cost is $3,490. The FTC&#8217;s Fine On January sixth, the Federal Trade Commission announced a proposed consent agreement with AccessiBe and asked for public comment. Under the terms of the proposed consent agreement, AccessiBe would be fined $1 million for alleged violations of law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Speaking about AccessiBe&#8217;s actions, the FTC&#8217;s analysis of the proposed consent agreement says the following: This matter involves AccessiBe’s marketing and sale of a web accessibility software plug in called AccessWidget. AccessiBe represented that AccessWidget could make any website compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”), a comprehensive set of technical criteria used to assess website accessibility. AccessiBe advertised these claims on its website and social media, as well as in articles that were formatted as impartial and objective reviews on third-party websites. AccessiBe also failed to disclose its material connections with the publishers of those third-party articles. The proposed complaint alleges that AccessWidget did not make all websites WCAG compliant, and that the company&#8217;s claims were false, misleading, or unsubstantiated. The proposed complaint also alleges that formatting the third-party articles and reviews as independent opinions by impartial authors and publishers was false and misleading, and that AccessiBe’s failure to disclose its material connections with the publishers of those articles was deceptive. The proposed order contains provisions designed to prevent AccessiBe from engaging in these and similar acts and practices in the future. Provision I prohibits AccessiBe from representing that its automated products, including accessWidget&#8217;s artificial intelligence and other automated technology, can make any website WCAG compliant, or can ensure continued compliance with WCAG over time as web content changes, unless the company has competent and reliable evidence to support the representations. Provision II prohibits AccessiBe from misrepresenting any fact material to consumers about any of the company&#8217;s products or services, such as the value or total cost; any material restrictions, limitations, or conditions; or any material aspect of its performance, features, benefits, efficacy, nature, or central characteristics. Provision III prohibits AccessiBe from misrepresenting that statements made in third-party reviews, articles, or blog posts about its automated products, including accessWidget&#8217;s artificial intelligence and other automated technology, are independent opinions by impartial authors; that an endorser is an independent or ordinary user of the automated product; or that the endorser is an independent organization or is providing objective information. The proposed consent agreement has several additional provisions. I am not going to read the rest of them here. If you&#8217;re interested, a link to the whole analysis from the FTC will be in the show notes when this episode is posted to Demand Our Access. A Comment I Previously Submitted. Here is a comment on the proposed consent agreement I submitted prior to recording this demo. As a totally blind person, I&#8217;m so glad the FTC has taken action against AccessiBe. Overlays, like AccessiBe, cause those of us who use assistive technologies to use the web more problems than they solve. There are two primary reasons why AccessiBe causes those of us who use assistive technologies more problems than they solve: they give website owners a false sense of compliance; and they are frustrating for those of us who use assistive technologies to use. Thanks to the deceptive marketing practices of AccessiBe, businesses and government agencies have been convinced to believe that installing AccessiBe&#8217;s overlay will actually make all of their site and related sites accessible. As the settlement demonstrates, the vast amount of third-party content necessary to effectively use the services offered by most businesses and government agencies will not be affected by AccessiBe&#8217;s technology unless the third-parties use the tool as well. For this reason, I&#8217;m very much looking forward to sharing the final settlement with my water company. It&#8217;s third-party portal is not accessible, even though the water company has put AccessiBe&#8217;s tool on its primary website. AccessiBe and all of the other overlays promising WCAG compliance are frustrating to use for those of us who use assistive technologies because they change the way we typically navigate web content. Depending on the overlay being used, we have to memorize different keystrokes. In some cases, we need to activate a menu and choose different options. Both of these requirements make navigating web content slower and less efficient for those of us who use assistive technologies than web navigation is for those who don&#8217;t use assistive technologies. Also, use of overlays, like AccessiBe, will never make web content as accessible and usable as is content coded for accessibility and tested by native users of assistive technologies for usability. Not addressed by this settlement because it&#8217;s beyond the scope of this settlement is the reality that strict compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines doesn&#8217;t actually ensure web content is fully accessible and/or usable. Even if AccessiBe was able to make all web content compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, it would not be able to promise to make all web content fully accessible to and/or usable by those of us who use assistive technologies. I thank the FTC for taking this important action on behalf of those of us with disabilities. I&#8217;m hopeful this action will help businesses and government agencies understand that there is no substitute for coding web content for accessibility and for having native users of assistive technologies test important content for usability. Commenting on the Proposed Consent Agreement Tips To Remember Before demonstrating how you can comment, I want to share a few tips that may help you figure out what to say: You don&#8217;t need to write a book or be overly technical. Even if a previous commenter has said what you were thinking of saying, we are helped by the number of comments submitted. Any constructive feedback helps. This is a relatively easy way to have your voice heard and for you to make a difference. Deadline for Commenting Comments on the proposed consent Agreement must be filed no later than 11:59 PM EST on February fifth. In order to file a comment on the proposed consent agreement, we will use the Regulations.gov website. For the purposes of this demo, I am using a PC running Windows 11, Microsoft&#8217;s Edge browser, and version 2025 of the JAWS for Windows screen reader. My operating system, web browser, and screen reader are all up to date. The Comment I will Post for This Demo I have chosen to post this comment as a part of the demo, because I hope it shows people they don&#8217;t need to write several paragraphs, quote the agreement, or use technical language. The key is simply to share any feedback you have about the proposed consent agreement. The Text of the Comment Being Posted I briefly mentioned this in a previous comment, but it deserves its own comment. The focus of the harm done to those of us with disabilities by AccessiBe, and the rest of the accessibility overlay industry, shouldn&#8217;t be limited to how overlays, like AccessWidget, don&#8217;t actually provide compliance with WCAG. It&#8217;s very important that people without disabilities recognize the cognitive overload these overlays force us to experience. Having to learn new keystrokes and/or having to select different menu options depending on the overlay being used is a barrier people without disabilities don&#8217;t experience. If websites were accessible and usable, we could navigate all websites in a similar manner. With the prevalence of these overlays, we have to take all kinds of additional steps we don&#8217;t have to take when sites are coded correctly. We have to take all of these extra steps, and as the FTC found, the extra steps don&#8217;t result in accessibility, never mind usability. Now for the Demo I have pasted the comment I just read to my clipboard. When I get to the comment field, I will paste it in there.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction Without getting too political, I think most people would agree that advocating for civil rights will not be the same under the incoming Trump administration as it has been under the Biden administration. That being said, I strongly believe that advocating for our rights, even if you don&#8217;t believe our advocacy efforts will be as successful, is even more important than maybe it has ever been. I say that because if the Trump administration is serious about cutting programs that provide greater access and inclusion, one of the best ways we can defend the programs we need is to demonstrate how many things still aren&#8217;t working. To put it another way: if very few people are requesting accommodations or modifications, or asking government to enforce violations, the easier it will be for officials to argue that our civil rights programs aren&#8217;t needed. Before getting into how we can advocate for our rights during the second Trump administration, I think it&#8217;s important to provide some reminders as to what actually happened during the first Trump administration and how little we are on his mind: The first Trump administration made no real effort to repeal or seriously weaken the ADA and related laws. Trump almost never talks about the ADA and those of us with disabilities. He has not promised to reduce the rights of those of us with disabilities. Trump wouldn&#8217;t get many political points by launching an attack against the disability community and/or by threatening to destroy the access we currently have. I shared those reminders because I believe the first Trump administration, at least when it comes to the civil rights of those of us with disabilities, is a good indicator of what the second Trump administration will be like for our advocacy efforts. As you may remember, the first Trump administration did basically nothing to improve access for those of us with disabilities. But it didn&#8217;t go out of its way to destroy the gains we have made prior to Trump taking office for the first time. Currently, that is what I expect to happen beginning on January 20. Since I don&#8217;t expect our concerns to be taken seriously, we need to begin our look at advocating during the second Trump administration by considering how we can advocate for our rights outside of the Department of Justice, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the rest of the federal agencies with oversight over our civil rights laws. Advocating for Our Rights Under the Second Trump Administration A key to our advocacy efforts under the second Trump administration will be using the state and local laws that provide us similar protections to those we have under the ADA at the federal level. How effective advocacy efforts will be at the state and local level will depend, in part, on how seriously your state and/or local government takes the civil rights of those of us with disabilities. So, everyone&#8217;s mileage will not be the same. But everyone, except those of you living in Alabama, has a state law promising civil rights protections to disabled people. Obviously, I cannot cover the 49 state laws that provide protections to those of us with disabilities on this podcast. In the recording, I discussed a table listing the state-specific laws. I was not able to publish that table to the site, because I am having issues with the way WordPress is interpreting the HTML for the post with the table. In case you consider your state&#8217;s law, I want to give you a few important reminders: No state law can provide us fewer protections than we get from the ADA and related laws. States are allowed to provide greater and different protections than are provided by the ADA. Most of the state laws providing us civil rights protections are very similar to the protections provided by the ADA. Some states offer protections of our civil rights when it comes to education. Some states offer protection of our civil rights when it comes to financial issues. Some states offer protection of our civil rights when it comes to housing. Only a few states directly call out protections similar to those offered by Title II of the ADA (covering the activities, programs, and services of local governments). Most state laws address the protections offered by Titles I and III of the ADA (covering employment and businesses and nonprofits respectively). Advocating Under Title I and Your State&#8217;s Law As you most likely know, The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) oversees compliance with Title I of the ADA. What you may not know is that the EEOC has partnership agreements with state and local agencies it calls Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs). Generally, the agreements between the EEOC and the FEPAs call for joint jurisdiction over filed claims. This means that by viling with the EEOC you are very likely to also be filing with your local FEPA. If the EEOC can&#8217;t or won&#8217;t investigate your complaint, there is a chance they will work out an arrangement with your local FEPA that will result in your complaint being investigated. This is especially true if your claim raises issues of state law as well as issues under Title I. The EEOC does not have a page listing all of the FEPAs. So, I cannot provide you an easy resource you can use to discover the agency in your community that works with the EEOC as a FEPA. But a simple search for your local FEPA should give you the required contact information. If your local FEPA has a filing process that is more accessible than is the filing process offered by the EEOC, you can choose to file with your local FEPA. In all likelyhood your complaint will reach the EEOC even if you file through your FEPA. Advocating Under State Law Protections Like Titles II and III While the Department of Justice is largely responsible for addressing claims filed under Titles II and III of the ADA, we can use, where available, state laws that provide similar, greater, or different protections than do Titles II and III. Again, I can&#8217;t discuss all of the state and local agencies that have enforcement powers over local laws providing similar protections to Titles II and III, but I can provide some tips you can use if you need to file under a local law: See if your state or local community has a human rights commission or some other agency with &#34;human rights&#34; in its name. See if your state or local community has an office of equity and inclusion. See if your state or local community has an agency with the word &#34;disability&#34; in its name. If you find an office with one of those words in its name, it is likely it will be the place that can address your complaint. If not, it is almost certain that the agency will be able to direct you to the right place. Local Laws Protecting Our Civil Rights Again, I can&#8217;t possibly cover all of the local laws providing us civil rights protections, but you should be aware that many cities, counties, and towns have adopted local laws that discuss our civil rights. Examples of communities with civil rights laws granting those of us with disabilities protections include but are not limited to: New York City; San Francisco, CA; Chicago, IL; Austin, TX; Los Angeles, CA; and Seattle, WA. Local Enforcement All of the cities listed in the previous section have offices that, to differing levels, have the authority to enforce their local civil rights laws. If you are facing discrimination, it&#8217;s a great idea to find out if your local community (whether it be state, local, or both) has a civil rights law providing those of us with disabilities protections. If your local community has a civil rights law that provides us some protections, it is very likely there is an agency with the authority to take enforcement actions. If you don&#8217;t have a local office that investigates claims of discrimination, you can always look at your local district attorneys office and/or your state&#8217;s attorney general. Again, your milage will vary, but there are ways to have violations of your state law protections investigated. Don&#8217;t Forget Local Organizations If you are struggling to figure out who to contact, don&#8217;t forget to ask local organizations in your community if they can help. Maybe someone in your state or local ACB affiliate will be able to help. Maybe your local NFB chapter will have an answer. It is likely your local Client Assistance Program (normally charged with assisting you when you have issues with your rehab agency) can provide assistance. Many state bar associations have lawyer referral programs. While the terms of these lawyer referral programs are different, it is very likely you can be matched with at least one lawyer who will provide you a free consultancy to briefly discuss your situation. In every community there are organizations and people who are able and willing to help. If you are experiencing discrimination, you will, if you work at it, be able to eventually find a way to have your discrimination addressed. This is true even if the Trump administration is even less interested in advancing our civil rights than the Biden administration has been. Conclusion Thank you for listening to this episode of the Demand Our Access podcast. I truly appreciate your support.

My Mastodon Handle In case anyone is interested, I joined Mastodon. My handle is @[email protected]. All of the posts I make to the Demand Our Access website will automatically be shared to my Mastodon account. I look forward to meeting you on Mastodon. Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In this episode, I will briefly recap Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title I) before discussing steps you should take in case you face discrimination at work. If you have any comments or questions about this episode, you can complete the contact form on the Demand Our Access website, or you can email me at [email protected]. For more information about Title I, visit the page called ADA Title I Information. If you are concerned as to how recent political events will affect the ability of people with disabilities to have concerns of discrimination addressed by the federal government, I will be covering that in the next episode. That episode will be live on ACB Community on Saturday, December seventh at 2:00 PM EST. It will be posted to Demand Our access shortly after it is presented live. As I have said several times before, there is no way to cover this kind of material without using words like &#34;impaired&#34; that many of us in the disability community don&#8217;t use. I&#8217;m using words like &#34;impaired&#34; here because those are the words used in the law. Whether we like it or not, when communicating about the law we are required to use terms that are outdated. Maybe someday the ADA will be revisited and the updated law will provide for meaningful enforcement and be written in modern language. For now, we have to discuss the law as it has been written. Briefly Recapping Title I Our brief recap of Title I is based on the rules defining compliance with Title I as set forth by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 29 C.F.R. § 1630. To make this presentation easier to follow, I&#8217;m not going to mention the exact citations to different sections of the Code of Federal Regulations. If you are interested in the citations, you can find them in the episodes where I discussed Title I. I decided that the term &#34;covered entity&#34;, while used in the Code of Federal Regulations, may be too confusing for people just learning about Title I. So, I have decided to replace the term &#34;covered entity&#34; with the term &#34;employer&#34;. While I&#8217;m doing this to make the presentation easier to follow, it must be remembered that not all employers are covered by Title I; for example, if an employer employs fewer than 15 employees that employer is not covered by Title I. If you heard either of the episodes where I discussed Title I in greater detail, some of this will be review for you. I have included what I believe are some of the most important things to know about our rights under Title I here so if someone listens to this episode prior to listening to the episodes on Title I, some of the information they will need is here. Important Concepts For an employer to be covered byTitle I, it must have at least 15 employees. The United States government is not subject to the provisions of Title I; however, Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 provides similar protections for federal positions. To be clear, state and local governments are covered by Title I. If you work or you are interested in working for a state or local government, what I am covering here applies to you. Private membership clubs (excluding labor organizations) are not covered by Title I. Religious institutions are covered by Title I. But they may give preference to people of their religion. Members of the clergy and people perform essentially religious functions are excluded from the protections of Title I. Discrimination Prohibited It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate on the basis of disability against a qualified individual in regard to the following: Recruitment, advertising, and job application procedures Hiring, upgrading, promotion, award of tenure, demotion, transfer, layoff, termination, right of return from layoff and rehiring Rates of pay or any other form of compensation and changes in compensation Job assignments, job classifications, organizational structures, position descriptions, lines of progression, and seniority lists Leaves of absence, sick leave, or any other leave Fringe benefits available by virtue of employment, whether or not administered by the employer. Selection and financial support for training, including: apprenticeships, professional meetings, conferences and other related activities and selection for leaves of absence to pursue training Activities sponsored by an employer, including social and recreational programs Any other term, condition, or privilege of employment The term &#34;discrimination&#34; under Title I includes but is not limited to the acts described in 29 C.F.R. 1630.4 through 29 C.F.R. § 1630.13. Again, visit the page ADA Title I Information to learn more. Contractual or Other Arrangements It is unlawful for an employer to participate in a contractual or other arrangement or relationship that has the effect of subjecting the employer&#8217;s own qualified applicant or employee with a disability to the discrimination prohibited by Title I. Contractual or Other Relationship Defined The phrase contractual or other arrangement or relationship includes, but is not limited to, a relationship with an employment or referral agency, labor union, including collective bargaining agreements, an organization providing fringe benefits to an employee of the employer, or an organization providing training and apprenticeship programs. The requirement that employers not discriminate through contractual arrangements or other relationships is important because of the number of relationships employers typically enter into that affect employees; for example, when an employer signs a contract whith a third party to manage the benefits the employer provides its employees, anything covered by that contract must be accessible. If an employer contracts with a third party for the use of an online portal where employees are to manage the benefits of their employment, the portal must be accessible. Relationship or Association with a Disabled Person It is unlawful for an employer to exclude or deny equal jobs or benefits to, or otherwise discriminate against, a qualified individual because of the known disability of an individual with whom the qualified individual is known to have a family, business, social or other relationship or association. The provision providing protections for those who have a relationship with a disabled person typically arises when an employer knows the family member of an employee has a disability requiring expensive health insurance. If the employer fires the employee to avoid the cost of their family member&#8217;s health care, the employer has violated Title I. Not Making Reasonable Accommodations It is unlawful for an employer not to make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless such employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its business. It is unlawful for an employer to deny employment opportunities to an otherwise qualified job applicant or employee with a disability based on the need of such employer to make reasonable accommodation to such individual&#8217;s physical or mental impairments. An employer shall not be excused from the requirements of this part because of any failure to receive technical assistance authorized by section 507 of the ADA, including any failure in the development or dissemination of any technical assistance manual authorized by that Act. An individual with a disability is not required to accept an accommodation, aid, service, opportunity or benefit which such qualified individual chooses not to accept. However, if such individual rejects a reasonable accommodation, aid, service, opportunity or benefit that is necessary to enable the individual to perform the essential functions of the position held or desired, and cannot, as a result of that rejection, perform the essential functions of the position, the individual will not be considered qualified. An employer is required, absent undue hardship, to provide a reasonable accommodation to an otherwise qualified individual who meets the definition of disability under the actual disability prong or the record of a disability prong under the definition of disability. Someone who is regarded as having a disability is not entitled to reasonable accommodations under Title I. Retaliation and Coercion Retaliation It is unlawful to discriminate against any individual because that individual has opposed any act or practice made unlawful by Title I or because that individual made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing to enforce any provision contained in Title I. If you face discrimination at work, the retaliation provision is important because it protects any coworkers who tell the truth about the discrimination you are facing. Coercion, Interference, or Intimidation It is unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten, harass or interfere with any individual in the exercise or enjoyment of, or because that individual aided or encouraged any other individual in the exercise of, any right granted or protected by Title I. This means an employer cannot bully you to prevent you from advocating for the rights you have under Title I. What to do When you Face Discrimination at Work A Note About Me I am not going to share everything about my situation now, but I believe you should know that I was recently laid off by my former employer. One of the reasons I believe I was laid off is their inability to accommodate me. Since I have been facing discrimination since I began working for them in March of 2018, I have been following the practices outlined below for years. Because I have documented much of the discrimination I have faced, I believe I have a good chance at having the EEOC determine that my former employer discriminated against me based on my status as a disabled person. I will provide more details of the discrimination I faced in future episodes. Things to do as Soon as You Apply Here are things every employee and job applicant with a disability should remember: Discrimination does not need to be intentional. Since most employers are not familiar with their responsibilities under Title I, my advice is to prepare as if you will face discrimination. When something does not work as you think it should, save all related emails and documents. If things are not going well, do as much of your communicating with your boss or human resources in writing. If your boss or human resources schedules a meeting with you to discuss something related to an accommodation, confirm your take-aways from the meeting in writing. If someone says something that sounds like discrimination, confirm what they said in writing. If you are part of a union, report the discrimination you are facing to a shop steward. At the first sign of trouble, don&#8217;t run to the EEOC. Don&#8217;t wait too long to run to the EEOC. Let&#8217;s unpack some of these points. Intentionality This may be hard for some to understand, but I believe we are better off assuming we will face discrimination at some point and preparing to defend ourselves if it happens. As I said before, discrimination under Title I does not need to be intentional to be discrimination. This does not mean you should be expecting everyone to constantly discriminate against you; instead, the idea of preparing to defend yourself against discrimination is an acknowledgment that most employers are not familiar with their responsibilities under Title I. Even if an employer has no intention of discriminating, they may do so accidentally. Whether the discrimination you face is intentional or not, it is still discrimination. When you face discrimination, you have a right to have your discrimination remedied. Save Related Information There are many ways people communicate at work. Whether it be through email, Teams chats, or the sharing of documents, and more, there are many ways workplace communications are sent. How you communicate at work depends a lot on choices made by your employer. No matter how you communicate at work, you should develop a strategy for keeping communications that address any potential discrimination you face at work. As soon as I started working for my previous employer, I knew there was going to be trouble. Critical online tools employees are expected to use were not accessible. Most employee trainings were not accessible. Almost no one working in human resources had any idea of my rights as a disabled person under Title I. Understanding these realities and accepting that I may someday face discrimination that would be so severe that I would need to file with the EEOC, I began keeping all emails related to the discrimination I faced. I kept the emails I believed I would need by forwarding them to my personal email and moving them to a special folder in my personal inbox. When I wound up having to file with the EEOC, I had dozens of emails and documents going back more than six years to prove the discrimination I had faced. Communicate in Writing As often as you can, you should get important things related to potential discrimination put in writing. If someone tells you why a certain accommodation cannot be provided, send them an email as close to the meeting&#8217;s ending as you can summarizing what you believe were the key points they made during the meeting. Ask them nicely to confirm whether your summary of the meeting is accurate. Tell them if they do not correct anything, you will proceed as if your understanding of the meeting is agreed to by them. By telling them no response will be considered an acceptance of your summary, you increase the chances that important information will be available in writing for you to use to strengthen your complaint. Tell Your Union If you are lucky enough to be a member of a union, you should reach out to your union when you are facing discrimination at work. Union&#8217;s have many tools such as unfair labor practices, grievances, and appeals to civil service review boards that may be able to help resolve your discrimination. Even better, the union will provide assistance and, where possible, may even fund actions that could help you. Every contractual relationship between a union and an employer is different. But if you are a member of a union, there is a good chance your union may be able to help. My union has filed unfair labor practices against my employer, they have also filed with the Civil Service Review Board, and they organized a show of support at an employer-sponsored picnic. In short, my union has been a stong supporter of me and is strongly advocating on my behalf. Don&#8217;t Run to the EEOC For many reasons, filing a complaint with the EEOC and/or a state or local agency that accepts complaints under Title I should not be the first thing you do when you face discrimination at work. Here are some of the reasons why this kind of complaint should not be filed right away: Filing an external complaint really escolates the tension between you and your employer. *Filing too early prevents you from putting together a stronger case if you wind up needing to file. The EEOC and its local partners take a long time to investigate. In most cases, the EEOC will not represent your if you wind up needing to sue your employer. Don&#8217;t Wait Too Long to File In my case, I waited too long to file my complaint with the EEOC. I had, what seemed at the time, good reasons for waiting. But had I filed earlier, I don&#8217;t believe there is any chance my former employer would have taken the illegal actions it wound up taking to terminate me when it had no grounds to terminate me. I say that because had my former employer been under an ongoing investigation for the consistent discrimination it subjected me to, it would have been extremely unlikely to commit even more violations that would immediately be scrutanised by the EEOC. Deciding When to File On one hand, I have told you not to file too quickly. On the other hand, I have told you not to wait too long to file. So, how do you decide when is the right time for you to file an external complaint against your employer? The answer is that you should file an external complaint against your employer when it becomes obvious to you that no internal action is available that may reduce the discrimination you are facing. Here are questions to ask when determining whether it is time for you to file an external complaint: Does your employer have a policy for how it will address requests for accommodation made under Title I? Is anyone trained on the policy for addressing accommodations requests under Title I? What happens when you file a request under Title I? If things aren&#8217;t going well, does your employer have an internal complaint procedure? Have you tried to use your employer&#8217;s internal complaint procedure? Did your employer&#8217;s internal complaint procedure result in actions being taken to reduce the discrimination? If your employer has no procedures for how it will address requests for accommodation made under Title I, things are unlikely to get much better. If you file an internal complaint about the discrimination you are facing and going through the process does nothing to materially reduce the discrimination you are facing, it is unlikely any additional internal processes will result in change. Going through an internal complaint process that results in no meaningful change in your circumstances is a great way to show discrimination if you wind up filing with the EEOC or a relevant state or local agency. Final Thoughts Abelism is alive and well. Through ableism, we often face discrimination. The workplace, because most of us have difficulty finding work, is often a place where we face discrimination. The purpose of this episode isn&#8217;t to scare people. Nor is it intended to make you feel like every employment setting will be hostile. The purpose of this post is to be very frank about the reality of disability discrimination in the workplace and to hopefully help some of you begin to figure out how you will address the discrimination you are facing on the job. Far from suggesting you file with the EEOC a week after you being a new job, I hope you will take from this episode the need to be realistic about the discrimination you may face at work. If you begin saving emails and documents that could be used if a complaint is eventually filed, you will be glad you were prepared. In the meantime, showing proof of the discrimination you are facing could encourage your employer to do better&#8211;reducing the chances that you will need to file an external complaint. Simply put, once things don&#8217;t feel right you should begin preparing as if things will go very badly. But before you take the huge step of turning your employer in to an external agency to investigate, you should work within the systems, such as they are, that have been established by your employer. The more internal steps you take to resolve the discrimination you are facing, the better the chance you will never need to file. If you wind up filing, your efforts to resolve the discrimination internally will really add to your case. Conclusion Thanks for listening to this episode of the Demand Our Access podcast. I really appreciate your support.

Introduction As the title indicates, this episode is about using artificial intelligence (AI) to advocate for our legal rights and to learn more about the law. Specifically, I demonstrate using AI to find who to contact when you need to make an ADA request of your local government, having AI draft the substance of an ADA request, and using AI to learn more about the law. All demonstrations were done using ChatGPT. Since some people don&#8217;t want to pay for ChatGPT, I demonstrate these tasks in the free version too. Important Notes on ChatGPT ChatGPT is a tool that can make doing things faster and more efficient. ChatGPT makes mistakes. Don&#8217;t use it to do important work for you unless you can check its results. For making an ADA request, ChatGPT doesn&#8217;t need to be perfect. It only needs to communicate the basics of a request. The paid version of ChatGPT provides much better, faster responses than does the free version. The free version will make developing an accommodations request easier, especially if you don&#8217;t know how to make an accommodations request. Why I Won&#8217;t Share Exact Prompts In thinking about it, I decided I couldn&#8217;t share exact prompts here as suggestions for you. I can&#8217;t share exact prompts here because the responses ChatGPT provides depends on a number of factors including: how often you use it; how often you have asked it to perform tasks similar to what you would be asking it to do when making an accommodations request; and what information you need it to provide. As an example, finding the ADA coordinator for Boston, MA is significantly easier than is finding the ADA coordinator for Leander, TX, as the recording demonstrates. Since I don&#8217;t think providing exact prompts will work, I want to strongly encourage you to try using ChatGPT, whether you have the paid or free version) to help you develop an accommodations request under the ADA. If you try using ChatGPT to make an accommodations request or to learn more about the law, please let me know. I would appreciate hearing about your experiences. Important Notes On ChatGPT&#8217;s capabilities The paid version can create a sample request in different formats, including Word. The free version cannot provide sample text in different formats, but you can paste its sample text into the app of your choice. The paid version can provide actual names of people holding different positions. The free version does not give specific contact information. The paid version can be customized to learn how you want it to work. The free version cannot be customized. Conclusion I strongly believe AI can do much to help all of us make ADA requests and learn more about our legal rights. If you are interested, I urge you to give ChatGPT a try. You may find that by using it you are more comfortable making ADA requests and you may be more willing to demand your access.

About Me It has been more than two years since I shared a little about me in one of these episodes. So, I am going to do it here for the benefit of people who have started listening since I last shared a bit about myself. Education and Certifications I have a law license from Massachusetts. I am a certified ADA coordinator. I am a certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies’. I am a member of the ADA Trainer Leadership Network. Professional Background I am the disability analyst for Portland Parks &#38; Recreation in Portland, Oregon. Previously, I was the ADA Title II disability policy analyst in Portland’s Office of Equity and Human Rights. I was a contract attorney for Disability Rights Advocates in Berkeley, California. I was a staff attorney for the then American Bar Association’s Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law. A Few Personal Things I was born totally blind. I am a member of the American Council of the Blind. I live in Oregon with my wife Desiree and the two youngest of my three stepdaughters. I an a huge sports fan, especially baseball. I am an avid reader and writer. While I enjoy learning about assistive technologies, I know Desiree knows more about them than me. I love animals. We have two cats, Rain and Yoyo. Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Resources The provisions of Section 504 are set forth in 10 C.F.R. § 4. The Department of Justice’s Guide to Disability Rights Laws has a good description of Section 504. The Department of Education also has an informative page on Section 504. As always, any resources discussed in this episode will be linked to when the episode is posted to the Demand Our Access website. Section 504 Introduction Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) is a landmark civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It was designed to ensure those of us with disabilities are not excluded from, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives federal financial assistance. Section 504 laid the foundation for future disability rights legislation in the United States, most notably the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). History of Section 504 The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on September 26, 1973. Although the act as a whole aimed to provide support for people with disabilities in areas such as employment and independent living, it was Section 504 that specifically addressed civil rights. The language of Section 504 was groundbreaking, as it introduced the concept of accessibility for people with disabilities into federally funded programs and activities, essentially stating that people with disabilities should be treated the same as those without disabilities. Section 504 was modeled after earlier civil rights laws, such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs. By extending civil rights protections to people with disabilities, Section 504 marked a turning point in the disability rights movement. While the law was passed in 1973, its implementation was delayed for several years due to opposition from various government agencies. It wasn&#8217;t until a series of protests by disability rights activists, including the historic 504 Sit-ins in 1977, that regulations enforcing Section 504 were issued by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Crip Camp If you want to learn more about the sit-ins that were responsible for the federal government finally issuing regulations under Section 504, I highly recommend the documentary Crip Camp. Crip Camp, released in 2020, is maybe the only documentary that tries to tell the story of the civil rights movement of those of us with disabilities from our perspectives. If you know of another documentary I should watch that tells our story largely in our voices, please let me know. Definition of a Qualified Individual with a Disability Under Section 504, a person with a disability is defined as any individual who: Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities Has a record of such an impairment, or Is regarded as having such an impairment. If the three-prong definition of a person with a disability under Section 504 sounds familiar, it should. The ADA and Section 504 both define a person with a disability the same way. A “qualified” person with a disability is someone who meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or participation in programs or activities. This means those of us with disabilities must be qualified to participate in the specific program or activity, regardless of our disability. Still, reasonable accommodations must be made to ensure we are not excluded from programs due to our disability. Example A nonprofit receives federal funding to run a program of adult swimming lessons. Since the nonprofit has accepted federal money to provide the swimming lessons, the swimming lessons are covered by Section 504. In developing the swimming lessons, the nonprofit restricts access to the lessons to those who can get in and out of the pool independently. A person who walks with crutches but has the ability to move their body with their arms registers for swimming lessons. When they arrive for their first lesson, the nonprofit tells them that in order to qualify for swimming lessons, students must be able to independently get in and out of the pool. The nonprofit is violating the disabled person’s rights under Section 504 if the disabled person can prove they can effectively learn to swim with their limited mobility. As long as the disabled person can swim, inaccessibility (like pools not equipped with lifts) cannot be used as a reason for excluding the disabled person from the swimming lessons. This is because the ability to independently access and leave the pool may not be directly related to the ability to swim. In order for a person with a disability to be excluded, the qualifications for participation must be directly related to the abilities necessary to effectively participate. Bonus points to those of you who remember that the disabled swimmer in this example would also have rights under Title III of the ADA. Comparison with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) While Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) both aim to prevent discrimination against those of us with disabilities, there are key differences between the two laws. Scope of Coverage Section 504 applies only to programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. This includes public schools, universities, hospitals, and any other institutions funded by federal dollars. The ADA, passed in 1990, is broader in scope. It covers employment (Title I), state and local government services (Title II), public accommodations (businesses and nonprofits) (Title III), and telecommunications (Title IV). Entities covered by the ADA are covered by the ADA whether they receive federal funds or not. Enforcement Section 504 Section 504 is enforced through the agency that provides federal financial assistance to the program or institution in question. Compliance is monitored by the individual agencies with enforcement power under Section 504, and failure to comply can result in the loss of federal funding. Example A hospital receives federal money from the Department of Health and Human Services to assist with the funding of its daily operations. By accepting the federal money, the hospital becomes responsible to comply with the Section 504 regulations adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services. Agencies with Enforcement Power Under Section 504 Enforcement of Section 504 is carried out by various federal agencies, depending on the specific program or institution involved. Some key agencies responsible for enforcing Section 504 include:1. Department of Education (Office for Civil Rights, OCR): Responsible for ensuring that public schools, colleges, and universities that receive federal funding do not discriminate against students with disabilities. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Enforces Section 504 in programs such as hospitals, clinics, and social services that receive federal funding. Department of Labor (DOL): Enforces compliance in employment and training programs that receive federal funds, ensuring that people with disabilities have equal access to vocational services and employment opportunities.4. Department of Transportation (DOT): Ensures that federally funded transportation services, such as public transit systems, do not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Enforces Section 504 in federally funded housing programs to ensure that people with disabilities have access to fair and equal housing opportunities. Each of these agencies has the authority to investigate complaints, ensure compliance, and impose corrective actions or sanctions, including the withdrawal of federal funds if necessary. The ADA Depending on the facts of a case, many federal agencies can technically enforce the ADA. But the ADA is primarily enforced by the Department of Justice. The most notable exception is that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) oversees enforcement of Title I of the ADA. Conclusion This concludes our look at Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Thank you for listening. I appreciate your support.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In this episode, I am covering how disabled parents can advocate for their rights to be accommodated by the schools of their children. Since public schools are covered by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II) and private schools, except most religious schools, are covered by Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title III) I will briefly recap important concepts under both title II and Title III. For more information about Titles II and III respectively, please visit the pages entitled ADA Title II Information and ADA Title III Information. Links to both pages will be in the episode notes when this episode is posted to the Demand Our Access website. Additionally, you may also want to review the episode called Effective Communication under Titles II and III. That, too, will be linked in this episode when it is posted to the website. If you have any comments or questions, please use the contact form on the Demand Our Access website, or email me at [email protected]. Recapping Titles II and III For those of you who heard the episode Advocating for Our Rights under Title II and/or heard the episode Advocating for Our Rights Under Title III, the review materials here will not be new. I have included them here, though, so if someone needs what I believe is the most important information to advocate for their rights as a disabled parent, all of that information will be in one place. Recapping Title II Since this is only a recap of our rights under Title II, I have chosen to cover only accommodations and modifications under Title II and effective communication under Title II. I have chosen these two topics because requests for accommodation and/or modification are how we get our rights under Title II and most requests for accommodation made under Title II relate to effective communication. Requests for Accommodation or Modification Requests for Modification I&#8217;m beginning with a discussion of modifications because they are more straightforward. When you request a modification, you are requesting a state or local government modify an existing policy, practice, or procedure to enable you as a disabled person to participate. Here are some examples of when you may need to request the modification of a policy, practice, or procedure from a state or local government: If a city has a policy that electric vehicles are not allowed in a park, someone using an assistive mobility device would have the right to have the policy modified so they can use their wheelchair in the park. If a state has a policy banning all animals from a museum, the handler of a service animal would need to request a modification to that policy allowing service animals to enter the museum. If a county has a policy requiring paper applications be completed by someone needing benefits, people with any number of disabilities would have the ability to request the policy be modified. Requests for Accommodation Requests for accommodation cover anything that does not involve the modification of a policy, practice, or procedure. Here are some examples of accommodations: If someone requests a sign language interpreter, they are requesting an accommodation. If someone requests an accessible electronic document, they are requesting an accommodation. If someone requests assistance in completing a print form, they are requesting an accommodation. If someone requests a public meeting be moved to a more accessible facility, they are requesting an accommodation. An Important Note on Modifications and Accommodations There may be circumstances when you need to request both a modification and an accommodation; for example, if a county does require the completion of a print form for someone to access benefits, a person with a disability may both choose to request a modification to the policy to ensure the county stops discriminating against people with disabilities. The person would then need to request an accommodation to ensure they can complete the inaccessible print form while the policy is being modified. Effective Communication I have included effective communication under Title II, but you must remember the effective communication requirement also applies to entities covered by Title III. To keep this simple, I have written this section so that it only applies to Title II; however, I have included the biggest difference between effective communication under Title II and effective communication under Title III. The effective communication requirement is designed to ensure communication between state and local governments and people with disabilities is as effective for those of us with disabilities as it is for people without disabilities. Specifically, the law requires that we must be able to: Communicate with state and local governments Receive information from state and local governments Convey information to state and local governments That means that all information made available to the public is to be accessible to those of us with disabilities. All methods of accepting community feedback used by state and local governments must be accessible to us. Auxiliary Aids and Services What the ADA calls auxiliary aids and services (aids and services) are tools and/or assistance enabling those of us with disabilities to effectively communicate. The effectiveness of provided aids and services depends on our individual disabilities and the ways we individually choose to communicate. Examples of aids and services include but are not limited to the following: Providing a blind person an accessible electronic document Ensuring an online form is accessible to assistive technologies Providing a Deaf person a sign language interpreter Assisting someone with a mobility disability in completing a print form Primary Consideration One of the big differences between Title II and Title III is that state and local governments must give &#34;primary consideration&#34; to our requested methods of communication. This means the state or local government must honor our requested method of communication unless it can provide an equally effective method of communication or it can demonstrate that our requested method of communication would result in a fundamental alteration or an undue burden. I&#8217;m not going to discuss fundamental alterations and undue burdens here. If a school attempts to deny your request for effective communication, whether the school is covered by Title II or Title III, review the episode called Effective Communication Under Titles II and III for additional information. Companions People described by the law as companions also have rights. Typically, the issue of a so-called companion needing an accommodation under Title II arises when a parent with a disability needs to communicate with a state or local government on behalf of their child. The right of disabled parents to be accommodated holds whether the parent is individually accessing the particular activity, program, or service or if the child is accessing the activity, program, or service on their own; for example, if a blind parent wishes to register their five-year-old daughter for swimming lessons the registration process must be accessible whether the child has a disability or not. No Surcharges In finishing our recap of effective communication under Title II, I need to remind you that a state or local government cannot charge you for the provision of any aid or service. The cost of ensuring effective communication is entirely the responsibility of the state or local government. Recapping Title III Since this is intended to be a brief recap of Title III, I am going to focus on which entities are covered by Title III and provide a quick reminder about surcharges. I have made the entities covered by Title III the focus of this brief review, because you need to understand which entities are covered by Title III prior to contacting a particular entity to advocate for rights. Coverage General Provisions Title III covers: Places of public accommodation Commercial facilities Examination and courses related to applications, licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary or postsecondary education, professional, or trade, purposes Title III also covers private entities primarily engaged in transporting people, but those regulations are produced by the Department of Transportation and will not be discussed in this episode. Public Accommodations The whole range of Title III requirements apply to entities the Department of Justice calls public accommodations. In order to be considered a public accommodation an entity must be private and it must own, lease, lease to, or operate a place of public accommodation. Defining a Place of Public Accommodation A place of public accommodation is a facility whose operations: Affect commerce And fall within one of 12 categories. For our purposes, we are interested in the places of education category. The Department of Justice&#8217;s description of the places of education category says the following: Places of education include nursery schools, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or postgraduate private schools. Commercial Landlords and Tenants Both landlords and tenants are responsible for following Title III. But the law allows landlords and tenants to contractually determine their rights and responsibilities under Title III. That being said, if your rights under Title III are violated, you could, depending on the facts, sue either the landlord or the tenant and let them fight over who will pay. The commercial landlord and tenant relationship is most likely to arise in a situation where a private school covered by Title III rents space to use for the private school. Religious Institutions Religious entities are exempt from the provisions of Title III. A religious entity under Title III is defined as &#34;a religious organization or an entity controlled by a religious organization, including a place of worship.&#34; The exemption covers all of a religious organizations, activities whether they are religious or secular. Examples A religious institution runs a private school for members and nonmembers. Even though private schools are generally covered by Title III, the religious institution&#8217;s private school does not have to follow Title III. If a religious organization rents space for someone else to run a private school, the religious institution, as a landlord, has no responsibility under Title III. But the private organization running the private school would be subject to the requirements of Title III. If a religious institution donates space on its property to be used as a private school, neither the religious institution nor the private group using the donated space to run a private school is covered by Title III. The examples show that the only way a private organization that is not a religious institution can be subject to Title III is if the private organization rents or leases space from the religious institution. Private Clubs Strictly private clubs aren&#8217;t covered by Title III. Courts typically use the following five factors when determining whether a club is private and thus exempt from the provisions of Title III: Members exercise a high degree of control over club activities The member selection process is very selective Substantial membership fees are charged The entity operates as a nonprofit The club was not founded to avoid federal civil rights laws Facilities of a private club lose their exempt status to the extent they are made available to the public. Example A private country club rents to a private organization to run a private school from its facility. The private school accepts students whose families are members of the country club and from families who aren&#8217;t members of the country club. By allowing nonmembers of the country club to attend the private school, the private club has lost its Title III exemption for the portion of its facility used as a private school. State and Local Governments Under Title III State and local governments aren&#8217;t subject to the provisions of Title III. As we saw in the episode called &#34;Title II Basics&#34; state and local governments are covered by Title II of the ADA. The reason I&#8217;m mentioning this in a recap of Title III is that facilities and programs can be subject to the requirements of Titles II and III. Examples A state&#8217;s parks department provides a restaurant in one of its parks. The state parks department contracts with a private corporation to manage the restaurant. Even though the parks department is not directly managing the restaurant, it is required to ensure that the restaurant complies with all of the relevant provisions of Title II. The corporation managing the restaurant is required to follow the provisions of Title III. A city owns an office building. It rents the first floor of the building to an organization that runs a private school. The entire building, because it&#8217;s owned by a city, is subject to the requirements of Title II. This means that the city, as a landlord, is required to ensure the private school lives up to the city&#8217;s responsibilities under Title II. A state and a private corporation enter into a joint venture to build a football stadium. The stadium is subject to the requirements of Titles II and III. To the extent that there is a difference in what is required as the stadium is constructed, the joint venture must use the requirement that would provide the most accessibility, whether the standard is found under Title II or III. Surcharges A public accommodation may not place a surcharge only on people with disabilities to cover the cost of accommodating them. A Quick Note on Section 504 Section 504 refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 applies to entities, like public schools,, that receive federal funding. Since public schools were required to follow Section 504 long before there was an ADA, most schools refer to their accommodations plans and officers as Section 504 programs. Since much of the ADA was modeled after Section 504, how you address a school that receives federal funds and is subject to Section 504 is not much different than it would be advocating for your rights under Title II. But remember, you are able to access your rights under Title II, Title III, and Section 504. If, for some reason, you believe advocating under Section 504 is better, you can do that. Even if the school keeps referring to Section 504, you can still advocate under Title II. In almost every instance, the outcome should be the same. At some point, I will cover Section 504 so folks can understand how similar it is to the ADA. Advocating for Our Rights as Disabled Parents Since parents could be advocating under either Title II, if we are talking about a public school, or Title III, if we are talking about a private school, I give an example for advocating under both titles. For our purposes, I will pretend that both the public and the private school in our examples use an online payment portal called Parent Pay for parents to do things like add money to their children&#8217;s lunch accounts and pay their fees for things like arts and music. I will also pretend that both schools are regularly sending home print forms to be signed and print assignments parents are to work on with their children. As in our other episodes where we discussed advocating for our rights, we will be using our three steps to advocacy: Decide who to contact Prepare what to say Once your request is submitted Decide who to Contact When it comes to deciding who to contact when you need to request an accommodation or a modification from a public school, the process should be relatively straightforward. By now, I really hope every public school has someone assigned to addressing accommodations and/or modifications for those of us with disabilities. In most cases, public schools call their disability compliance program their Section 504 program. In some cases, the program&#8217;s name will mention both Section 504 and Title II. Either way, the person you will contact is the person listed to address either or Section 504 or Title II. If by some chance you cannot find a contact person working on Section 504 and/or Title II, I would address your request to the school district&#8217;s superintendent. I suggest contacting the superintendent because I prefer to have my accommodations made on a system-wide basis. I do not want to have to negotiate the same accommodations with every teacher and every school. This is especially true if you have students in different schools and/or you have a student in middle or high school, where they will have several teachers. Prepare What to Say Once you have figured out who you will contact, it&#8217;s time to decide what you will say. In most cases, they will want you to complete an online form or send an email. But you always have the right to call or simply visit their office. No matter how you decide to make your initial contact, the sample I have provided will help you decide what to say. Title II Example My name is John Smith. My daughter Elizabeth attends Green Elementary. As a qualified person with a disability, I am writing to request two accommodations under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II. First, I need you to ensure Parent Pay is accessible to those of us who use assistive technologies to navigate the web and use apps. Currently, there are many unlabelled buttons and links with non descriptive labels, making it extremely difficult for me to use Parent Pay. While you are working on ensuring Parent Pay is accessible, I will need accommodations for performing the tasks I need to do in Parent Pay that are not accessible. Second, I need all information typically sent home with students to be emailed to me in an accessible electronic format. I am fine with formats, like Word and PDF, as long as the file I get is accessible. Thank you for considering my requests. I look forward to discussing them with you. Here, I told them who I am, the name of my child, the school she attends, I clearly identified the accommodations I need, and let them know Parent Pay is not accessible. While I suggested accessible Word documents or accessible PDFs, I did not try to tell them how to accommodate me. In making this initial contact, I want to be open to their ideas while knowing I will stick to getting what I need to have equal access. Once Your Request has Been Submitted Again, it is impossible for me to know how the person you contact will react. Sadly, many of the people assigned to coordinate Section 504 and/or ADA programs for schools are not qualified to do that work. In many instances, they have little knowledge of Title II. So, you will need to, in more instances than you should, educate them about your request and your rights. The following tips should help you once you are actually talking to someone about your request: Never forget you have a right to be accommodated and/or to have a policy, practice, or procedure modified to enable you as a disabled person to participate. Don&#8217;t forget they cannot ask intrusive questions about your disability. In almost every situation, it&#8217;s sufficient for you to let them know you are a disabled person. When you discuss the request, you will provide enough information to demonstrate your status as a disabled person. Be prepared to explain, to the best of your ability, why you need the accommodation and/or modification you are requesting. This means you should be able to generally explain what is inaccessible to you and why it&#8217;s inaccessible to you. Be prepared to explain how the accommodation and/or modification you are requesting will create the accessibility you need to participate. If your request deals with an inaccessible app or website, remind them of the Department of Justice&#8217;s new rule on web accessibility under Title II. Let them know they only have a couple of years to make their app and/or website accessible, so they would be helped to start on making accessibility improvements now. Title III Decide who to Contact Deciding who to contact to request an accommodation or a modification from a private school can be more difficult than it usually is when contacting a public school. The reason is that many private schools are not familiar with their responsibilities under Title III. If you cannot find any information as to how your child&#8217;s private school addresses Title III requests, you should just contact the school&#8217;s principal and let them figure out how the school will address your request. Prepare What to Say Title III Example My name is Paul Cooper. My son Brian attends Douglas Academy. As a qualified person with a disability, I am writing to make two requests for accommodation under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title III). First, I need you to ensure Parent Pay is accessible to those of us who use assistive technologies to navigate the web and use apps. Currently, there are many unlabelled buttons and links with non descriptive labels, making it extremely difficult for me to use Parent Pay. While you are working on ensuring Parent Pay is accessible, I will need accommodations for performing the tasks I need to do in Parent Pay that are not accessible. Second, I need all information typically sent home with students to be emailed to me in an accessible electronic format. I am fine with formats, like Word and PDF, as long as the file I get is accessible. Thank you for considering my requests. I look forward to discussing them with you. In case you did not notice, the language related to the accommodations was the same in both sample requests. I did that to highlight the reality that in most cases how you request an accommodation under either Title II or III is the same. Once Your Request is Submitted To avoid repeating myself too much, I will say the tips provided under the Title II section apply to Title III, with one important difference. The Department of Justice has not yet clarified a standard for what constitutes accessible apps and/or websites under Title III. But the Department of Justice expects the websites of Title III entities to be accessible to those of us with disabilities. Conclusion Thank you for listening to the Demand Our Access podcast. I appreciate your support.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Advocating for Our Rights Under Title III Introduction As a refresher, Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title III) applies to businesses and nonprofits. In this episode, I will briefly recap important concepts under Title III. I will then discuss the steps I take when I need to advocate with a business or a nonprofit under Title III. I will also include a sample writing you can use when you need to advocate under Title III. Although the sample I am including will be intended to be written, if you are more comfortable talking to someone about your rights under Title III, the sample text I have included could be used as talking points for you in a discussion that takes place over the phone or in-person. As always, I will include important links when this episode is posted to the Demand Our Access website. If you have any questions or comments about this episode, you can feel free to reach me through the contact form at the Demand Our Access website, or you can email me at [email protected]. Recapping Title III Since this is intended to be a vrief recap of Title III, I am going to focus on which entities are covered by Title III and provide a quick reminder about surcharges. I have made the entities covered by Title III the focus of this brief review, because you need to understand which entities are covered by Title III prior to contacting a particular entity to advocate for rights. If you want to learn more about Title III, please check out Basics Under Title III and Basic Under Title III continued. Coverage General Provisions Title III covers: Places of public accommodation Commercial facilities Examination and courses related to applications, licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary or postsecondary education, professional, or trade, purposes Title III also covers private entities primarily engaged in transporting people, but those regulations are produced by the Department of Transportation and will not be discussed in this episode. Public Accommodations The whole range of Title III requirements apply to entities the Department of Justice calls public accommodations. In order to be considered a public accommodation an entity must be private and it must own, lease, lease to, or operate a place of public accommodation. Defining a Place of Public Accommodation A place of public accommodation is a facility whose operations: Affect commerce And fall within one of the following 12 categories: Places of lodging (e.g., inns, hotels, motels) (except for owner-occupied establishments renting fewer than six rooms Establishments serving food or drink (e.g., restaurants and bars Places of exhibition or entertainment (e.g., motion picture houses, theaters, concert halls, stadiums Places of public gathering (e.g., auditoriums, convention centers, lecture halls Sales or rental establishments (e.g., bakeries, grocery stores, hardware stores, shopping centers Service establishments (e.g., laundromats, dry-cleaners, banks, barber shops, beauty shops, travel services, shoe repair services, funeral parlors, gas stations, offices of accountants or lawyers, pharmacies, insurance offices, professional offices of health care providers, hospitals Public transportation terminals, depots, or stations (not including facilities relating to air transportation Places of public display or collection (e.g., museums, libraries, galleries Places of recreation (e.g., parks, zoos, amusement parks Places of education (e.g., nursery schools, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or postgraduate private schools Social service center establishments (e.g., day care centers, senior citizen centers, homeless shelters, food banks, adoption agencies Places of exercise or recreation (e.g., gymnasiums, health spas, bowling alleys, golf courses In order to be a place of public accommodation, a business does not need to be expressly named in the above list; rather, it needs to fall within one of the 12 categories listed above. So, a sporting goods store is a place of accommodation under the sales and rentals category even though sporting goods stores aren&#8217;t directly mentioned in the above list of places of public accommodation. Commercial Landlords and Tenants Both landlords and tenants are responsible for following Title III. But the law allows landlords and tenants to contractually determine their rights and responsibilities under Title III. That being said, if your rights under Title III are violated, you could, depending on the facts, sue either the landlord or the tenant and let them fight over who will pay. Religious Institutions Religious entities are exempt from the provisions of Title III. A religious entity under Title III is defined as &#34;a religious organization or an entity controlled by a religious organization, including a place of worship.&#34; The exemption covers all of a religious organizations, activities whether they are religious or secular. Examples A religious institution runs a private school for members and nonmembers. Even though private schools are generally covered by Title III, the religious institution&#8217;s private school does not have to follow Title III. If a religious organization rents space for someone else to run a private school, the religious institution, as a landlord, has no responsibility under Title III. But the private organization running the private school would be subject to the requirements of Title III. If a religious institution donates space on its property to be used as a private school, neither the religious institution nor the private group using the donated space to run a private school is covered by Title III. The examples show that the only way a private organization that is not a religious institution can be subject to Title III is if the private organization rents or leases space from the religious institution. Private Clubs Strictly private clubs aren&#8217;t covered by Title III. Courts typically use the following five factors when determining whether a club is private and thus exempt from the provisions of Title III: Members exercise a high degree of control over club activities The member selection process is very selective Substantial membership fees are charged The entity operates as a nonprofit The club was not founded to avoid federal civil rights laws Facilities of a private club lose their exempt status to the extent they are made available to the public. Example A private country club rents to a private organization to run a day care center from its facility. The day care center accepts students whose families are members of the country club and from families who aren&#8217;t members of the country club. By allowing nonmembers of the country club to use the day care center, the private club has lost its Title III exemption for the portion of its facility used as a day care center. State and Local Governments Under Title III State and local governments aren&#8217;t subject to the provisions of Title III. As we saw in the episode called &#34;Title II Basics&#34; state and local governments are covered by Title II of the ADA. The reason I&#8217;m mentioning this in an episode about Title III is that facilities and programs can be subject to the requirements of Titles II and III. Examples A state&#8217;s parks department provides a restaurant in one of its parks. The state parks department contracts with a private corporation to manage the restaurant. Even though the parks department is not directly managing the restaurant, it is required to ensure that the restaurant complies with all of the relevant provisions of Title II. The corporation managing the restaurant is required to follow the provisions of Title III. A city owns an office building. It rents the first floor of the building as commercial space to a restaurant, news stand, and an office supply store. The entire building, because it&#8217;s owned by a city, is subject to the requirements of Title II. This means that the city, as a landlord, is required to ensure all of the commercial activities taking place on the first floor live up to the city&#8217;s responsibilities under Title II. A state and a private corporation enter into a joint venture to build a football stadium. The stadium is subject to the requirements of Titles II and III. To the extent that there is a difference in what is required as the stadium is constructed, the joint venture must use the requirement that would provide the most accessibility, whether the standard is found under Title II or III. Surcharges A public accommodation may not place a surcharge only on people with disabilities to cover the cost of accommodating them. Advocating for Our Rights Under Title III For those of you who listened to the episode on Advocating for Our Rights Under Title II, some of this will sound familiar. This is because to advocate for Our rights Under Title III, we will use the same three steps we use when we advocate for our rights Under Title II. Although the steps for advocating under Titles II and III are the same, the language we will use and the rights we have are a bit different. The three steps to advocate for our rights are as follows: Decide who to contact Prepare what to say Once your request is submitted Decide Who to Contact Deciding who to contact when you need to request an accommodation and/or modification from a business or a nonprofit can be difficult. Since I cannot imagine all of the different scenarios you will encounter with the numerous types of organizational structures that exist, I can only provide a few general pointers for you to consider when you need to advocate with a business or nonprofit. For simplicity&#8217;s sake, I am going to write the below tips as if they only apply to businesses. But do not forget you can follow the same steps when contacting a small or large nonprofit: If the business is a small local business, ask for the owner or manager. You can do this by visiting the business, calling the business, or maybe they have a website with a contact form or email address. If the business is a national chain, visit their website and/or their app. Depending on their commitment to access, their website and app may both be accessible and they may have information about ADA requests. If you cannot find a specific way to make an ADA request electronically, you can use generic contact forms or email addresses made available for public feedback. You can always call a national chain. Usually, a phone number is relatively easy to find. If there is a local store in you community, you can always visit the store and ask them for assistance. Maybe, the assistance they can provide is helping you make contact with someone in corporate headquarters who could be better able to help. The more expensive it will be to grant your request, the more likely it is that a larger business will be more likely to grant your request. Prepare What you Will Say Once you have decided who you will contact and how you will contact them, it&#8217;s time for you to decide what you will say. This applies whether you are making your request in writing, over the phone, or by visiting a store. To make this easier to understand, I&#8217;m going to walk you through an example. For our purposes, I am going to pretend I need to arrange shopping assistance at my nearest national chain grocer. I have decided to file this Title III request, because I have had a difficult time getting assistance when I go to this store and ask for shopping assistance. To avoid starting trouble, I will be contacting a fictitious national grocery chain named Bob&#8217;s Groceries (Bob&#8217;s). Looking at Bob&#8217;s website and app, which were both kind of accessible, I could not find any specific way to make a request under Title III. So, I have decided to submit my request through a contact form for people needing customer service. My Sample Title III Request I visit the Bob&#8217;s store at 321 Maple Rd. in Hanford, Washington. I&#8217;m writing to make a request for accommodation under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title III). Specifically, I need to be able to get shopping assistance from a category of staffer who understands the store&#8217;s layout and can effectively understand and speak English. I am making this Title III request because the shopping assistance I have been getting from the people paid to move the carts is insufficient. The last three times I have visited my Bob&#8217;s, I have left with the wrong amounts of items, I couldn&#8217;t get what I needed because my assistant couldn&#8217;t find them, and I have purchased food that was expired. These bad experiences have wasted my time and money, and could have resulted in me getting sick. Please contact me to discuss my request within five business days. In this example, I told them what store I shop at, notified them I am making a request under Title III, told them what I want from my request, and explained why I am making the request I am making. Since most of these forms have character and/or word limits, I kept my request to 149 words. Once Your Request is Submitted It&#8217;s hard to provide very specific advice as to how you should proceed once your request has been submitted. I wish we could assume your request will be forwarded to someone with the authority to actually address it and some degree of knowledge as to how it should be addressed. But that is not always true. It is impossible for me to go through all of the things that could happen once your request has been submitted. So, I want to share a few pointers for you to keep in mind once you start talking with a business or nonprofit about your request: Never forget you have a right to be accommodated and/or to have a policy, practice, or procedure modified to enable you as a disabled person to participate. Don&#8217;t forget they cannot ask intrusive questions about your disability. In almost every situation, it&#8217;s sufficient for you to let them know you are a disabled person. When you discuss the request, you will provide enough information to demonstrate your status as a disabled person. Be prepared to explain, to the best of your ability, why you need the accommodation and/or modification you are requesting. This means you should be able to generally explain what is inaccessible to you and why it&#8217;s inaccessible to you. Be prepared to explain how the accommodation and/or modification you are requesting will create the accessibility you need to participate. If your request is related to their inaccessible website, remember that the Department of Justice expects the website of Title III entities to be accessible to those of us with disabilities. Conclusion Thank you for listening to this episode of the Demand Our Access podcast. I appreciate your support. Don&#8217;t let them tell you to bring a friend to assist you. Unless it&#8217;s an emergency situation, they cannot rely on someone else assisting you.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In this episode, I am discussing paratransit. This episode will cover only topics related to how paratransit affects people with disabilities. I will not be covering any of the requirements that assist local governments in implementing their paratransit program. The information related to paratransit has been codified by the Department of Transportation (DOT) in 49 C.F.R § 37.121.133. The link in the episode notes goes to 37.121. You can use the Next button to navigate to each subsequent section. Alternatively, you can access the entirety of 49 C.F.R. § 37. If you access part 37, the sections related to paratransit are set forth in subsection F. The subsections are at the heading two level. So, you can find subsection F by navigating the page by the heading level two. Important Definitions The important definitions are set forth in 49 C.F.R. §37.3. Note, the definitions set forth in subsection 37.3 apply to the whole of part 37 (not just the paratransit requirements). I have included the link so you can check out the definitions on your own. If you want to learn more about terms I have not defined here, the definitions section is the place to go. Here are what I believe to be the important definitions related to paratransit. To make this easier to follow I have chosen to edit and/or summarize the definitions: Paratransit means comparable transportation service required by the ADA for individuals with disabilities who are unable to use fixed route transportation systems. A fixed route system is your local bus or train service that operates on a fixed schedule and has fixed routes. Commuter bus, commuter rail, or intercity rail systems are not fixed route systems. Oregin-to-destination means providing service from the place where a passenger is picked up and transporting them to their destination. Paratransit may be provided as either a curb-to-curb service or a door-to-door service. The choice is made by your local paratransit provider. When a paratransit provider chooses curb-to-curb service, it must generally provide additional assistance to passengers who need assistance beyond the curb to use paratransit. Nondiscrimination The nondiscrimination provisions are set forth in 49 C.F.R. § 37.5. I will cover two of them here: If paratransit is provided, you cannot be required to use it if you choose to use regular public transit. You cannot be required to be accompanied by an attendant. Paratransit Paratransit Eligibility The specific eligibility requirements related to paratransit are set forth in 49 C.F.R. § 37.123(e). I am not going to reproduce those here, because I suspect most people listening are eligible for paratransit. But there are a few things related to paratransit eligibility I want to mention: If an individual meets the eligibility criteria with respect to some trips but not others, the individual shall be paratransit eligible only for those trips for which they meet the criteria. A personn eligible for paratransit service can typically only take one additional person with them. If a person eligible for paratransit service has a personal care attendant, they can take their personal care attendant and one other person on the trip. A family member or friend traveling with a person eligible for paratransit service is not considered a personal care attendant unless they register as a personal care attendant. Additional individuals accompanying the paratransit eligible individual shall be provided service, provided that space is available for them on the paratransit vehicle carrying the paratransit eligible individual and that transportation of the additional individuals will not result in a denial of service to paratransit eligible individuals. In order to be considered &#34;accompanying&#34; someone who is eligible for paratransit service, the other individual(s) must be picked up and dropped off at the same place as the person who is eligible for paratransit service. The Process for Paratransit Eligibility Here are things to know about the process entities must use to determine paratransit eligibility: All information about the process, materials necessary to apply for eligibility, and notices and determinations concerning eligibility shall be made available in accessible formats upon request. If a decision has not been made within 21 days of an application being completed, the applicant shall be treated as eligible for paratransit service until or unless the application is denied. A determination regarding eligibility must be communicated in writing. If the application is denied, reasons for the denial must be provided. When someone is eligible for paratransit they shall be provided documentation stating that they are “ADA Paratransit Eligible.” The documentation shall include the name of the eligible individual, the name of the transit provider, the telephone number of the entity&#8217;s paratransit coordinator, an expiration date for eligibility, and any conditions or limitations on the individual&#8217;s eligibility including the use of a personal care attendant. Recertification for paratransit eligibility may be required at &#34;reasonable intervals.&#34; Providers of paratransit are required to establish an appeals process for situations when a determination has been made that someone is not eligible for paratransit. They can require that an appeal be filed within 60 days of a determination that someone is not eligible for paratransit. The process shall include an opportunity to be heard and to present information and arguments, separation of functions (i.e., a decision by a person not involved with the initial decision to deny eligibility), and written notification of the decision, and the reasons for it. The entity is not required to provide paratransit service to the individual pending the determination on appeal; however, if the entity has not made a decision within 30 days of the completion of the appeal process, the entity shall provide paratransit service from that time until and unless a decision to deny the appeal is issued. Suspension of Service Providers of paratransit may establish an administrative process to suspend, for a reasonable period of time, the provision of complementary paratransit service to individuals who establish a pattern or practice of missing scheduled trips. Trips missed by the individual for reasons beyond their control (including, but not limited to, trips which are missed due to operator error) shall not be a basis for determining that such a pattern or practice exists. Before suspending service, an entity must do the following: Notify the individual in writing that the entity proposes to suspend service, citing with specificity the basis of the proposed suspension and setting forth the proposed sanction. Provide the individual an opportunity to be heard and to present information and arguments. Provide the individual with written notification of the decision and the reasons for it. The appeals process described above is available to people whose service has been suspended. Any sanctions imposed cannot be enforced until the appeals process has been completed. Personal Care Attendants An entity can require you to indicate whether or not you use a personal care attendant in the application process. Complementary Paratransit Service for Visitors Each entity required to provide paratransit service shall make it available to visitors to their area. A visitor is an individual with disabilities who does not reside in the jurisdiction(s) served by the public entity or other entities with which the public entity provides coordinated complementary paratransit service within a region. Each public entity shall treat as eligible for its complementary paratransit service all visitors who present documentation that they are eligible for paratransit somewhere else. With respect to visitors with disabilities who do not present such documentation, the public entity may require the documentation of the individual&#8217;s place of residence and, if the individual&#8217;s disability is not apparent, of their disability. The public entity shall accept a certification from the person with a disability that they cannot use fixed route services. If you are using paratransit service as a visitor, you only qualify for 21 days of service during any 365-day period. An entity cannot make visitors certify for their service before providing service. Service Criteria The service criteria are set forth in 49 C.F.R § 37.131. I am not going to cover all of the service criteria because I do not believe they are relevant to most situations. But I will cover what I think are the most important service criteria. Service Area For bus systems, the general rule is that the place where someone is picked up and the place where they are dropped off must both be within 3/4 of a mile of a bus stop. For rail systems, the service area shall consist of a circle with a radius of 3⁄4 of a mile around each station. At end stations and other stations in outlying areas, the entity may designate circles with radii of up to 11⁄2 miles as part of its service area, based on local circumstances. Response Times The entity shall schedule and provide paratransit service to any paratransit eligible person at any requested time on a particular day in response to a request for service made the previous day. Reservations may be taken by reservation agents or by mechanical means. The entity shall make reservation service available during at least all normal business hours of the entity&#8217;s administrative offices, as well as during times, comparable to normal business hours, on a day when the entity&#8217;s offices are not open before a service day. The entity may negotiate pickup times with the individual, but the entity shall not require a paratransit eligible individual to schedule a trip to begin more than one hour before or after the individual&#8217;s desired departure time. The entity may use real-time scheduling in providing complementary paratransit service. The entity may permit advance reservations to be made up to 14 days in advance of an individual&#8217;s desired trips. Fares The fare for a trip charged to a paratransit eligible user of the complementary paratransit service shall not exceed twice the fare that would be charged to an individual paying full fare (i.e., without regard to discounts) for a trip of similar length, at a similar time of day, on the entity&#8217;s fixed route system. In calculating the full fare that would be paid by an individual using the fixed route system, the entity may include transfer and premium charges applicable to a trip of similar length, at a similar time of day, on the fixed route system. The fare charged someone who is &#34;accompanying&#34; a paratransit eligible person shall be the same fare that is charged the paratransit eligible person. There is no fee charged for personal care attendants. Miscelanious Provisions The entity shall not impose restrictions or priorities based on trip purpose. The complementary paratransit service shall be available throughout the same hours and days as the entity&#8217;s fixed route service. The entity cannot limit capacity by the following: restrictions on the number of trips someone can take; waiting lists for access to the service; or Any operational pattern or practice that significantly limits the availability of service to people eligible for paratransit. Subscription Service Entities are allowed to establish subscription services. A subscription service allows someone to schedule similar trips at one time; for example, a trip to work every workday. Subscription service may not absorb more than fifty percent of the number of trips available at a given time of day, unless there is non-subscription capacity. Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the entity may establish waiting lists or other capacity constraints and trip purpose restrictions or priorities for participation in the subscription service only.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In the nearly two years I have been working on the Demand Our Access Project, I have covered many different aspects of the law. As I have repeatedly said, I am doing the Demand Our Access project because I strongly believe the best way for those of us with disabilities to achieve more equitable outcomes in society is for us to understand and enforce the legal rights we have. So, it&#8217;s time for us to spend dedicated time discussing how to advocate for ourselves and our community by using the lega rights we do have to achieve better outcomes for us as individuals and for our community as a whole. This episode will be the first in a series of episodes where we discuss how to effectively advocate for better outcomes by using the legal rights we have covered in the previous episodes of Demand Our Access. Our first episode on advocating for our rights will cover state and local governments. Specifically, I&#8217;m going to go through the steps I take when I need to advocate for my civil rights with my state or local government. We are starting with state and local governments for three reasons: Those of us with disabilities have more protections when we face discrimination from a state or local government than we have when we face discrimination by a corporation. State and local governments are covered by Title II of the ADA (Title II), which was the first substantive topic I presented through the Demand Our Access project. Many in our community rely on state and local governments for critical services in ways they do not need to rely on corporations. Since basics under Title II of the ADA was covered nearly two years ago and because that episode didn&#8217;t expressly discuss accommodations and modifications under Title II, I&#8217;m going to briefly recap some of the rights afforded us under Title II. Then, I will move into the ways I advocate under Title II. I will include a sample request that I hope helps you understand how to make a request of a state or local government under Title II. Recapping Title II Since this is only a recap of our rights under Title II, I have chosen to cover only accommodations and modifications under Title II and effective communication under Title II. I have chosen these two topics because requests for accommodation and/or modification are how we get our rights under Title II and most requests for accommodation made under Title II relate to effective communication. This recap of our rights under Title II will not provide any citations to the law or Department of Justice guidance. To learn more about Title II, please check out the episode Title II Basics. Requests for Accommodation or Modification In putting together the Basics Under Title II episode, I decided not to cover requests for accommodation or modification. At the time, I believed people knew they had a right to request things of their local governments, and I didn&#8217;t want to make the episode any longer than it was already. Nearly two years later, I now believe that I need to provide people more exact language when helping them learn to get their rights met by state and local governments. The reason for my change of heart is simple: I have come to realize that the more knowledgeable you sound in your request the more likely you are to have your request effectively addressed. Requests for Modification I&#8217;m beginning with a discussion of modifications because they are more straightforward. When you request a modification, you are requesting a state or local government modify an existing policy, practice, or procedure to enable you as a disabled person to participate. Here are some examples of when you may need to request the modification of a policy, practice, or procedure from a state or local government: If a city has a policy that electric vehicles are not allowed in a park, someone using an assistive mobility device would have the right to have the policy modified so they can use their wheelchair in the park. If a state has a policy banning all animals from a museum, the handler of a service animal would need to request a modification to that policy allowing service animals to enter the museum. If a county has a policy requiring paper applications be completed by someone needing benefits, people with any number of disabilities would have the ability to request the policy be modified. Requests for Accommodation Requests for accommodation cover anything that does not involve the modification of a policy, practice, or procedure. Here are some examples of accommodations: If someone requests a sign language interpreter, they are requesting an accommodation. If someone requests an accessible electronic document, they are requesting an accommodation. If someone requests assistance in completing a print form, they are requesting an accommodation. If someone requests a public meeting be moved to a more accessible facility, they are requesting an accommodation. An Important Note on Modifications and Accommodations There may be circumstances when you need to request both a modification and an accommodation; for example, if a county does require the completion of a print form for someone to access benefits, a person with a disability may both choose to request a modification to the policy to ensure the county stops discriminating against people with disabilities. The person would then need to request an accommodation to ensure they can complete the inaccessible print form while the policy is being modified. Effective Communication I&#8217;m not going to cover everything under the effective communication requirement here. For more information about the effective communication requirement, please check out the episode Effective Communication Under Titles II and III of the ADA. The effective communication requirement is designed to ensure communication between state and local governments and people with disabilities is as effective for those of us with disabilities as it is for people without disabilities. Specifically, the law requires that we must be able to: Communicate with state and local governments Receive information from state and local governments Convey information to state and local governments That means that all information made available to the public is to be accessible to those of us with disabilities. All methods of accepting community feedback used by state and local governments must be accessible to us. Auxiliary Aids and Services What the ADA calls auxiliary aids and services (aids and services) are tools and/or assistance enabling those of us with disabilities to effectively communicate. The effectiveness of provided aids and services depends on our individual disabilities and the ways we individually choose to communicate. Examples of aids and services include but are not limited to the following: Providing a blind person an accessible electronic document Ensuring an online form is accessible to assistive technologies Providing a Deaf person a sign language interpreter Assisting someone with a mobility disability in completing a print form Primary Consideration One of the big differences between Title II and Title III, covering primarily corporations and nonprofits, is that state and local governments must give &#34;primary consideration&#34; to our requested methods of communication. This means the state or local government must honor our requested method of communication unless it can provide an equally effective method of communication or it can demonstrate that our requested method of communication would result in a fundamental alteration or an undue burden. I&#8217;m not going to discuss fundamental alterations and undue burdens here, because it is very unlikely that a state or local government would be able to prove that a requested method of communication would result in a fundamental alteration or undue burden. For our purposes, all you need to know is that in almost every instance a state and local government must communicate with you in the ways you desire to have them communicate with you. Companions People described by the law as companions also have rights. Typically, the issue of a so-called companion needing an accommodation under Title II arises when a parent with a disability needs to communicate with a state or local government on behalf of their child. The right of disabled parents to be accommodated holds whether the parent is individually accessing the particular activity, program, or service or if the child is accessing the activity, program, or service on their own; for example, if a blind parent wishes to register their five-year-old daughter for swimming lessons the registration process must be accessible whether the child has a disability or not. No Surcharges In finishing our recap of effective communication under Title II, I need to remind you that a state or local government cannot charge you for the provision of any aid or service. The cost of ensuring effective communication is entirely the responsibility of the state or local government. Advocating Under Title II Here are the steps I follow when I need to advocate with a state or local government for an accommodation and/or modification under Title II. Decide who to Contact Sadly, this step, depending on how much your local government is doing to follow Title II, will be relatively easy or extremely difficult. Some communities clearly list their ADA coordinator on their website. Some communities have a clear notice of rights under Title II that tells you how to request accommodations and/or modifications. But many communities, especially smaller ones, do not make this information available and are doing almost nothing to follow the law. To determine who to contact, I suggest the following ideas: Review the government&#8217;s home page for any mention of requesting an accommodation or a modification. Call your local government and ask how you can request an accommodation or modification under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If your accommodation and/or modification is related to a specific event, see if information about the event lists a way of getting an accommodation. If it doesn&#8217;t, see if it lists a contact for questions related to the event. Assuming your community has a standard contact form and/or email address for public feedback, use those methods of communication to make your request. If you can do so relatively easily, visit your local government&#8217;s office and ask for assistance. Since all of us are different, I&#8217;m not going to recommend one point of initial contact over another. If you are more comfortable calling someone, find a number and call. If you are more comfortable writing out your request, use a contact form or an email address. If you enjoy directly talking to someone, visit an office. Of course, the options you have may be limited by accessibility. If the contact form is not accessible, you may need to call. No matter how you do it, you cannot make a request without contacting your local government. Prepare What You Will Say Once you know who to contact and you have decided how you will contact them, it&#8217;s time to decide what you are going to say. This applies whether you are making your request in writing, over the phone, or by visiting an office. To make this easier to understand, I&#8217;m going to go through a sample request. For our purposes, I am going to pretend I need an accommodation to complete an inaccessible registration form so I can register for a ceramics class offered by my local government&#8217;s parks and recreation department. I will be submitting my accommodation request through a generic contact form, because I was unable to figure out how to make direct contact with the people running the ceramics class. Here, I am assuming the form enables me to enter my name, phone number, and email address into separate fields. So, all I will share below is what I would enter in the comment field that I will use to make my request. My Sample Request for Accommodation As a person with a disability, I&#8217;m requesting assistance under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II) to register for the ceramics class taking place at the Oaks Community Center and beginning on August fifth. I&#8217;m requesting an accommodation under Title II, because the registration form is inaccessible to those of us who use assistive technologies to access the web. Given the inaccessibility of the online registration system, I cannot independently register for the ceramics class I wish to take. Given that contact forms tend to have very limited space for comments, I tried to keep my request very simple and short. So, I only included the information I believe they most need. I made sure they understand I&#8217;m a person with a disability and that I&#8217;m requesting an accommodation under title II of the ADA. I told them the class I wish to register for, the location where it will be, and when it begins. I shared all of that information to assist them in figuring out who will be the best person to assist me in registering for the class. Finally, I told them a little bit about why I&#8217;m requesting the accommodation I&#8217;m requesting. This approach works well in making your initial request when you don&#8217;t know exactly who to contact and whether you are requesting an accommodation or modification. Once Your Request is Submitted It&#8217;s hard to provide very specific advice as to how you should proceed once your request has been submitted. I wish we could assume your request will be forwarded to someone with the authority to actually address it and some degree of knowledge as to how it should be addressed. But that is not always true. It is impossible for me to go through all of the things that could happen once your request has been submitted. So, I want to share a few pointers for you to keep in mind once you start talking with your state or local government about your request: Never forget you have a right to be accommodated and/or to have a policy, practice, or procedure modified to enable you as a disabled person to participate. Don&#8217;t forget they cannot ask intrusive questions about your disability. In almost every situation, it&#8217;s sufficient for you to let them know you are a disabled person. When you discuss the request, you will provide enough information to demonstrate your status as a disabled person. If you are requesting an aid or service to enable effective communication, the circumstances where the state or local government could deny your request are very rare. Be prepared to explain, to the best of your ability, why you need the accommodation and/or modification you are requesting. This means you should be able to generally explain what is inaccessible to you and why it&#8217;s inaccessible to you. Be prepared to explain how the accommodation and/or modification you are requesting will create the accessibility you need to participate. Don&#8217;t let them tell you to bring a friend to assist you. Unless it&#8217;s an emergency situation, they cannot rely on someone else assisting you.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal or financial advice. Applying the law and/or determining investment strategies depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal and/or financial advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal and/or financial advice. ABLE Accounts The Stephen Beck Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE Act) allows people with qualifying disabilities to establish tax-free financial accounts. I&#8217;m going to answer the questions I had about ABLE accounts when I began researching them. When I discovered what I am going to share with you, I couldn&#8217;t wait to create my own ABLE account. I will take the questions in the order I believe makes the most sense. If you have any comments about ABLE accounts, feel free to contact me at [email protected] or fill out the contact form on the Demand Our Access website. How do ABLE accounts affect Social Security Supplemental Income (SSI)? The most important thing about ABLE accounts for recipients of SSI to know is that the amount contained in your ABLE account up to $100,000 is exempt from SSI&#8217;s $2,000 asset limit. This means that a person on SSI can actually save some money and use ABLE account funds to pay qualifying expenses without being too concerned about an asset limit. If the beneficiary is getting SSI, they can&#8217;t have $100,000 in their ABLE account. If the value of an ABLE account reaches $100,000, the cash payments are stopped. As soon as the ABLE account is under $100,000, the beneficiary of the ABLE account can collect SSI payments without having to reapply for them. If I have an ABLE account, will I lose Medicaid? ABLE accounts (no matter how much they are worth) don&#8217;t impact Medicaid eligibility. Even if SSI cash payments are suspended because an ABLE account hit $100,000, health care covered by Medicaid won&#8217;t be lost. Will an ABLE account impact SNAP benefits? ABLE accounts are excluded from asset limits when someone applies for and/or gets SNAP benefits. How are ABLE accounts funded? Anyone can contribute to an ABLE account. Any money contributed to an ABLE account can&#8217;t be deducted from the contributor&#8217;s federal taxes. Some states do offer tax deductions for at least a portion if not the entire amount contributed to an ABLE account during the year. How much can be ConTributed to an ABLE Account Each Year? To keep this from getting too technical, I will tell you that generally the annual contribution to an ABLE account is limited to $18,000 for the 2024 calendar year. The amount that can be contributed annually is tied to the exclusion related to gift taxes. That means it will increase almost every year. The annual contribution limit covers every dollar contributed to the ABLE account during the year. So, if you contributed $10,000 of your own money and your mother contributed $8,000 your account would reach its annual $18,000 contribution limit for this year. There is an exception to the annual contribution limit for those people who do not have retirement plans through their work. Since that&#8217;s not a typical situation, I&#8217;m not covering it here. But you should be aware of the fact that if you do not have a retirement plan through work, you could contribute more to your ABLE account than the typical contribution limit. How can funds withdrawn from ABLE accounts be spent? Any funds withdrawn from an ABLE account must be spent on a qualified disability expense (QDE). Qualified disability expenses can be broken down into 12 broad categories: Education Housing Transportation Employment training and support Assistive technology and related services Health Prevention and wellness Financial management and administrative services Legal fees Expenses for ABLE account oversight and monitoring Funeral and burial Basic living expenses Housing Expenses Housing-related expenses that count as qualified disability expenses are broken down into nine broad categories: Mortgage payments (including insurance required by the mortgage holder) Property taxes Rent Heating fuel Gas Electricity Water Sewer Garbage removal If a withdrawal from an ABLE account is used to pay rent, the money withdrawn from the ABLE account must be paid toward rent in the month it was withdrawn from the account. Are funds withdrawn from an ABLE account taxed? As long as money withdrawn from an ABLE account is spent on a qualified disability expense, the withdrawn money passes to the beneficiary of the ABLE account free of federal income tax. Funds withdrawn from an ABLE account may be subject to state income taxes. Obviously, that depends on your state. How often can funds be withdrawn from an ABLE account? The frequency with which funds can be withdrawn from an ABLE account and any fees associated with withdrawing money from an ABLE account depend on the ABLE plan you choose. Is there a limit on the amount of money that can be put in each ABLE account? The amount of money you can have in an ABLE account depends on the plan you choose. As of this writing, the amount you can have in an ABLE account mostly ranges from $200,000 to $500,000. Remember, if the beneficiary of the account is getting SSI, their cash payments are suspended once their ABLE account reaches $100,000 in value. What happens if an ABLE account reaches its value limit? When an Able account hits its limit, the account remains active. The amount in the account can continue growing; however, the account will no longer accept contributions. How does the value of an ABLE account increase? If you want to grow the value of an ABLE account beyond the amount of money contributed to it plus any interest, you can choose from a menu of investment options. Depending on your risk tolerance, you can invest in a portfolio that is largely stocks or mostly bonds. The higher the amount of stocks in your portfolio, the greater the risk. The higher the percentage of stocks in your portfolio, the greater the growth potential. How often can I change my investment strategy? You can change your investment strategy twice during each calendar year. How is eligibility for an ABLE account determined? Before explaining the eligibility process, I want to make one thing perfectly clear: you do not need to prove disability status before opening an ABLE account. During the account creation process, you will be asked to answer questions designed to demonstrate that the beneficiary of the account was disabled prior to their 26th birthday. You will not need to provide any documentation. Eligibility to establish an ABLE account has two parts: the disability must have been present prior to the beneficiary&#8217;s 26th birthday; and the account beneficiary must have a qualifying disability. The disability doesn&#8217;t have to be diagnosed before the account beneficiary&#8217;s 26th birthday. Nor does the account need to be opened before the beneficiary&#8217;s 26th birthday. As long as it can be proven that the beneficiary of the ABLE account was disabled before their 26th birthday, the age requirement is satisfied. There are several ways to establish the existence of a qualifying disability. The beneficiary must be eligible for SSI based on blindness or disability, entitled to Social Security disability benefits, childhood disability benefits, or disabled widow/widower benefits, or if disability is certified in writing by a medical professional. Who can open an ABLE account? In addition to a qualifying person with a disability, a parent, legal guardian, or someone with a power of attorney for a person with a qualifying disability can open an ABLE account. What if the beneficiary can&#8217;t make their own decisions? When a person with a qualifying disability can&#8217;t make their own decisions, a parent, legal guardian, or someone with a power of attorney can have signature authority over the account. The person with signature authority over the account can determine how the money should be invested, how often to change investment strategies, and more. Who offers ABLE plans? Every state has been granted the authority to create an ABLE program. As of this writing, just about every state offers ABLE programs, but many of them are pretty similar and are managed by the same few banks. What if my state doesn&#8217;t offer an ABLE plan? Many of the states with ABLE programs allow people living in other states to open ABLE accounts. If your state doesn&#8217;t offer an ABLE program, you can find a plan that meets your needs and is offered by a state that doesn&#8217;t restrict membership to its citizens. What should I consider when comparing ABLE plans? The answer to this question depends on your personal circumstances. If the goal of the ABLE account is to save for something down the road, like buying a home, that is years away, you may want a plan that allows you to have more money in an ABLE account. If you are interested in using the ABLE account to grow your investment, you may want to consider the number and variety of investment options offered by the individual state plans. How can I learn more about ABLE accounts? The ABLE National Resource Center is a great place to learn more about ABLE accounts. On their website, you can: review the ABLE programs offered by the different states; compare up to three state programs simultaneously; access webinars about different aspects of the ABLE program; and more. The Social Security Administration has an informative page dedicated to the ABLE program. One of the real benefits of the Social Security page is that it uses examples to help teach what is involved with ABLE accounts. Conclusion ABLE accounts are a great tool in the financial planning toolbox for people with disabilities. Even if you currently have very few assets, an ABLE account will enable you to save and potentially grow your assets without constantly worrying if the amount of money you have will impact your SSI, Medicaid, or SNAP benefits. While the process of opening an ABLE account may seem difficult, I truly believe every person with a disability should seriously consider opening an ABLE account and putting some money in it. If you know nothing about investing, choose a plan that simply allows you to use your ABLE account like a savings account. In that way, you aren&#8217;t taking any risk with your money. But you are saving free of the worry of how holding the money will impact government benefits.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction This is the second part of our two-part look at Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title I). In the first episode dedicated to Title I, I covered important definitions under Title I. Some of the concepts discussed in this episode may be easier to understand if you have some familiarization with the material from the previous episode. Still, you should learn importnat things from this episode even if you did not review the previous episode. As I said last time, there is no way to cover this kind of material without using words like impaired that many of us in the disability community don&#8217;t use. I&#8217;m using words like impaired here because those are the words used in the law. Whether we like it or not, when communicating about the law we are required to use terms that are outdated. Maybe someday the ADA will be revisited and the updated law will provide for meaningful enforcement and will be written in modern language. For now, we have to discuss the law as it has been written. Our discussion is based on the rules defining compliance with Title I as set forth by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 29 C.F.R. § 29.1630. To make this presentation easier to follow, I&#8217;m not going to mention the exact citations to different sections of the Code of Federal Regulations. As always, I will link to the individual sections when this episode is posted to the Demand Our Access website. In listening to the previous episode, I decided that the term &#34;covered entity&#34;, while used in the Code of Federal Regulations, may be too confusing for people just learning about Title I. So, I have decided to replace the term &#34;covered entity&#34; with the term &#34;employer&#34;. While I&#8217;m doing this to make the presentation easier to follow, it must be remembered that not all employers are covered by Title I; for example, if an employer employs fewer than 15 employees that employer is not covered by Title I. Important Concepts Under Title I Discrimination Prohibited It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate on the basis of disability against a qualified individual in regard to the following: Recruitment, advertising, and job application procedures Hiring, upgrading, promotion, award of tenure, demotion, transfer, layoff, termination, right of return from layoff and rehiring Rates of pay or any other form of compensation and changes in compensation Job assignments, job classifications, organizational structures, position descriptions, lines of progression, and seniority lists Leaves of absence, sick leave, or any other leave Fringe benefits available by virtue of employment, whether or not administered by the employer Selection and financial support for training, including: apprenticeships, professional meetings, conferences and other related activities and selection for leaves of absence to pursue training Activities sponsored by an employer, including social and recreational programs Any other term, condition, or privilege of employment The term discrimination includes but is not limited to the acts described in 29 C.F.R. § 1630.4 through 29 C.F.R. § 1630.13. Even though I won&#8217;t mention those citations, I will now, hopefully, help you begin to become familiar with the types of disability discrimination discussed by the EEOC in those sections of the Code of Federal Regulations. Limiting, Classifying, and Segregating It is unlawful for an employer to limit, segregate, or classify a job applicant or employee in a way that adversely affects his or her employment opportunities or status on the basis of disability. Contractual or Other Arrangements It is unlawful for an employer to participate in a contractual or other arrangement or relationship that has the effect of subjecting the employer&#8217;s own qualified applicant or employee with a disability to the discrimination prohibited by Title I. Contractual or Other Relationship Defined The phrase contractual or other arrangement or relationship includes, but is not limited to, a relationship with an employment or referral agency, labor union (including collective bargaining agreements), an organization providing fringe benefits to an employee of the employer, or an organization providing training and apprenticeship programs. Application This section applies to an employer, with respect to its own applicants or employees, whether the entity offered the contract or initiated the relationship, or whether the employer accepted the contract or acceded to the relationship. An employer is not liable for the actions of the other party or parties to the contract which only affect that other party&#8217;s employees or applicants. Standards, Criteria, or Methods of Administration It is unlawful for an employer to use standards, criteria, or methods of administration, which are not job-related and consistent with business necessity, and that: Have the effect of discriminating on the basis of disability That perpetuate the discrimination of others who are subject to common administrative control Relationship or Association with a Person with a Disability It is unlawful for a covered entity to exclude or deny equal jobs or benefits to, or otherwise discriminate against, a qualified individual because of the known disability of an individual with whom the qualified individual is known to have a family, business, social or other relationship or association. Not Making Reasonable Accommodation It is unlawful for an employer not to make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless such employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its business. It is unlawful for an employer to deny employment opportunities to an otherwise qualified job applicant or employee with a disability based on the need of such employer to make reasonable accommodation to such individual&#8217;s physical or mental impairments. An employer shall not be excused from the requirements of this part because of any failure to receive technical assistance authorized by section 507 of the ADA, including any failure in the development or dissemination of any technical assistance manual authorized by that Act. An individual with a disability is not required to accept an accommodation, aid, service, opportunity, or benefit which such qualified individual chooses not to accept. However, if such individual rejects a reasonable accommodation, aid, service, opportunity, or benefit that is necessary to enable the individual to perform the essential functions of the position held or desired, and cannot, as a result of that rejection, perform the essential functions of the position, the individual will not be considered qualified. An employer is required, absent undue hardship, to provide a reasonable accommodation to an otherwise qualified individual who meets the definition of disability under the actual disability prong or the record of a disability prong under the definition of disability. Someone who is regarded as having a disability is not entitled to reasonable accommodations under Title I. Qualification standards, tests, and Other Selection Criteria It is unlawful for an employer to use qualification standards, employment tests or other selection criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or a class of individuals with disabilities, on the basis of disability, unless the standard, test, or other selection criteria, as used by the employer, is shown to be job related for the position in question and is consistent with business necessity. Qualification Standards and Tests Related to Uncorrected Vision Not withstanding the typical rule that people whose vision can be corrected to the normal range through the use of standard eyeglasses and contact lenses are not covered by Title I, an employer shall not use qualification standards, employment tests, or other selection criteria based on an individual&#8217;s uncorrected vision unless the standard, test, or other selection criteria, as used by the employer, is shown to be job related for the position in question and is consistent with business necessity. An individual challenging and employer&#8217;s application of a qualification standard, test, or other criteria based on uncorrected vision need not be a person with a disability, but must be adversely affected by the application of the standard, test, or other criteria. Administration of Tests It is unlawful for an employer to fail to select and administer tests concerning employment in the most effective manner to ensure that, when a test is administered to a job applicant or employee who has a disability that impairs sensory, manual or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the skills, aptitude, or whatever other factor of the applicant or employee that the test purports to measure, rather than reflecting the impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills of such employee or applicant (except where such skills are the factors that the test purports to measure). Retaliation and Coercion Retaliation It is unlawful to discriminate against any individual because that individual has opposed any act or practice made unlawful by Title I or because that individual made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing to enforce any provision contained in Title I. Coercion, Interference, or Intimidation It is unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten, harass or interfere with any individual in the exercise or enjoyment of, or because that individual aided or encouraged any other individual in the exercise of, any right granted or protected by Title I. Medical Examinations and Inquiries The topic of medical examinations and inquiries is very technical. For this section, I&#8217;m going to leave the Code of Federal Regulations and try to explain medical examinations and inquiries under Title I as simply as I can explain them. In trying to keep this explanation simple, I&#8217;m not going to cover everything that could be covered here; instead, I&#8217;m going to provide what I think is the information most people need in most situations. If you are interested, the information about medical examinations and inquiries is set forth in 29 C.F.R. § 1630.13 (Prohibited Medical Examinations and Inquiries) and 29 C.F.R. § 1630.14 (Medical Examinations and Inquiries Specifically Permitted). There are three times when the question of medical examinations and inquiries arise: before a job offer is made; after a job offer has been made; and once someone is working for an employer. Pre-Offer Exams and Inquiries An employer may not ask or require a job applicant to take a medical examination before making a job offer. An employer cannot make any pre-offer inquiry about a disability or the nature or severity of a disability. An employer may ask questions about your ability to perform specific job functions and may, with certain limitations, ask a person with a disability to describe or demonstrate how they will perform those functions. An employer may condition a job offer on the satisfactory result of a post-offer medical examination or inquiry if it is required of all entering employees in the same job category. Post-offer Exams and Inquiries A post-offer medical examination or inquiry does not have to be job related and consistent with business necessity. If an individual is not hired because of a post-offer medical examination or inquiry reveals a disability, the reason(s) for not hiring them must be job related and consistent with business necessity. The employer must also show that no reasonable accommodation was available that would enable the person with a disability to perform the essential job functions or that accommodations would impose an undue hardship. A post-offer medical examination may disqualify someone if the employer can demonstrate that the individual would pose a direct threat in the workplace. A post-offer medical examination or inquiry may not disqualify someone who is able to perform the essential functions of the job because the employer speculates that the disability poses the threat of future injury. Employee Medical Exams and Inquiries After a person starts work, a medical examination or inquiry of an employee must be job related and consistent with business necessity. Employers may conduct employee medical examinations where there is evidence of job performance issues or safety problems that the employer reasonably believes is related to a medical condition. examinations that are required by other federal laws. When the employer reasonably believes an employee who is returning to work will be unable to do their job, or that they may pose a direct threat because of a medical condition the employer can require a medical exam. Voluntary examinations that are part of employee health programs are also permissible. Confidentiality Information from all medical examinations and inquiries must be kept separate from general personnel files. The records from medical examinations and inquiries must be made available only to certain people and under certain conditions. Tests for illegal drugs are not considered medical records under Title I and do not need to be kept confidential in the way that records from medical examinations and inquiries must be kept confidential. Employer Defenses I&#8217;m not going to cover employer defenses to charges of disability discrimination. In case you are interested in learning about how Title I imagines employers defending themselves when faced with a charge that they discriminated against someone on the basis of disability, you can visit 29 C.F.R. § 1630.15.

This episode is our first of at east two episodes dedicated to Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Title I is critical to those of us with disabilities, because it covers employment. This episode focuses on important definitions under Title I. Some of this will be review for those of you who reviewed the posts on Titles II and III. Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction During the month of January I will be covering employment of people with disabilities. Specifically, I will be covering the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission&#8217; (EEOC) regulations describing what compliance with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act means. The rules on Title I compliance developed by the EEOC are set forth in 29 C.F.R. § 1630. To make this easier to follow, I&#8217;m not going to review all of the citations in this episode. As always, links to the information covered here will be provided on the Demand Our Access website in the show notes accompanying this episode. Given the amount of information in Title I compliance, I have divided the material up so it fits in two episodes. I&#8217;m also hoping that by leaving some time in both episodes there will be enough time for questions and comments. If you are not participating in the live version, you can email me at [email protected] with any questions or comments you may have. You can also fill out the contact form at Demand Our Access. Even though I don&#8217;t like the word &#34;impairment&#34; the reality is it is used in the law and every publication about the law. So, it is not possible to produce a presentation about Title I that doesn&#8217;t contain lots of uses of the word &#34;impairment&#34; and other words many of us with disabilities don&#8217;t use. I will not be covering every aspect of Title I. Specifically, I&#8217;m not going to cover things that largely or completely relate only to employers, drug abuse, and additional concepts that I don&#8217;t believe are relevant to most people with disabilities. Before getting into the material under Title I, I want to let you know that some of the material covered in this episode will be a review for those of you who have followed my presentations on Titles II and III. I&#8217;m repeating myself in areas like defining a disability so that people who have not reviewed the material on Titles II and III will get what they need from my coverage of Title I. That being said, I will be getting into concepts that are unique to Title I during this episode. If you have heard my presentations on titles II and III, there will be new information for you in this episode. Title I Important Things to Know For an employer to be covered byTitle I, it must have at least 15 employees. The United States government is not subject to the provisions of Title I; however, Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 provides similar protections for federal positions. Will be covering sections of the Rehabilitation Act later this year. To be clear, state and local governments are covered by Title I. If you work or you are interested in working for a state or local government, what I am covering here applies to you. Private membership clubs (excluding labor organizations) are not covered by Title I. Religious institutions are covered by Title I. but they may give preference to people of their religion. Members of the clergy and people perform essentially religious functions are excluded from the protections of Title I. Individuals with Disabilities Title I, like Titles II and III, protects three categories of individuals with disabilities: Individuals who have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities Individuals who have a record of a physical or mental impairment that substantially limited one or more of the individual&#8217;s major life activities Individuals who are regarded as having such an impairment, whether they have the impairment or not Physical or Mental Impairment Physical disabilities include: Physiological disorders Cosmetic disfigurement Anatomical loss affecting one or more critical body systems Mental disabilities include mental or psychological disorders, such as, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities. I&#8217;m not going to list any of the qualifying disabilities listed in the law because the ADA Amendments Act. of 2008 requires broad coverage. Substantial Limitation of a Major Life Activity An impairment substantially interferes with the accomplishment of a major life activity when the individual&#8217;s important life activities are restricted as to the conditions, manner, or duration under which they can be performed in comparison to most people. The consideration of whether a disability substantially limits a major life activity is not intended to require extensive analysis. The law is focussed on determining whether the employer violated the law and discriminated on the basis of disability. Temporary Impairments Temporary impairments are covered as long as the impairment substantially limits a major life activity. The issue of whether a temporary impairment is significant enough to be a disability must be resolved on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration both the duration (or expected duration) of the impairment and the extent to which it actually limits a major life activity of the affected individual. To be considered temporary, an impairment must be expected to last no longer than six months. Mitigating Measures In most instances, whether a person has a disability does not depend on their ability to limit the ways their condition substantially limits a major life activity. A person with severe hearing loss is considered disabled even though their hearing can be greatly improved through the use of a hearing aid. Someone whose epplepsey can be controlled through the use of medication is still considered disabled. The exception to this is the impact of ordinary eyeglasses and contact lenses on an individual&#8217;s ability to see. If the use of eyeglasses and/or contact lenses improve someone&#8217;s vision to the point where they are not considered low vision, they are not considered disabled under the law. Record of a Substantial Impairment A record of a Physical or Mental Impairment That Substantially Limited One or More Major Life Activity is covered by the ADA. This protected group includes: A person who has a history of an impairment that substantially limited a major life activity but who has recovered from the impairment People who have been misclassified as having an impairment Regarded as Disabled The ADA protects certain people when they are regarded as having a disability that substantially limits one or more major life activity when they do not. Typically, this happens under one of the following three situations: An individual who has a physical or mental impairment that does not substantially limit major life activities, but who is treated as if the impairment does substantially limit a major life activity An individual who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits major life activities only as a result of the attitudes of others toward the impairment An individual who has no impairments but who is treated by an employer as having an impairment. Qualified Person with a Disability A qualified person with a disability under Title I is someone who satisfies the requisite skill, experience, education and other job-related requirements of the employment position such individual holds or desires and, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of such position. Essential Functions of a Job Essential functions of a job are those that are fundamental job duties of the employment position the individual with a disability holds or desires. The term essential functions does not include the marginal functions of the position. A job function may be considered essential for any of several reasons, including but not limited to the following: The function may be essential because the reason the position exists is to perform that function The function may be essential because of the limited number of employees available among whom the performance of that job function can be distributed The function may be highly specialized so that the incumbent in the position is hired for his or her expertise or ability to perform the particular function Evidence as to whether a particular function is essential includes but is not limited to the following: The employer&#8217;s judgment as to which functions are essential Written job descriptions prepared before advertising or interviewing applicants for the job The amount of time spent on the job performing the function The consequences of not requiring the incumbent to perform the function The terms of a collective bargaining agreement The work experience of past incumbents in the job The current work experience of incumbents in similar jobs Reasonable Accommodation The term reasonable accommodation means: Modifications or adjustments to a job application process that enable a qualified applicant with a disability to be considered for the position. Modifications or adjustments to the work environment, or to the manner or circumstances under which the position held or desired is customarily performed, that enable the individual with a disability who is qualified to perform the essential functions of the position. Modifications or adjustments that enable and employee with a disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as are enjoyed by similarly situated employees without disabilities. Reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to the following: Making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities Job restructuring; part-time or modified work schedules; reassignment to a vacant position; acquisition or modifications of equipment or devices; appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials, or policies; the provision of qualified readers or interpreters; and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities To determine the appropriate reasonable accommodation it may be necessary for an employer to initiate an informal, interactive process. The interactive process should examine the precise limitations resulting from the disability and potential reasonable accommodations that could overcome those limitations. Employers are required, absent undue hardship, to provide reasonable accommodations to an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who meets the definition of disability under the actual disability prong or the record of a disability prong of the tests to determine whether someone has a qualifying disability. This means that someone who is regarded as having a disability but who does not actually have a disability is not entitled to a reasonable accommodation under Title I. Undue Hardship Factors to be considered when examining whether a particular accommodation constitutes an undue hardship on the employer include: The nature and net cost of the accommodation needed under this part, taking into consideration the availability of tax credits and deductions, and/or outside funding The overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in the provision of the reasonable accommodation, the number of persons employed at such facility, and the effect on expenses and resources The overall financial resources of the covered entity, the overall size of the business of the covered entity with respect to the number of its employees, and the number, type and location of its facilities The type of operation or operations of the covered entity, including the composition, structure and functions of the workforce of such entity, and the geographic separateness and administrative or fiscal relationship of the facility or facilities in question to the covered entity The impact of the accommodation upon the operation of the facility, including the impact on the ability of other employees to perform their duties and the impact on the facility&#8217;s ability to conduct business Qualification Standards the personal and professional attributes including the skill, experience, education, physical, medical, safety and other requirements established by a covered entity as requirements which an individual must meet in order to be eligible for the position held or desired. Direct Threat Direct Threat means a significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of the individual or others that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation. The determination that an individual poses a “direct threat” shall be based on an individualized assessment of the individual&#8217;s present ability to safely perform the essential functions of the job. This assessment shall be based on a reasonable medical judgment that relies on the most current medical knowledge and/or on the best available objective evidence. In determining whether an individual would pose a direct threat, the factors to be considered include The duration of the risk The nature and severity of the potential harm The likelihood that the potential harm will occur The imminence of the potential harm

In this episode I cover using Uber and Lyft with a disability. Although the focus of the episode is service animals, what is covered applies to other issues of disability discrimination too.

In this episode I demonstrate the Demand Our Access website to show people how to use it. I also recap our first year of Demand Our Access and look ahead to next year. This episode was recorded live during the live broadcast done on ACB Media. This version has been lightly edited from what happened live to make it a bit easier to follow. None of the substance has been changed.

The Episode In this episode, Desiree and I discuss a terrible experience we had with two moving companies while Desiree was moving to Oregon from Texas. We also discuss the rights parents with disabilities have to be accommodated by their children&#8217;s schools and provide tips in getting accommodations from schools.

Introduction In this episode, Desiree and I discuss filing complaints under Title III of the ADA (Title III). Specifically, we walk through filing a complaint with the Department of Justice against Chase bank because of the inaccessibility of its online mortgage services. This is the text of what Desiree and I filed with the Department of Justice against Chase bank. Note, this text is a bit different than what you will hear if you listen to the podcast. Even though this text is a bit different, the points made during the podcast are the same. Text of Our Complaint Against Chase My wife and I are both blind. We decided to use Chase for our mortgage. We chose Chase because their personal banking website and mobile app are reasonably accessible. We discovered Chase’s commitment to accessibility does not extend to its online mortgage services. Their mortgage portal to read and sign documents is almost entirely inaccessible. Neither my wife nor I was able to read any of the documents we needed to sign until we had already signed them. Eventually, we needed to find a different mortgage company. We couldn’t enter into a years-long mortgage based on documents we could not read until we signed indicating we had read and agreed with the terms. Prior to choosing another company, we tried several times, over email and phone, to get Chase to grant a reasonable accommodation for their inaccessible online mortgage services. Without my consent, Chase sent volumes of braille documents to my house. I did not want braille as an accommodation, because I didn’t want to read all of that in braille. Additionally, had I read all of the documents in braille I still would have been unable to sign them independently. Another issue with braille as an accommodation was the reality that Chase would not be able to regularly provide braille in a timely enough manner to enable us to place offers on homes. We needed an accommodation that would address the inaccessibility of the documents, our inability to easily sign the documents, and the timely nature of the mortgage process. Chase did not have a process in place that would enable me to speak with someone who understands the ADA and reasonable accommodations. The first accommodation they offered was to have me pay an attorney to read the documents to us. Due to our having to leave Chase, we suffered the following harms: our credit scores went down because the replacement mortgage company ran hard checks on our credit; we lost the money we would have gotten for using the real estate agent we found through Chase; and we lost days and dealt with lots of aggravation both in trying to address the lack of access provided by Chase and the need to begin the mortgage process from scratch. We may also wound up with a higher rate because of the time we lost when we should have been able to lock in a rate. I am filing this complaint because Chase, like many businesses, does not understand that all of their online services must be accessible. DOJ could do a lot to making web content covered under Title III accessible by holding a company like Chase accountable for the harm it causes by failing to make all of its online services . But Chase, because they promote their accessibility, is especially bad for not actually being accessible. We have dozens of emails to prove this complaint.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Title III Continued General Requirements Under Title III Denial of Participation Under the ADA,, a person with a disability cannot be denied service simply because they have a disability. Equality in Participation The ADA mandates an equal opportunity to participate in or benefit from the goods and services offered by a place of public accommodation, but does not guarantee that an individual with a disability must achieve an identical result or level of achievement as persons without disabilities. A person who uses a wheelchair cannot be denied access to an exercise class because they cannot do all of the exercises. Separate Benefit and Integrated Setting The major principles behind the ADA&#8217;s efforts to provide people with disabilities access to mainstream opportunities are as follows: Individuals with disabilities must be integrated to the maximum extent appropriate. Separate programs are permitted where necessary to ensure equal opportunity. A separate program must be appropriate to the particular individual. Individuals with disabilities cannot be excluded from the regular program, or required to accept special services or benefits. Separate Programs A public accommodation may offer separate or special programs necessary to provide individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from the programs. Such programs must, however, be specifically designed to meet the needs of the individuals with disabilities for whom they are provided. Example Typically, an art museum does not allow patrons to touch exhibits. Working with a local affiliate of ACB, the art museum arranges a special tour for blind people where the touching of certain exhibits is allowed. Right to Participate in the Regular Program Even if a separate program is offered to people with disabilities, a public accommodation cannot deny people with disabilities the right to participate in the regular program, unless some other limitation on providing access exists. Example Even if a local ACB affiliate has arranged a special tour for blind people where the touching of some exhibits will be allowed, an art museum cannot force a blind person to take the separate tour. If the blind person wishes, they must be allowed to take any tour offered by the museum. Modifications in the Regular Program When a public accommodation offers a special program but a person with a disability chooses to participate in the regular program, the public accommodation is likely to have to provide modifications to the regular program to enable the person with a disability to participate. The fact that a separate program is offered may be a factor in determining the extent of the obligations under the regular program, but only if the separate program is appropriate to the needs of the particular individual with a disability. Discrimination Based on Association A public accommodation may not discriminate against individuals or entities because of their known relationship or association with persons who have disabilities. Retaliation or Coercion Individuals who exercise their rights under the ADA, or assist others in exercising their rights, are protected from retaliation. The prohibition against retaliation or coercion applies broadly to any individual or entity that seeks to prevent an individual from exercising his or her rights or to retaliate against him or her for having exercised those rights. Direct Threat A public accommodation may exclude an individual with a disability from participation in an activity, if that individual&#8217;s participation would result in a direct threat to the health or safety of others. The public accommodation must determine that there is a significant risk to others that cannot be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level by reasonable modifications to the public accommodation&#8217;s policies, practices, or procedures or by the provision of appropriate auxiliary aids or services. The determination that a person poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others may not be based on generalizations or stereotypes about the effects of a particular disability; it must be based on an individual assessment that considers the particular activity and the actual abilities and disabilities of the individual. The individual assessment must be based on reasonable judgment that relies on current medical evidence, or on the best available objective evidence, to determine – The nature, duration, and severity of the risk The probability that the potential injury will actually occur Whether reasonable modifications of policies, practices, or procedures will mitigate or eliminate the risk Specific Requirements Eligibility Criteria A public accommodation may not impose eligibility criteria that either screen out or tend to screen out persons with disabilities from fully and equally enjoying any goods, services, privileges, advantages, or accommodations offered to individuals without disabilities, unless it can show that such requirements are necessary for the provision of the goods, services, privileges, advantages, or accommodations. Example The owner of a parking garage has a policy preventing vans from parking inside even though the garage has the capacity to hold vans. The owner adopted the policy with no intention of keeping people with disabilities from parking in the garage. But the impact of the policy on those with disabilities who use vans to transport their mobility devices means the garage&#8217;s policy violates the ADA. Safety A public accommodation may impose legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operation. However, the public accommodation must ensure that its safety requirements are based on real risks, not on speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations about individuals with disabilities. Example A wilderness tour company may require people to prove a basic level of swimming ability prior to allowing them to participate in a rafting program. Unnecessary Inquiries The ADA prohibits unnecessary inquiries into the existence of a disability. Surcharges A public accommodation may not place a surcharge only on people with disabilities to cover the cost of accommodating them. Reasonable Modifications A public accommodation must reasonably modify its policies, practices, or procedures to avoid discrimination. If the public accommodation can demonstrate, however, that a modification would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations it provides, it is not required to make the modification. Example A retail store has a policy of not taking special orders for out-of- stock merchandise unless the customer appears personally to sign the order. The store would be required to reasonably modify its procedures to allow the taking of special orders by phone from persons with disabilities who cannot visit the store. Check-out Aisles If a store has check-out aisles, customers with disabilities must be provided an equivalent level of convenience in access to check- out facilities as customers without disabilities. To accomplish this, the store must either keep an adequate number of accessible aisles open or otherwise modify its policies and practices. Example If a store&#8217;s only accessible aisle is generally reserved for those with 10 items or less, the store must modify its policy to allow a wheelchair user with an order larger than 10 items to use the only accessible check-out aisle. Specialty Goods Generally, public accommodations are not required to carry specialty goods for people with disabilities. for example, book stores are not generally required to offer braille books. a public accommodation may be required to special order accessible goods at the request of a customer with a disability if: – It makes special orders for unstocked goods in its regular course of business The accessible or special goods requested can be obtained from one of its regular suppliers Personal Services and Devices A public accommodation is not required to provide individuals with disabilities with personal or individually prescribed devices, such as wheelchairs, prescription eyeglasses, or hearing aids, or to provide services of a personal nature, such as assistance in eating, toileting, or dressing. The phrase &#34;services of a personal nature&#34; is not to be interpreted as referring to minor assistance provided to individuals with disabilities. Getting items from shelves someone with a disability can&#8217;t reach and removing the cover from someone&#8217;s straw aren&#8217;t considered personal services. Auxiliary Aids and Services A public accommodation is required to provide auxiliary aids and services that are necessary to ensure equal access to the goods, services, facilities, privileges, or accommodations that it offers, unless an undue burden or a fundamental alteration would result. This obligation extends only to individuals with disabilities who have physical or mental disabilities, such as vision, hearing, or speech disabilities, that substantially limit the ability to communicate. Examples of Auxiliary Aids and Services Auxiliary aids and services are simply aids and services that make communication for people with communication disabilities easier. Things like sign language interpreting, reading documents, and passing notes are examples of auxiliary aids and services. Effective Communication In order to provide equal access, a public accommodation is required to make available appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective communication. The type of auxiliary aid or service necessary to ensure effective communication will vary in accordance with the length and complexity of the communication involved. Public accommodations should consult with individuals with disabilities wherever possible to determine what type of auxiliary aid is needed to ensure effective communication. While consultation is strongly encouraged, the ultimate decision as to what measures to take to ensure effective communication rests in the hands of the public accommodation, provided that the method chosen results in effective communication. For more information on effective communication under Title III, please check out the episode named Effective Communication Under Titles II and III. Limitations and Alternatives A public accommodation is not required to provide any auxiliary aid or service that would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods or services offered or that would result in an undue burden. However, the fact that providing a particular auxiliary aid or service would result in a fundamental alteration or undue burden does not necessarily relieve a public accommodation from its obligation to ensure effective communication. The public accommodation must still provide an alternative auxiliary aid or service that would not result in an undue burden or fundamental alteration but that would ensure effective communication to the maximum extent possible, if one is available. Fundamental Alterations A fundamental alteration is a modification that is so significant that it alters the essential nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations offered. Undue Burden Undue burden is defined as &#34;significant difficulty or expense.&#34; Among the factors to be considered in determining whether an action would result in an undue burden are the following: The nature and cost of the action The overall financial resources of the site or sites involved, the number of persons employed at the site, the effect on expenses and resources; legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operation, including crime prevention measures, or any other impact of the action on the operation of the site The geographic separateness, and the administrative or fiscal relationship of the site or sites in question to any parent corporation or entity If applicable, the overall financial resources of any parent corporation or entity, the overall size of the parent corporation or entity with respect to the number of its employees, the number, type, and location of its facilities If applicable, the type of operation or operations of any parent corporation or entity, including the composition, structure, and functions of the workforce of the parent corporation or entity Removal of Barriers Public accommodations must remove architectural barriers and communication barriers that are structural in nature in existing facilities, when it is readily achievable to do so. Architectural barriers are physical elements of a facility that impede access by people with disabilities. These barriers include more than obvious impediments such as steps and curbs that prevent access by people who use wheelchairs. Communication barriers that are structural in nature are barriers that are an integral part of the physical structure of a facility. Examples include conventional signage, which generally is inaccessible to people who are blind, and audible alarm systems, which are inaccessible to people with hearing disabilities. Readily Achievable Barrier Removal Public accommodations are required to remove barriers only when it is &#34;readily achievable&#34; to do so. Readily achievable means easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense. Alternatives to Barrier Removal When a public accommodation can demonstrate that the removal of barriers is not readily achievable, the public accommodation must make its goods and services available through alternative methods, if such methods are readily achievable. When goods or services are provided to an individual with a disability through alternative methods because the public accommodation&#8217;s facility is inaccessible, the public accommodation may not place a surcharge on the individual with a disability for the costs associated with the alternative. Examinations Examinations covered by this section include examinations for admission to secondary schools, college entrance examinations, examinations for admission to trade or professional schools, and licensing examinations such as bar exams, examinations for medical licenses, or examinations for certified public accountants. A private entity offering an examination covered by this section is responsible for selecting and administering the examination in a place and manner that ensures that the examination accurately reflects an individual&#8217;s aptitude or achievement level or other factor the examination purports to measure, rather than reflecting the individual&#8217;s impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where those skills are the factors that the examination purports to measure). Where necessary, an examiner may be required to provide auxiliary aids or services, unless it can demonstrate that offering a particular auxiliary aid or service would fundamentally alter the examination or result in an undue burden. Entities giving exams are also required to modify the manner under which the exam is given. When a person with a disability is given extra time to complete an exam, the exam operator has modified the typical manner in which the exam is administered. Examinations must be administered in facilities that are accessible to individuals with disabilities or alternative accessible arrangements must be made. Courses The requirements for courses under this section are generally the same as those for examinations. Any course covered by this section must be modified to ensure that the place and manner in which the course is given are accessible. Alternative arrangements for courses, like those for examinations, must provide comparable conditions to those provided to others, including similar lighting, room temperature, and the like. The entity offering the course must ensure that the course materials it provides are available in alternate formats that individuals with disabilities can use. An entity offering a variety of courses covered by this section may not limit the selection or choice of courses available to individuals with disabilities. Enforcement The ADA establishes two methods for enforcement: Private lawsuits filed because of discrimination, or the reasonable fear of discrimination Suits brought by DOJ, when it has reason to believe there is a pattern or practice of discrimination, or discrimination raising an issue of general public importance Damages Under Title III Private litigants cannot collect compensatory or punitive damages under the ADA. Compensatory damages are intended to make up for actual financial losses. Compensatory damages include things like lost wages, medical bills, and repairs. Punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant. ##Conclusion This is the end of our look at Title III basics.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction The Department of Justice (DOJ) has a page where you can read the entire text of the ADA, including the updates made to the law in 2008. Information about Title III can be found in a DOJ publication called Americans with Disabilities Act Title III Regulations. DOJ also published an ADA Title III Technical Assistance Manual that’s a bit outdated but still a good resource. I have linked to all of the resources referenced here in the post for this episode on the Demand Our Access website. I couldn’t possibly cover the entirety of Title III in one episode. So, I have chosen to omit subjects like commercial facilities, construction standards, and health insurance because those topics are too technical to cover as part of an overview of Title III. If you need information about those topics, the resources mentioned in this episode have good information. I&#8217;m not discussing service animals under Title III because I discussed it in the episode called Service Animals Under Titles II and III. Even though I don&#8217;t like the word &#34;impairment&#34; the reality is it is used in the law and every publication about the law. So, it is not possible to produce a presentation about Title III that doesn&#8217;t contain lots of uses of the word &#34;impairment&#34; and other words many of us with disabilities don&#8217;t use. Unlike in previous episodes, I&#8217;m not going to include specific citations to the Code of Federal Regulations. I&#8217;m leaving out those citations to try and make the material easier to follow and understand. The trade off will be that I&#8217;m not going to provide direct citations you can use to check my work and learn more than I can cover. But all of the citations to relevant sections in the Code of Federal Regulations can be accessed through the resources I have linked to in this episode. If anyone is willing, I would appreciate feedback as to whether you like this kind of information presented with or without citations. Title III Coverage General Provisions Title III covers: Places of public accommodation Commercial facilities Examination and courses related to applications, licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary or postsecondary education, professional, or trade, purposes Title III also covers private entities primarily engaged in transporting people, but those regulations are produced by the Department of Transportation and will not be discussed in this episode. Public Accommodations The whole range of Title III requirements apply to entities the Department of Justice calls public accommodations. In order to be considered a public accommodation an entity must be private and it must own, lease, lease to, or operate a place of public accommodation. Defining a Place of Public Accommodation A place of public accommodation is a facility whose operations: Affect commerce And fall within one of the following 12 categories: Places of lodging (e.g., inns, hotels, motels) (except for owner-occupied establishments renting fewer than six rooms Establishments serving food or drink (e.g., restaurants and bars Places of exhibition or entertainment (e.g., motion picture houses, theaters, concert halls, stadiums Places of public gathering (e.g., auditoriums, convention centers, lecture halls Sales or rental establishments (e.g., bakeries, grocery stores, hardware stores, shopping centers Service establishments (e.g., laundromats, dry-cleaners, banks, barber shops, beauty shops, travel services, shoe repair services, funeral parlors, gas stations, offices of accountants or lawyers, pharmacies, insurance offices, professional offices of health care providers, hospitals Public transportation terminals, depots, or stations (not including facilities relating to air transportation Places of public display or collection (e.g., museums, libraries, galleries Places of recreation (e.g., parks, zoos, amusement parks Places of education (e.g., nursery schools, elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or postgraduate private schools Social service center establishments (e.g., day care centers, senior citizen centers, homeless shelters, food banks, adoption agencies Places of exercise or recreation (e.g., gymnasiums, health spas, bowling alleys, golf courses In order to be a place of public accommodation, a business does not need to be expressly named in the above list; rather, it needs to fall within one of the 12 categories listed above. So, a sporting goods store is a place of accommodation under the sales and rentals category even though sporting goods stores aren&#8217;t directly mentioned in the above list of places of public accommodation. Commercial Landlords and Tenants Both landlords and tenants are responsible for following Title III. But the law allows landlords and tenants to contractually determine their rights and responsibilities under Title III. That being said, if your rights under Title III are violated, you could, depending on the facts, sue either the landlord or the tenant and let them fight over who will pay. Religious Institutions Religious entities are exempt from the provisions of Title III. A religious entity under Title III is defined as &#34;a religious organization or an entity controlled by a religious organization, including a place of worship.&#34; The exemption covers all of a religious organizations, activities whether they are religious or secular. Examples A religious institution runs a private school for members and nonmembers. Even though private schools are generally covered by Title III, the religious institution&#8217;s private school does not have to follow Title III. If a religious organization rents space for someone else to run a private school, the religious institution, as a landlord, has no responsibility under Title III. But the private organization running the private school would be subject to the requirements of Title III. If a religious institution donates space on its property to be used as a private school, neither the religious institution nor the private group using the donated space to run a private school is covered by Title III. The examples show that the only way a private organization that is not a religious institution can be subject to Title III is if the private organization rents or leases space from the religious institution. Private Clubs Strictly private clubs aren&#8217;t covered by Title III. Courts typically use the following five factors when determining whether a club is private and thus exempt from the provisions of Title III: Members exercise a high degree of control over club activities The member selection process is very selective Substantial membership fees are charged The entity operates as a nonprofit The club was not founded to avoid federal civil rights laws Facilities of a private club lose their exempt status to the extent they are made available to the public. Example A private country club rents to a private organization to run a day care center from its facility. The day care center accepts students whose families are members of the country club and from families who aren&#8217;t members of the country club. By allowing nonmembers of the country club to use the day care center, the private club has lost its Title III exemption for the portion of its facility used as a day care center. State and Local Governments Under Title III State and local governments aren&#8217;t subject to the provisions of Title III. As we saw in the episode called &#34;Title II Basics&#34; state and local governments are covered by Title II of the ADA. The reason I&#8217;m mentioning this in an episode about Title III is that facilities and programs can be subject to the requirements of Titles II and III. Examples A state&#8217;s parks department provides a restaurant in one of its parks. The state parks department contracts with a private corporation to manage the restaurant. Even though the parks department is not directly managing the restaurant, it is required to ensure that the restaurant complies with all of the relevant provisions of Title II. The corporation managing the restaurant is required to follow the provisions of Title III. A city owns an office building. It rents the first floor of the building as commercial space to a restaurant, news stand, and an office supply store. The entire building, because it&#8217;s owned by a city, is subject to the requirements of Title II. This means that the city, as a landlord, is required to ensure all of the commercial activities taking place on the first floor live up to the city&#8217;s responsibilities under Title II. A state and a private corporation enter into a joint venture to build a football stadium. The stadium is subject to the requirements of Titles II and III. To the extent that there is a difference in what is required as the stadium is constructed, the joint venture must use the requirement that would provide the most accessibility, whether the standard is found under Title II or III. Relationship to Other Laws The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Title III is intended to provide people with disabilities at least as much protection as has been provided by Title V of the Rehabilitation Act, including section 504. Section 504 covers programs of the federal government and entities receiving federal money. Other State and Federal Laws Title III does not disturb any federal or state law providing greater legal protection than does Title III. It does prevail over any conflicting state laws. Individuals with Disabilities Title III protects three categories of individuals with disabilities: Individuals who have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities Individuals who have a record of a physical or mental impairment that substantially limited one or more of the individual&#8217;s major life activities Individuals who are regarded as having such an impairment, whether they have the impairment or not Physical or Mental Impairment Physical disabilities include: Physiological disorders Cosmetic disfigurement Anatomical loss affecting one or more critical body systems Mental disabilities include mental or psychological disorders, such as, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities. I&#8217;m not going to list any of the qualifying disabilities listed in the law because the ADA Amendments Act. of 2008 requires broad coverage. Substantial Limitation of a Major Life Activity An impairment substantially interferes with the accomplishment of a major life activity when the individual&#8217;s important life activities are restricted as to the conditions, manner, or duration under which they can be performed in comparison to most people. Temporary Impairments Temporary impairments are covered as long as the impairment substantially limits a major life activity. The issue of whether a temporary impairment is significant enough to be a disability must be resolved on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration both the duration (or expected duration) of the impairment and the extent to which it actually limits a major life activity of the affected individual. Mitigating Measures Whether a person has a disability does not depend on their ability to limit the ways their condition substantially limits a major life activity. A person with severe hearing loss is considered disabled even though their hearing can be greatly improved through the use of a hearing aid. Record of a Substantial Impairment A record of a Physical or Mental Impairment That Substantially Limited One or More Major Life Activity This protected group includes: A person who has a history of an impairment that substantially limited a major life activity but who has recovered from the impairment People who have been misclassified as having an impairment Regarded as Disabled The ADA protects certain people when they are regarded as having a disability that substantially limits one or more major life activity when they do not. Typically, this happens under one of the following three situations: An individual who has a physical or mental impairment that does not substantially limit major life activities, but who is treated as if the impairment does substantially limit a major life activity An individual who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits major life activities only as a result of the attitudes of others toward the impairment An individual who has no impairments but who is treated by a public accommodation as having an impairment

Episode Information This episode is a demonstration of me commenting on the Department of Justice&#8217;s proposed rule on web accessibility under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you&#8217;re interested in commenting, please visit this page on Regulations.gov. Note, comments must be submitted by midnight EDT on October third. If you comment, I would love to hear from you. If you&#8217;re interested, we may even be able to discuss your comments on the live version of the podcast broadcast on ACB Community. The Comment Submitted During the Episode Here is the text of the comment I submitted during the demonstration of the process for commenting on the proposed rule for web accessibility under Title II. The final rule must ensure that state and local governments understand that adding so-called accessibility overlays does not mean sites and/or pages comply with the rule or result in accessible websites. As a blind person who navigates the web with a screen reader, I hate websites that use so-called accessibility overlays. They don’t work well. They make everything load slower. They don’t behave consistently. They have different levels of capability. Most importantly they give site owners and creators the false idea that their site is accessible. Overlays do not ensure PDFs, PowerPoints, visual representations, and more ways of providing information on the web are accessible when that information is uploaded to websites as downloadable content or content designed to open in another window or tab. Overlays also do nothing about third-party portals and other external content that state and local governments require you to use to access their activities, programs, and services. My water company has a so-called accessibility overlay on their site. I can’t pay my bill online without guessing at where information is to be entered because the third-party portal they use is not accessible. I find their payment portal so aggravating that I call to pay my bill and sacrifice the convenience of online payment options available to their customers who do not use screen readers. When I encounter a site with a so-called accessibility overlay, I know the site’s owners and creators aren’t really interested in providing me as a disabled person the integrated web experience mandated by Title II. Unless the final rule clarifies that so-called accessibility overlays do not provide compliance, I’m afraid many state and local governments will use overlays instead of doing what the law expects and updating their sites so that those of us with disabilities have the same integrated user experience as do people without disabilities. In the process, many more aspects of doing business with local governments may become more inaccessible or fail to result in the accessibility changes hoped for through the promulgation of this rule.

Note on This Recording Thanks to technical difficulties, this episode was recorded from the live version of the podcast played on ACB Community. So, it could not be edited to the usual standards of the episodes presented here. Still, the information is accurate and useful. ! Section 508 Here are a few things in Section 508 that should be kept in mind.. Section 508 applies to information and communication technology (ICT) procured, maintained, developed, or used by federal agencies covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1934 as implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). When Section 508 is updated, the law mandates the updated or revised standards be incorporated in procurement processes within six months of adoption. Section 508 applies to covered hardware, software, electronic content, and support documentation. Under Section 508, all covered web and non-web content and software—including websites, intranets, Word documents, PDFs, and project management software is largely required to conform to WCAG 2.0 levels A and AA. Section 508 covers all external content and the following nine categories of internal content: emergency notifications decisions related to administrative claims or proceedings an internal or external program or policy announcement a notice of benefits, program eligibility, employment opportunity, or personnel action a formal acknowledgement of receipt survey questionnaires a template or form educational or training materials or intranet content designed as a web page. Agencies had one year from adoption of the revised standards to comply. A safe harbor provision means that ICT that complied with the previous version of Section 508 guidelines complies with the existing version of Section 508 unless the ICT is altered. Alterations are considered on an element-by-element basis to determine whether an alteration triggers a need to comply with the revised Section 508 guidelines. Where ICT conforming to one or more of the Section 508 standards is not commercially available, the agency shall procure the ICT that best meets the revised 508 standards consistent with the agency’s business needs. The responsible agency official shall document in writing: (a) the non-availability of conforming ICT, including a description of market research performed and which provisions cannot be met, and (b) the basis for determining that the ICT to be procured best meets the requirements in the Revised 508 Standards consistent with the agency’s business needs. Where ICT that fully conforms to the Revised 508 Standards is not commercially available, the agency shall provide individuals with disabilities access to and use of information and data by an alternative means that meets identified needs. Non-Web documents do not have to comply with the following four WCAG success criteria. : Bypass Blocks; Multiple Ways; Consistent Navigation; and Consistent Identification. Exceptions Under Section 508 Section E202 of Section 508 lists the five general exceptions to section 508: Legacy ICT National security systems Federal contracts ICT functions located in maintenance or monitoring spaces The Section 508 website has information about the five general exceptions plus the best meets exception and the undue burden or fundamental alteration defenses to compliance.

Proposed Rule Introduction to the Rule On July 25, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a proposed rule that if adopted would clarify what state and local governments must do to have their web content be considered compliant with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II). You can read the entire proposed rule and comment on it at Regulations.gov. Comments must be received by midnight EDT on October third. If you&#8217;re only interested in the highlights, you can read a fact sheet about the proposed rule published by DOJ. compliance Standard and covered Content Would make version 2.1 Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility guidelines (WCAG) the compliance standard under Title II Would apply to web content that a state or local government makes available to the public or to offer activities, programs, and services to the public Applies to mobile apps made available to the public or used to offer activities, programs, and services to the public Exceptions The proposed rule contains six exceptions. In most instances, content meeting one of the exceptions would not need to be automatically made accessible. Archived Web Content Web content meeting all three of the following factors would not need to comply with WCAG: The content is maintained only for research, reference, or record keeping. The content is kept in a special area for archived content. The content has not been changed since being archived. Preexisting Conventional Electronic Documents Web or mobile content meeting both of the following requirements would not need to automatically comply with WCAG. The documents are in certain file formats specified in the proposed rule, like word processing, presentation, PDF, or spreadsheet files. are available on the state or local government’s website or mobile app before the date the state or local government will have to comply with the rule (after the rule is finalized). This exception would not apply if the preexisting document is currently being used by the state or local government to provide information or to enable participation in an activity, program, or service of the state or local government; for example, an online PDF form created in 2021 enabling people to request tax statements would need to comply with WCAG even though it would have been created prior to the rule taking affect. Content Posted by a Third Party Web content posted on a state or local government&#8217;s website by a member of the public or that is otherwise out of the control of the state or local government would not need to comply with WCAG. States and local governments would not need to ensure all messages posted to their website by the public comply with WCAG. But if someone with a disability requests access to content that did not comply with WCAG, the state or local government would generally have to provide access to that information. Linked Third Party Content If a state or local government links to third party content on an external website, the state or local government would not need to ensure the content on the external site complies with WCAG. If a town links to local businesses, it would not need to ensure the web content of the local businesses complies with WCAG. But if the town links to an external website to provide information or to allow people to access activities, programs, or services offered by the town, the town must ensure that the third party web content complies with WCAG. If a town contracts with a vendor to allow for the processing of credit card payments, the town would need to ensure the third party credit card processor complies with WCAG. Public School&#8217;s Password Protected Content Password-protected content associated with specific classes or courses generally would not need to comply with WCAG. The exception would not apply under either of the following two circumstances: A student needing accessible content is enrolled in a class A student is enrolled in a class and their parent has a disability resulting in the parent needing accessible materials Individualized Documents That are Password Protected Web content meeting all three of the following factors would not need to comply with WCAG: The content is in certain file formats, like word processing, presentation, PDF, or spreadsheet files Files are about a specific person, property, or account Files are password protected If a city provides PDF versions of individual water bills through its website, all of the individual water bills would not need to comply with WCAG. If someone with a disability requests their individual water bill be provided accessibly their individual water bill would need to comply with WCAG. Proposed Times for Compliance If the rule is adopted with its current dates for compliance, state and local governments will have different amounts of time to comply depending on their population. Local governments with a population of less than 50,000 would have three years from the rule&#8217;s adoption to comply with the rule. Special district governments would also have three years to comply. A state or local government with a population of at least 50,000 would have two years to comply with the final rule. City school districts would use the population of their city when determining their compliance date. County school districts would use the population of the county to determine their compliance date. Independent school districts would use the population estimate in the most recent Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Miscellaneous Notes In this section, I&#8217;m going to cover a few important items that didn&#8217;t fit well in the other main sections but that I wanted to share. Public Colleges and Universities If a student enrolled in a class prior to the class beginning, course materials would need to be accessible as soon as the class began. If a student registers for a class after the class begins, the school would have five business days to make all of the course material accessible. Any course materials added during the class would need to be accessible as it is added. Social Media Posts Through the rule making process, DOJ is looking for feedback on how this rule could address social media posts created by state and local governments. The initial idea is to have all social media posts produced after each state or local government is required to comply with the rule follow WCAG to the extent that social media platforms allow for conformance with WCAG. But DOJ is looking at how to address social media posts, including content posted to YouTube that will have been created prior to compliance being required. Alternative Websites The proposed rule only allows alternative websites to be used to provide accessible web content when a state or local government can show that making the existing web content accessible would be impossible or if one of the existing defenses available under Title II would apply. ADA Defenses I&#8217;m not going to spend much time here, because we have covered the defenses available under Title II in the episode on Title II basics. But to provide a quick reminder, state and local governments would need to comply with this rule unless they could demonstrate that doing so would result in fundamental alteration of their activities, programs, or services, or if compliance would result in undue administrative burdens. Effective Communication In the episode about effective communication, I covered all of the requirements state and local governments have around effectively communicating with people with disabilities. This rule would not limit any of those requirements. That&#8217;s why a state or local government would need to make archived content, which is otherwise not required to be accessible under this rule, compliant with WCAG if requested by a disabled person. My Thoughts on the Proposed Rule On balance, this proposed rule is well done. If it was law today, there is a reasonable chance that the web content offered by state and local governments would be far more accessible than it is today. But I have already begun commenting on the rule because I hope it will be improved by the time it is finalized. Comments I have or will share with DOJ include the following topics: The rule should address and account for the inequity behind the development of WCAG by requiring manual testing to be done by native users of assistive technologies. The rule should not expressly adopt version 2.1 of WCAG. Version 2.1 is likely to be outdated prior to this rule being finalized. The rule should expressly address audio description. Even though audio description is called for in all prerecorded content under WCAG, it is almost never provided by state and local governments. Given the amount of information state and local governments are now communicating through maps, data visualizations, and other methods of web content that provide little to no accessibility and that aren&#8217;t really covered in WCAG, the rule needs to specifically address these methods of communicating information on the web.

Introduction Before giving a brief history of WCAG and describing its technical components at a very high, hopefully easy to follow level, I&#8217;m going to discuss what I believe is the most important thing people need to know about the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines&#8211;the reality that their development is inequitable and largely excludes people with disabilities. I&#8217;m beginning with the lack of equity involved in the WCAG development process, because I&#8217;m hoping folks will consider what our lack of involvement in the technical aspects really mean for our odds of using WCAG to create a web that&#8217;s truly accessible to us. WCAG&#8217;s Lack of Equity I covered this at the end of a previous live version of the podcast, but it needs to be restated here. The process of developing the WCAG is not at all equitable or inclusive of members of the disability community. The WCAG is developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Specifically, the development of WCAG is done by the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group. The current chairs of the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group are Charles Adams (Oracle), Rachael Bradley Montgomery (Library of Congress), and Alastair Campbell (Nomensa a British company). As far as I can tell, and I have looked reasonably hard, none of the three is a user of assistive technologies. All of them describe themself as working on accessibility, in the field of accessibility, and/or advocating for accessibility for periods of years. I can&#8217;t find one mention of any of them discussing their life as a person with a disability, describing how they use assistive technologies, or commenting about how they are personally impacted by inaccessibility. I mentioned the employers of the chairs of the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group because the Working Group is an organization that for all intents and purposes only allows other organizations to join as full members. This means that an individual (regardless of their disability status, knowledge of assistive technologies, web codes, and related tools) cannot join without an invitation unless their employer pays to be an organizational member or they are able to pay thousands of dollars to join as an individual. The Membership FAQ has lots of information about joining the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group. The fees for joining the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group highlight the elitist, restrictive, inequitable nature of the WCAG development process. The current cheapest fee for joining, in the United States available to very small nonprofits and government agencies, is $7,900 Annually. The largest annual fee for a United States business is currently more than $77,000 annually. As the FAQ about the membership process and the fee structure for joining the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group indicate, the development of WCAG and the leadership of that development is a process that the vast majority of the disabled community cannot participate in at all. to make matters worse, the only people with a real shot at membership and the right to true participation are people who gain entrance in the organization with the permission of their employer. This structure creates an obvious conflict of interest forcing people to, at minimum, represent the wishes of their employer if they want to continue participating. So, the structure effectively guarantees very few people with disabilities will have an actual say in decision making and that the guidelines reflect the wishes of the business community&#8211;not the disability community. To pretend it welcomes participation and to offer a largely false nod to equity and inclusion, the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group does offer different ways for members of the public to comment. But as you have heard me say repeatedly on this podcast, the most important concept of disability equity is nothing about us without us. By using a process that effectively prevents people with disabilities, unless they are representing their employer&#8217;s interest, from having a voting say in the development of WCAG, the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has created a process that is all about those of us with disabilities while largely preventing those of us with disabilities from meaningful participation and denying us a real chance to lead efforts reporting to make web content more accessible to us. Basics of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), a division of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). W3C is a web standards organization founded in 1994 which develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential. The W3c is directed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web in 1989. Version 1.0 of WCAG was officially released on May 5 1999. Version 2.0 of WCAG was released on December 11, 2008. Version 2.1 of WCAG was released on June 5, 2018. Version 2.1 of WCAG is the current official version of the standard. Version 2.2 was recommended as an official standard on January 25, 2023. It has not yet been officially adopted. That is supposed to happen at some point this year. The latest working draft of version 3.0 was released on December 7,2021. Since version 2.1 is the official version and version 2.2 will be the official version later this year, the rest of this episode will focus on those versions. Version 3.0, at this point, seems at least a couple of years off. So, I will cover it in a future episode. WCAG Two The Web Accessibility Initiative has an overview of WCAG two covering versions 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2. Before diving in to specifics of WCAG two it&#8217;s important to define what the WAI means when it says web content. Web “content generally refers to the information in a web page or web application, including: Natural information such as text, images, and sounds Code or markup that defines structure, presentation, etc Important things to know about all versions of WCAG two are as follows: The standards don&#8217;t change after they are officially published. WCAG 2.0 and WCAG 2.1 are backward compatible, meaning if content complies with 2.1 it complies with 2.0. WCAG 2.1 does not supersede WCAG 2.0. Meaning organizations that have adopted version 2.0 as their standard do not need to adopt 2.1 to be compliant with WCAG. Four Principles of WCAG WCAG is based on four principles: perceivable; operable; understandable; and robust. Perceivable &#8211; Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. This means that users must be able to perceive the information being presented (it can&#8217;t be invisible to all of their senses) Operable &#8211; User interface components and navigation must be operable. This means that users must be able to operate the interface (the interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform) Understandable &#8211; Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable. This means that users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface (the content or operation cannot be beyond their understanding) Robust &#8211; Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. This means that users must be able to access the content as technologies advance (as technologies and user agents evolve, the content should remain accessible) If any of these are not true, users with disabilities will not be able to use the Web. Guidelines and Success Criteria Under versions 2.1 and 2.2 there are 13 guidelines. For each of the 13 guidelines there are testable success criteria. The success criteria are divided into three levels: A; AA; and AAA. Every organization that has adopted a policy promising to comply with WCAG that I have seen has adopted level AA. This is because level A results in improved but limited accessibility. Level AAA, in some instances, is not achievable. Level AAA is best used when its success criteria would add accessibility for certain disabilities and/or in certain situations. The success criteria are used to determine whether content complies with WCAG. WCAG 2.0 had 61 success criteria. WCAG 2.1 added 17 success criteria, bringing the total number of success criteria in WCAG 2.1 to 78. WCAG version 2.2 added an additional nine success criteria and eliminated one, bringing the total number of success criteria to 86 in version 2.2. Under version 2.1 there are 30 success criteria at level A, 20 at level AA, and 28 at level AAA. Under version 2.2 there are 31 success criteria at level A, 23 at level AA, and 32 at level AAA. To illustrate how the levels work, let&#8217;s consider this example. Under version 2.2, there are 31 success criteria at Level A and 23 at Level AA. For a site to comply with Level AA, as every policy I have seen reports to require, that site must conform with the 54 success criteria combined in Levels a and AA to be considered to meet Level AA compliance under WCAG 2.2. But because there is no requirement to comply with each new version of WCAG two, a site is considered to comply with WCAG as long as it satisfies the requirements of WCAG 2.0 Level AA. Meaning, an organization could have adopted a compliance policy based on WCAG 2.0 in 2008 and would not be required to comply with the requirements added over the last 15 years unless that organization expressly adopted version 2.2 as their new compliance standard. This is what they mean when they say the latest version of WCAG two does not supersede previous versions of WCAG two. My belief, which I hope is true, is that if people with disabilities were allowed meaningful participation in the development of the WCAG that entities would be required to comply with the latest version in within a reasonable time after release in order for them to be considered in compliance with WCAG. Conclusion My hope is that folks will learn the truth about WCAG and that our community will call out the World Wide Web Consortium for its lack of inclusion and inequitable processes. The only way WCAG will actually reflect the needs of the disabled community is when the disabled community, not corporations, are determining what constitutes accessible web content. That will never happen until we as disabled people call out the World Wide Web Consortium for their discriminatory practices and when we ask our advocacy organizations to demand a true seat at the leadership table and the right to make decisions about what constitutes accessible web content in the future development of the WCAG.

Introduction It is impossible to discuss disability justice without referencing American politics and American history. People have very different views of many aspects of American politics. Most people don’t really know American history. So, it will be impossible to discuss disability justice in a meaningful way and not make some folks feel uncomfortable. I say that to preface the truth that much of what I’m sharing here is my personal opinion. I have strong reasons for having the opinions I have, but I appreciate and recognize that some will disagree with me. Even if you disagree with me, I hope you will listen to me, not simply hear what I’m saying. To help you, even if we disagree, understand why I have the views I have, I’m going to share a bit about myself throughout this episode. Important Facts About Me I want to share a few things about me so I can refer to them later: As I hope most of you know, I was born blind. I’m a white male. I’m 49 years old. I grew up in a middle class home. I graduated from college and law school. I’m a lawyer by trade. I’m a homeowner. I earn a solid middle class salary. As a person with a disability, I face discrimination and oppression on a daily basis. As a white male, I am privileged on a daily basis. As a well-educated member of the middle class, I’m privileged on a daily basis. As a heterosexual male, I’m privileged on a daily basis. Disability Justice The 10 principles of disability justice were created in 2005 by a group called Sins Invalid. Here is a little of how Sins Invalid is described on their website: Sins Invalid is a disability justice-based performance project that incubates and celebrates artists with disabilities, centralizing artists of color and LGBTQ / gender-variant artists as communities who have been historically marginalized. Led by disabled people of color, Sins Invalid’s performance work explores the themes of sexuality, embodiment and the disabled body, developing provocative work where paradigms of “normal” and “sexy” are challenged, offering instead a vision of beauty and sexuality inclusive of all bodies and communities. There are now several versions of the 10 principles of disability justice. Since they all present the same ideas and to keep this a bit shorter, I have lightly edited the 10 principles. The light editing I have done also means I have eliminated a lot of explanatory information so I could cover it a bit differently or to save time. The 10 principles of disability justice are as follows: Intersectionality: We are all many things, and they all impact us. Leadership of those most impacted: When we talk about ableism, racism, sexism, and more we are led by those who most know these systems. Anti capitalist politic: In an economy that sees land and humans as components of profit, we are anti capitalist by the nature of having nonconforming bodies and/or minds. Commitment to cross-movement organizing: Shifting how social justice movements understand disability and contextualize ableism, disability justice lends itself to politics of alliance. Recognizing wholeness: People have inherent worth outside of commodity relations and capitalist notions of productivity. Each person is full of history and life experience. Sustainability: We pace ourselves, individually and collectively, to be sustained long term. Our embodied experiences guide us toward ongoing justice and liberation. Commitment to cross-disability solidarity: We honor the insights and participation of all of our community members, knowing that isolation undermines collective liberation. Interdependence: We meet each other’s needs as we build toward liberation, knowing that state solutions inevitably extend into further control over lives. Collective access: As brown, black and queer-bodied disabled people we bring flexibility and creative nuance that go beyond able-bodied/minded normativity, to be in community with each other. Collective liberation: No body or mind can be left behind—only by moving together can we accomplish the revolution we require. I want to discuss a few of the 10 principles of disability justice individually. Again, what I will say here are my opinions and are expressions of what the 10 principles of disability justice say to me. Intersectionality Intersectionality is a concept invented by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 to describe how race, sex, class, and other characteristics intersect with one another and overlap. For more than 20 years after Professor Crenshaw coined the term intersectionality, it remained an obscure term rarely heard beyond legal and philosophical discussions. Over the last decade, intersectionality has become a cultural and political lightning rod as some folks fight for more equity and others fight to maintain the status quo. But when you think about it, intersectionality makes sense. Everyone is a whole bunch of things. The more things any person has that are different from the traits of those with the most power, the more discrimination and oppression they will face. Yes, I suffer because of ableism as a person with a disability. But I know that women with disabilities face discrimination based on ableism and sexism. Black women with disabilities face discrimination based on ableism, sexism, and racism. Blind white men with disabilities who live in poverty suffer from ableism and classism. When I can’t complete an online mortgage application because it’s inaccessible, I’m being discriminated against because I’m disabled. But in the mortgage process I’m advantaged because my legal education means I can understand all of the documents without needing a lawyer or a realtor to explain them to me. Sadly, the fact that I’m white means I’m more likely to get an adequate mortgage than are people of color with the same level of education and salary I have. My lifelong membership in the middle class means I have the ability to get a mortgage when many cannot. The mortgage process, like everything else in life, leaves me sometimes being oppressed and other times privileges me. I go back and forth between oppressed and privileged because of the intersections that combine to make the whole person that is Jonathan Simeone. Leadership The principle of disability justice discussing the idea that people most impacted by discrimination should be leading efforts to reduce and end that discrimination is something I talk about all the time. But I have not yet, on this podcast, referred to the idea of us leading projects impacting us as a principle of disability justice. Still, the notion that we should decide what impacts us and our community is a principle that means a great deal to me and influences much of what I do. Capitalism We hear the word “capitalism” every day. But we must use a standard definition of capitalism to better understand disability justice. For our purposes, capitalism is an economic system in which private individuals or businesses own capital goods. At the same time, business owners (capitalists) employ workers (labor) who only receive wages; labor does not own the means of production but uses them on behalf of the owners of capital. In other words, the vast majority of people own little. The bulk of what they acquire depends on their ability to convince someone to hire them. If, for any reason, someone is either unable to produce for the capital class, or the capital class wrongly believes they cannot produce, a person has very little opportunity to achieve. The economic model of disability, as we discussed in the episode on disability equity, reflects true capitalism. Once someone is being paid to produce for the capitalist class that person, no matter how much discrimination they face inside and outside of work, is no longer considered disabled. Look at Social Security Supplemental Income (SSI). Even though people with disabilities are significantly more likely to be unemployed than people without disabilities, SSI provides far less on a monthly basis than what the federal government considers a poverty level existence because that [person has never produced much if anything for the capital class. Let’s also consider Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). If someone is working and becomes disabled, SSDI pays them only a percentage of their former salary. At a time when someone must face no longer being employed, learn to adjust to having a disability, and try to accept being disabled, their ability to pay their bills is diminished because they are no longer producing for the capital class. In a just society, people whose disability-based discrimination has been a major contributor to why they have never worked much and why they may never work again, the federal government would not force them to survive on an amount it knows is far less than anyone can actually use to survive. In a just society, people who lose their job because of a disability would not lose a large portion of their salary too. Forcing people to live far below the poverty line or forcing them to lose a large portion of their income because they are disabled is simply immoral and unjust. Recognizing Wholeness The idea of recognizing each individual as the whole of who they are is hugely important and rarely happens. I have heard from people of color with disabilities that in disability spaces their race is not seen and that in racial spaces their disability is not seen. People should have all of their identities recognized, appreciated, and spoken to in all spaces. We are not inclusive if someone feels like they can’t discuss a part of who they are in a group. Cross-Disability Solidarity One of my biggest frustrations with the disability community is how rarely we act as a community. Instead of working together to make the systemic change we all need, groups representing different parts of our community almost never work together. Sure, what I need as a blind person is different than what someone who is deaf requires. But if we work for what each other needs, we are both more likely to get more than what we have now. Interdependence Everyone needs help sometimes. Things would be much better if we all did more to help people in our communities. Whether we are talking about communities of disabled people or not. But things would really change if we worked more often to help those who are not part of communities of which we are members. For working together and helping each other is the best way to foster understanding. Collective Liberation Often we hear about the relative size of the disability community. Typically, people say that up to 20 percent of the population is disabled. While there is truth to that, that truth fails to acknowledge that the experiences of all disabled people are not nearly alike. My experiences as a person who was born blind are vastly different than are the experiences of someone who went blind recently in the middle of life. My experiences and those of someone who lost their sight recently in the middle of life are more similar than are our experiences and those of someone who is deaf. But in a country where all the blind and deaf people taken together constitute a fraction of the total population, we better care about each other’s liberation. In order for us to be liberated, we better get much more support from way more people who aren’t blind or deaf if we are ever going to be liberated. Simply put, we cannot be liberated through our efforts alone. Unless we work together and work with all people, regardless of disability or disability status, our disabled community will never be liberated. If our disabled community is never liberated, those of us who are disabled will never be individually liberated. The key to our personal liberation and the liberation of our community is viewing our liberation through the lens of disability justice.

Introduction During our last episode of Demand Our Access, we had a brief discussion of disability equity and disability justice. Since so much of how I see the ADA and the other laws we have and will cover through the Demand Our Access project is influenced by how I view disability equity and disability justice, I decided we should discuss those important concepts in this space. Since Disability equity and disability justice are both heavy topics, I have decided to split them into separate episodes. I’m hoping that by splitting them, there will be time for some thoughtful discussion. So, this episode will focus on disability equity. Nothing About us Without Us Nothing about us without us is a critical piece of disability equity. It means nothing that really impacts the disability community should happen without input from people with disabilities. I would add to the concept of nothing about us without us and say that nothing really impacting the disability community should be decided by people without disabilities. Equality and Equity Equality means each person and group of individuals is given the same amount of resources and has the same opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person or group of individuals has unique circumstances and allocates exact resources and opportunities necessary to provide for equal outcomes. Examples of Equality A school district spends $20,000 per student. A government holds a public meeting and provides everyone in attendance the same print agenda and meeting materials. A bank offers all of its customers the opportunity to use an app to pay bills. Under each of the three above examples, everyone is supposedly being treated exactly the same. Everyone has been provided the same resources. Everyone has been afforded the same opportunities. In these three examples, the school district, government, and bank are not making any allowances for the unique circumstances of different communities. Examples of Equity A school district spends $25,000 per student in schools where more children are living in poverty and $15,000 per student in school districts where families are wealthy. A government holds a public meeting in an accessible venue and provides the agenda and meeting materials in print, large print, and accessible electronic formats. A bank allows all customers to pay bills through an app it has developed to be accessible to users of assistive technologies. In these three examples, the school district, government, and bank took steps to recognize that not all people have the same circumstances. Here, these entities understood that simply providing everyone what on the surface seems like the same resource and opportunity actually disadvantages many people. The school district recognized that wealthy families could do more for their children than families living in poverty and provided certain schools more money to help reduce the funding disparities that have always existed in schools located in neighborhoods that aren’t wealthy. The government spent additional money ensuring the venue was accessible to people with mobility disabilities and to provide materials in alternative formats. The bank spent additional money having its app coded for accessibility and having the app tested by native users of assistive technologies to ensure they have the same usability experience as those who don’t use assistive technologies. Summing up Equality and Equity As you have seen, equality ignores the reality that society has always treated people differently. Equity, on the other hand, recognizes the reality of ongoing oppression and requires additional resources and opportunities be provided to historically oppressed communities to provide more equitable outcomes. The key thing to remember about the equality verses equity debate is that equity focuses on the outcomes produced, not just the resources provided. For our purposes, a societal focus on disability equity instead of equality would force society to admit that people with disabilities are far more likely to live in poverty, be undereducated, and unemployed or underemployed than are people without disabilities. In an equitable society, we would realize that striving for equality of resources and opportunities is simply not working. In an equitable society, we would realize that to make up for the centuries of discrimination and oppression faced by disabled people, government would have to direct far more resources to the disabled community and deliberately provide additional opportunities to the disabled community. In my view, America would be a far better society had the Fourteenth Amendment been designed to ensure equitable outcomes under the law than equality of opportunity under the law. A focus on equitable outcomes would have forced us to honestly examine and reckon with the lack of similar outcomes so often afforded people of color, people with disabilities, women, and more. Ableism Ableism is the intentional or unintentional discrimination or oppression of people with disabilities. With this definition of ableism, we are acknowledging that discrimination against and oppression of people with disabilities can occur whether it is intentional or not. Again, we are focusing on the outcome of what happened. We are not looking to an individual’s personal intent or the intent of society. We are simply saying that any discrimination against or oppression of a disabled person or a community of disabled people constitutes ableism. Life experience has taught me that most ableism is originally unintentional. Sadly, most people aren’t aware of the ADA and their responsibilities to the disabled community under the ADA. When I can’t pay my water bill because the water company’s website is inaccessible, I am being discriminated against by the water company because of my disability. The water company didn’t intend to discriminate against me as a disabled person. But the water company unintentionally discriminated against me as a disabled person when it failed to follow the ADA and never imagined how I would pay my water bill. But when I point out the inaccessibility of the water company’s website and the water company does not make its website accessible, the line between intentional and unintentional discrimination gets thinner. Understanding that someone or an entire society can be ableist whether they mean to be or not is critical to reducing ableism and the discrimination and oppression resulting from ableism. We can no longer allow individuals or entities to claim that our discrimination and/or oppression was accidental. The ADA has been law for almost 33 years. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 has been law for 50 years. Even Section 508 of the rehabilitation Act of 1973 (mandating accessible electronic content be provided by the federal government) has been law for 25 years. Until we stop allowing people and entities to get away with ableism, whether intentional or not, we will continue living in a society that is overwhelmingly ableist. Ableist Language Ableist language is an important concept because words really do matter. The words we use and the ways they are understood have a lot to do with how disabilities and people with disabilities are viewed. The most important thing to remember is to say what you actually mean to say. In the sentence &#8216;His advice fell on deaf ears’&#34; the meaning is not that the person couldn’t hear the advice being offered. The expression literally means that the person receiving the advice wasn’t smart enough or interested enough to consider the advice. In other words, the expression compares the inability to hear with being less intelligent. In the sentence ‘You would have to be blind to not see how much money government wastes’ the expression is indicating that blindness prevents blind people from understanding how much money is being wasted by government. I think we can all agree that eyesight is not a requirement to understand government wastes money. Words like lame, cripple, crazy, and bipolar are often used to describe things that have nothing to do with disability. They are regularly used to be insulting or describe someone’s individual, temporary feeling of inadequacy. Internalized Ableism Internalized ableism is the way that an individual absorbs and applies the beliefs and moral judgments of the dominant ableist culture, at a subconscious level. In other words, it&#8217;s how we absorb and apply the beliefs our society has about our disability and people with our disability and apply them to ourselves and others with our disability. Sadly, we all know blind people who believe blind people cannot work, raise children, graduate from college, and/or find love. When someone believes that our disability prevents us from doing things we can obviously do, that person has internalized ableism. Instead of knowing discrimination and oppression are the reasons why many of us do not achieve what many people without disabilities achieve, they believe what society says is possible for us as blind people. Even though they are disabled, their internalized ableism results in them believing we are not capable. When confronted by the relative successes of other people with disabilities, they dismiss that success as some people are just better. Models of Disability The models of disability are important to our understanding of disability equity, because they provide different perspectives as to how different people view disability and those of us with disabilities. While there are many models of disability, I’m going to cover what I believe are the five most common models of disability. Medical Model A person’s disability is their individual problem. People with disabilities need to accept there are things we cannot do because we are disabled people. Rights Model Access is a basic human right. Based on principles of human rights, the rights model recognizes that disability is a natural part of human diversity. People with disabilities have the same rights as do people without disabilities. Society must not use disability as a reason to deny people rights. Social Model Society is the problem. People have disabilities, but the discrimination, oppression, and exclusion faced by people with disabilities is not an inevitable result of having a disability. The discrimination, oppression, and exclusion of people with disabilities results from the way society is run and organized. Charity Model Disabled people are to be pitied. People without disabilities should provide charity to people with disabilities. This approach often leads to people without disabilities being inspired when those of us with disabilities do ordinary things. Economic Model A person is defined by their ability to work and by how much they can produce. The economic model also assesses the impact disability has on the economic consequences for the individual, the employer, and the state. It considers the economic consequences with no regard for the realities of discrimination and oppression. Identity First or Person-First Language In most written communications and in many conversations, people use what is called person-first language. Many laws, including the ADA, are written in person-first language. Person-first language simply means you put the person first. So, you say people with disabilities or people who are blind. Identity-first language is far less common, but is preferred by many people with disabilities (including me). When we use identity-first language, we change the focus from the person to the person’s relevant identity. So, we say disabled person or blind person. I prefer identity-first language when I’m discussing disability, because I know I’m a person. I know I’m entitled to inclusion, and I know how to get the rights I’m entitled to getting. But I’m just as proud of being a blind person. Blindness is not something that is an add-on to me as a whole person. Blindness is a fundamental part of who I am as a person. Blindness has had a profound role in shaping me as a person. Simply put, I’m proud to be blind. This may be surprising to some, but I’m glad I’m blind. I know I’m a better person because of what blindness has given me the opportunity to learn. So, I want my blindness to be first when I’m discussing my disability. Impairment In many places, including the ADA, the word “impairment” is used to describe disabilities. Many people with disabilities, including me, do not consider ourselves impaired. Sure, I cannot see. But I’m highly functional. While I acknowledge the weaknesses I know I have, and while I’m open to learning about weaknesses of mine I’m not yet aware of, I am not impaired. People who aren’t as smart as me do not have to describe themselves as impaired. People who cannot do as many miles on the elliptical as I can do aren’t required to say they are impaired. When someone can run faster than me, I’m not required to describe my lack of speed as an impairment. So, I’m not going to say my lack of sight has left me impaired. I’m blind. I’m not impaired. Disability The final thing I want to cover is the truth that even the word disability was created by nondisabled people. The word disability, because it was created by people who aren’t disabled to describe those of us who are, focuses on the perceived negativity of having a supposed disability. Disability, like disrespect, is a negative word. But the word disability is now such a part of regular conversation that there is little chance of the disabled community replacing the word disability with a word that is not intended to be negative. Conclusion I’m guessing some of these concepts and ideas may be new to most of you. But I hope that even if you don’t agree with something I have shared here, you will consider what I have said. I don’t want or expect everyone to agree with me. I have my own personal, strong reasons for viewing disability equity through the lens in which I view it. I truly believe that if we as the community of disabled people understand the need to champion equity over equality and if we embrace our status as disabled people we will be far more effective in creating a society that is more accessible to and inclusive of people with disabilities than is our current society. Simply put, if we don’t take open pride in ourselves and if we fail to acknowledge the strengths our disabilities have given us, most people without disabilities will never fully acknowledge our abilities and appreciate our value. How the world sees us as a community and how the world sees each of us as individuals depends exclusively on how we see our community and more importantly how each disabled person sees them self as a disabled person .

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Titles II and III As a reminder, Title II of the ADA largely applies to state and local governments. So, all cities, counties, towns, multijurisdictional governmental bodies, and their agencies, bureaus, and departments are covered by Title II. Title III applies to what the law calls places of public accommodation. For our purposes, we are talking about businesses and most nonprofits. So, restaurants, hotels, concert halls, sports arenas, stores, and rideshare companies are covered by Title III. Introduction Under Titles II and III of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), covered entities are required to provide effective communication to people with disabilities. Effective communication means communication between the covered entity and a person with a disability is as effective as is communication between the covered entity and a person who does not have a disability. The law expects that a person with a disability can: communicate with; receive information from; and convey information to covered entities. The Department of Justice (DOJ) rule on effective communication focuses on people with visual, hearing, and speech disabilities. But issues of effective communication can also arise when communication involves people with learning disabilities that impact reading and/or writing. Subsequent sections of this episode will provide the legal nuts and bolts of effective communication as applicable to entities covered by Titles II and III and outlined by DOJ. The general aspects of compliance with the effective communication requirement under Title II are set forth in 28 C.F.R. § 35.160-164. The requirements for places of public accommodation to provide auxiliary aides and services under Title III are covered in 28 C.F.R § 36.303. The DOJ guide on effective communication under Titles II and III has a lot of resources on the responsibilities of covered entities to effectively communicate with people with disabilities. The requirements to effectively communicate are very similar under both Titles II and III. So, the rest of this episode will largely be about how title II entities are supposed to effectively communicate with those of us with disabilities. Where the rules are different under Title III, I will mention those differences as we move through the material. Requesting Alternative Methods of Communication Under 28 C.F.R. § 35.106, Title II entities must notify people with disabilities of how they can request alternative methods of communication. This means every local government website must clearly present contact information for someone charged with granting accommodations to people with disabilities (including those related to effective communication). Usually, local governments satisfy the notice of rights requirement by adopting a meaningful access statement covering many forms of discrimination. Some entities will adopt a more specific notice of rights applying only to public rights under Title II. Also, every event notice should clearly designate which person on the event planning team will coordinate accommodations for the event and list that person’s contact information. Title III entities are not required to provide notice as to how people with disabilities can request accommodations. This is a serious weakness in the ADA. I&#8217;m sure most of you know how hard it can be to get help when you go to a store or need service from a business. Companions Covered by the ADA In many instances, covered entities may communicate with a person the law calls a companion of the person needing their goods or services; for example, parents often talk with schools about the participation of children in school events. In cases like these, the parent, if they have a disability, is covered as a companion of their student. When a parent with a disability is talking with a school about their child&#8217;s education, the disabled parent is entitled to reasonable accommodations. I used this example, because I have seen several instances of schools telling parents they only need to accommodate students with disabilities. That is fundamentally wrong. All public schools are covered by Title II. Private schools, unless they are directly operated by religious institutions, are covered by Title III. If you are a disabled parent, you are in most cases covered as a companion of your child, and you have a right to accommodations. Do not allow your child&#8217;s school to tell you they do not need to accommodate you. While you are not covered by your child&#8217;s Individualized Education Plan (IEP), you are clearly covered under both Title II and Title III. . Auxiliary aids and Services Auxiliary aids and services describe ways of communicating with a person whose disability can make traditional methods of communication difficult in a world that is too often needlessly inaccessible. Things like sign language, captioning, braille, large print, reading someone a document, writing down information for someone, and (in some cases) paper and pencil can all be examples of auxiliary aids or services. Qualified Assistance When providing an auxiliary aid or service involves providing personal assistance, whether the assistance be provided by hiring someone or using staff, the assistance must be furnished by someone who is qualified to provide the needed assistance. A certified professional, such as someone certified in American Sign Language, may not be qualified to interpret in every situation. While certification is evidence of someone’s general skills, there are times when specialized skills are needed. When you ask for a qualified reader, the reader must be able to read effectively, accurately, and impartially using any necessary specialized vocabulary. A qualified sign language interpreter is someone who can interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially, both receptively (understanding what the person with a disability is saying) and expressively (having the skill needed to convey information back to that person using any specialized vocabulary). The focus on an understanding of specialized vocabulary means the person providing the assistance must understand the subject matter in question. If you are completing medical forms, the person assisting you must understand the forms being completed and the material you are being asked about. If a sign language interpreter is provided, the interpreter must be familiar with the subject matter being discussed. Use of Accompanying Adults or Children to Provide Assistance All of us with communication disabilities have faced multiple situations where we need assistance completing forms, accessing information, and more when our ability to effectively communicate depends on the quality of the assistance we are provided. Sadly, way too many places have no policies for how to accommodate us. In many instances, we are asked if someone can do it for us. The most important thing to remember here is that the covered entity is required to provide qualified assistance. You do not need to have someone fill out the information presented on a clipboard. Even if someone gives you a ride, you can insist the provider have staff complete the inaccessible documentation with you. Just as important for you to remember is that you have a right to privacy. A provider cannot force you to give someone assisting you your contact information and/or confidential information in public settings where others can hear what you are saying. To keep this simple, the guidance around relying on companions to provide effective communication will be written as if it applies only to situations where sign language is needed. Do not forget the guidance applies to all situations where someone may need qualified assistance (such as help completing forms) to ensure effective communication and they are accompanied by a companion. Covered entities can only rely on a companion to provide sign language in two situations: In an emergency involving an imminent threat to the safety or welfare of an individual or the public, an adult or minor child accompanying a person may be relied upon to interpret or facilitate communication only when a qualified interpreter is not available. In situations not involving an imminent threat, an adult accompanying someone who uses sign language may be relied on to interpret or facilitate communication when the individual requests it, the accompanying adult agrees, and reliance on the accompanying adult is appropriate under the circumstances. This exception does not apply to minor children. In cases where there is no imminent threat, covered entities cannot rely on the companion to interpret when there is reason to doubt the companion’s impartiality or effectiveness. Deciding on an Accommodation When deciding on a requested auxiliary aid or service, Title II entities are required to give “primary consideration” to the requested auxiliary aid or service. This means entities covered by Title II must honor the request unless they can demonstrate that another equally effective method of communication is available,, providing the requested method of communication would result in a fundamental alteration, or providing the requested method of communication would result in undue administrative and financial burdens. There is no primary consideration requirement under Title III. Instead, Title III entities are encouraged to consult with the person with a disability to discuss what aid or service is appropriate. The goal is to provide an aid or service that will be effective, given the nature of what is being communicated and the person’s method of communicating. This means places of public accommodation can provide any auxiliary aid or service as long as it is equally effective as the accommodation you requested would have been. In my view, the lack of a primary consideration requirement under Title III is another weakness with the law. The reason is by failing to force places of public accommodation to largely honor our requested method of communication, the law allows people without disabilities to determine what constitutes an effective method of communication for us. If we disagree with a businesses provided auxiliary aid or service, we do not have an easy way of enforcing our rights, especially when factoring in the length of time associated with complaint processes. So, the lack of a primary consideration requirement essentially allows businesses to determine how they will effectively communicate with us, whether we like it or not. Determining the Effectiveness of a Method of Communication In order to be effective, auxiliary aids and services must be provided in accessible formats, in a timely manner, and in such a way as to protect our privacy and independence. Covered entities are required to look at the nature, length, complexity, and context of the communication, as well as the person’s regular method(s) of communication. In other words, if what is being communicated is long, complex, or even partially confidential, the need to defer to the requested method of communication becomes more important under Title II, where the primary consideration requirement applies. Undue Administrative and Financial Burdens Administrative and Financial Burdens Under Title II The issue of a requested method of communication constituting an undue financial burden is simple to address under Title II: there is almost no chance a requested method of effective communication will ever constitute an undue financial burden for entities covered by Title II. This is because the decision is made by comparing the cost of the requested method of communication with the covered entity&#8217;s entire budget; for example, if you request a document in braille, the cost of having the document translated into braille would be compared with the entire budget of the city. Obviously, the cost of providing a document in braille is insignificant when compared to a government&#8217;s entire budget. To further highlight this point, if you request an accommodation from your local water bureau, the water bureau cannot compare the cost of accommodating you with the budget for the water bureau. Even when you request an accommodation from a specific governmental agency, bureau, or department, the cost comparison is made against the entire government&#8217;s budget. An undue administrative burden under Title II can result when providing the requested method of communication would result in “significant difficulty.” The circumstances where a Title II entity could claim providing a requested method of communication constitutes an undue administrative burden are rare. Undue Administrative and Financial Burdens Under Title III in determining whether a particular aid or service would result in an undue financial burden, a title III entity should take into consideration the nature and cost of the aid or service relative to their size, overall financial resources, and overall expenses. In general, a business or nonprofit with greater resources is expected to do more to ensure effective communication than one with fewer resources. If the entity has a parent company, the administrative and financial relationship, as well as the size, resources, and expenses of the parent company would also be considered. In short, places of public accommodation, whether they are businesses or nonprofits, must consider the cost of your request when compared with the size of their budget. The larger the budget, the less likely they will be able to claim your request constitutes an undue financial burden. An undue administrative burden under Title III is the same as it is under Title II. This means Title III entities are allowed to consider the impact on their staff when determining whether your requested accommodation constitutes an undue administrative burden. A Fundamental Alteration Something fundamentally alters an activity, program, or service when it changes the essential nature of the activity, program, or service. Like questions of undue burden, the circumstances where a method of communication fundamentally alters an activity, program, or service are rare. The example of a fundamental alteration used by DOJ is if a theatrical performance needs to be slowed down in order for the action to be described to a blind person; slowing down the action would fundamentally alter the essential nature of the live performance. Denying a Method of Effective Communication Under Title II, there is a process covered entities must follow if they are going to deny your requested method of communication. There is no similar process for Title III entities to follow when they deny your requested method of communication. Under 28 CFR § 35.164 all denials related to requested methods of effective communication must be in writing. The writing must contain justifications for the denial, and it must be signed by a department head or their designee. Putting it simply, if a local government wants to deny your requested method of communication, it has the burden of proving your requested method of communication constitutes a fundamental alteration and/oror would result in undue administrative and financial burdens. No Sur Charges! Covered entities, whether covered by Title II or Title III, cannot—under any circumstance—charge a person with a disability for the cost or the portion of the cost of an auxiliary aid or service. The cost of providing effective communication is strictly the responsibility of the covered entity. Time for Requesting Accommodations Entities covered by either Title II or Title III can request that those of us with disabilities request accommodations prior to events or in advance of information being provided. But the times must be reasonable. Typically, entities who have good policies will suggest we submit our requests three to five days in advance. But whether we request an accommodation in advance or not, public entities are required to accommodate us. This means a public entity cannot refuse to accommodate us because we did not request an accommodation 72 hours prior to an event, as they requested. No matter when we request an accommodation, they must do their best, under the circumstances, to accommodate us. Even though we do not have to request an accommodation early, experience has most likely taught all of us that unless we request an accommodation early, we are unlikely to get a satisfactory accommodation. This is especially true when what we are requesting would not be super easy for them to provide. Summary Under Title II Title II provides more protection than does Title III. Under Title II, entities pretty much have to give us the accommodation we request as long as we request it in a reasonable time. As I hope you have seen, it is really hard for Title II entities to claim a requested method of communication results in a fundamental alteration or would cause undue administrative and financial burdens. If you need an accommodation related to effective communication from your local government, just tell them what you want and why you want it. In almost every case, they will need to grant your request. Under Title III The law is not as favorable under Title III as it is Title II. In order to not stress actual small businesses too much, Title III was made weaker than Title II, allowing large businesses wiggle rom on what accommodations they provide. Still, you are entitled to accommodations from Title III entities. In order to get them, though, you should be prepared to clearly explain why you are requesting ayour accommodation and how it will help. If you are talking about confidential and/or sensitive things, be sure to remind them of the need for qualified assistance and your right to privacy. A Final Thought on Companions Given my own experiences and what I know has happened to others, I want to finish by reminding you that neither Title II nor title III entities, except in cases with safety concerns, can force you to use someone who accompanied you to assist you. In cases where your companion is your child, only in situations involving safety can your child provide assistance to you. As soon as someone suggests your child assist you and there is no threat to safety, they are violating your rights. Conclusion This is the end of our look at effective communication under Titles II and III of the ADA. The recording says the next episode will cover the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. For a number of reasons that may not be true. I have to be flexible when planning what to discuss and when to discuss it.

Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Introduction In this episode, we will discuss service animals under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We covered service animals under the Air Carrier Access Act in the episode titled About the Air Carrier Access Act. We will cover service animals under the Fair Housing Act when we discuss the Fair Housing Act. Service Animals Under Titles II and III The information covered in this section of the episode is based on two documents from the Department of Justice (DOJ). The document titled Service Animals has lots of information as to how Titles II and III cover service animals. The document titled FAQs About Service Animals and the ADA answers more than 30 questions you may have about service animals under Titles II and III. Definition of a Service Animal A service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability. Performing work and Doing Tasks The dog must be trained to take a specific action when needed to assist the person with a disability. Examples of work or tasks service animals do include but are not limited to the following: Guiding a blind person Alerting a person with diabetes when their blood sugar is too low Notifying someone with depression that it’s time for them to take their medication Indicating to a person with epilepsy prior to the onset of a seizure and help them remain safe Emotional Support Animals Dogs providing strictly emotional support, comfort, therapy, or companionship are not considered service animals under Titles II and III. Some state and local governments have passed laws allowing emotional support animals into public places. If you have an emotional support animal, check with your local government to see if it has such a law and to find out what it allows and requires. Psychiatric Service Animals Although animals providing strictly emotional support are not covered under Titles II and III, service animals trained to do work or complete tasks related to a disability are covered under Titles II and III; for example, if an animal has been trained to understand when its handler is having anxiety, and to take certain action(s) to lessen the seriousness of the attack, the animal qualifies as a service animal under Titles II and III. Training Service Animals A person is not required to have their service animal trained by a professional organization. Service animals in training, whether being trained by a private person or a professional organization, are not legally considered service animals. Questions Covered Entities can Ask When a covered entity has questions as to whether a particular dog qualifies as a service animal, it is only allowed to ask two questions: Is the service animal required because of a disability? What work or task has the dog been trained to perform? They cannot ask for any documentation related to the dog, require that the dog demonstrate the task it has been trained to perform, or ask about the nature of your disability. General Points The ADA does not require service animals to wear a specific harness, vest, or ID tag. The handler is responsible for caring for and supervising the service animal. This includes, feeding, toileting, grooming, and veterinary care. Service animals are allowed in salad bars and other self-service food lines. Service animals are allowed in communal food areas similar to those that may be found in dormitories or shelters. Hotels cannot assign certain rooms to handlers of service animals. People with disabilities must have the same opportunity to reserve any room that could be reserved by someone without a disability. Hotels cannot charge a cleaning fee for service animals; however, if a service animal damages a room, the hotel can charge for that damage. A person with a disability may use more than one service animal at the same time. In those cases, both service animals are entitled to the same access. If the space in question (like a small crowded restaurant) cannot accommodate both service animals, the restaurant can ask that one service animal be left outside. Hospitals must allow in-patients to keep their service animal in their room. If a patient&#8217;s medical condition prevents them from caring for their service animal, the hospital must allow them to make arrangements to have someone come to the hospital and care for the service animal. If the patient is unable to care for their service animal and they cannot make other arrangements, the hospital is permitted to board the service animal for the duration of the patient&#8217;s hospital stay. Before placing a service animal in a boarding facility, the hospital must provide the patient the opportunity to make other arrangements. Generally, service animals are allowed in ambulances if their handler is being transported. If transporting the service animal in an ambulance would interfere with the ability of medical professionals to treat the individual, the medical professionals must make other arrangements to have the service animal transported to the hospital. Certification and Registration Covered entities may not require documentation proving a service animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal. Documents you can buy online from individuals or organizations certifying your service animal are not legally valid and provide no legal protection. Local animal control ordinances requiring dogs to be vaccinated apply to service animals. Service animals are subject to local dog licensing and registration requirements. Local governments cannot require you to register your service animal as a service animal. Covered entities may offer voluntary registration programs for service animals, but they cannot force you to register your service animal. Breeds of Dog The ADA does not limit the breeds of dogs that can work as service animals. A service animal, regardless of breed, has the same legal protections. If a local government has a ban on certain breeds of dogs, those legal restrictions do not apply to service animals. Direct Threat Covered entities can deny service animals entrance if a specific service animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others. If a service animal is denied entrance, the decision to deny entrance must be based on an objective assessment of the specific service animal&#8217;s behavior or history. Excluding Service Animals The ADA does not require covered entities to modify policies, practices, or procedures if making certain modifications would “fundamentally alter” the nature of the goods, services, programs, or activities provided to the public. Nor does it overrule legitimate safety requirements. If admitting service animals would fundamentally alter the nature of a service or program, service animals may be prohibited. In addition, if a particular service animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it, or if it is not housebroken, that animal may be excluded. Examples of when allowing a service animal would &#8220;fundamentally alter&#8221; its activities, programs, and services include: Service animals can be prohibited from swimming pools, but they must be allowed in the pool area. Service animals can be prohibited from certain sections of zoos where the presence of service animals would be disruptive to the zoo animals. If a dormitory reserves areas for people with allergies, service animals can be prevented from entering those areas. Under Control The ADA requires service animals to be under the control of their handler at all times. This means the service animal must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered in public places unless these devices interfere with the service animal&#8217;s ability to perform the work it has been trained to perform or the handler&#8217;s disability prevents them from using those devices. If the service animal cannot be physically tethered to its handler, the handler must maintain control through voice commands, hand signals, or other effective methods of communication that allow the handler to maintain control. If a service animal must be off leash to do its job, but the handler&#8217;s disability does not prevent them from using a harness, leash, or tether, the service animal must be tethered when it is not working. Service animals cannot bark repeatedly. But if they bark once or they are provoked into a few barks they cannot be excluded. If a service animal is out of control and the handler is demonstrating and inability to control the service animal, the service animal can be excluded. Miscellaneous Provisions Hotel guests are not permitted to leave their service animals in hotel rooms unattended. Stores cannot require that you put your service animal in a basket or cart. Places serving food are not required to allow you to feed your service animal at the table or allow it to sit at the table. Places of worship are not required to allow service animals entrance because religious institutions are exempt from the ADA. Federal agencies are not covered by the ADA, but they are covered by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The ADA applies to public housing programs administered by local governments and to places of public accommodation such as public and private colleges and universities. Service Animals Under Title I Sadly, this section will be very short: Title I of the ADA covers employment of people with disabilities. Service animals are not mentioned anywhere in Title I. If a job applicant or employee is the handler of a service animal, they must use the typical reasonable accommodation process under Title I to gain employer approval to bring their service animal to work. Talking more about this would go beyond the scope of this episode. We will revisit it when we discuss Title I. If you need information about service animals in the workplace now, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) has a page on service animals at work. Miniature Horses While the ADA focuses on dogs as service animals, there is an exception for miniature horses. For the exception to apply, all of the things we have discussed here about service animals must be true; for example, the miniature horse must be trained to work or perform a specific task related to your disability. DOJ makes the following recommendations when covered entities are considering modifying policies, practices, and procedures to allow miniature horses trained to be service animals entrance: Whether the miniature horse is housebroken Whether the miniature horse is under the owner’s control Whether the facility can accommodate the miniature horse’s type, size, and weight Whether the miniature horse’s presence will not compromise legitimate requirements necessary for safe operation of the facility If a covered entity does not believe it can reasonably accommodate a miniature horse it is not required to allow the miniature horse entrance as long as the denial is legitimately related to the four factors presented above.

n this episode, we are filing our first complaint. Join by Desiree Sturdevant, we file a complaint with the Department of Transportation under the Air Carrier Access Act against Alaska Airlines. This episode was recorded in two sessions. So, the audio levels are not quite the same.

About Me This will be the last time I begin an episode with information about me. I&#8217;m sharing this information at the beginning of the first three episodes so you can learn a little about me and my qualifications to present on matters of disability law. Basic Bio I was born blind. I am a member of the American Council of the Blind. I live in Portland, Oregon. Oregon is the fifth state I have called home. My interests include: I love animals. I&#8217;m a huge sports fan. I&#8217;m an avid reader and writer. Certifications I have a law license from Massachusetts. I&#8217;m a certified ADA coordinator. I&#8217;m a certified professional in accessibility. Professional Background I&#8217;m the disability analyst for Portland Parks &#38; Recreation. Previously, I was the ADA Title II analyst for the city of Portland. Several years ago, I was a contract attorney for Disability Rights Advocates in Berkeley, California. Prior to that I was a staff attorney for what was then called the American Bar Association&#8217;s Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law in Washington, DC. Disclaimer The information presented in any of the Demand Our Access podcast episodes, on the Demand Our Access website, or otherwise shared in conjunction with or through association with the Demand Our Access project is expressly not individual legal advice. Applying the law depends on the circumstances and events that comprise every situation. Since legal advice is fact-specific, nothing about the Demand Our Access project can provide an individual, a group of individuals, or any organization legal advice. Roadmap In this episode we will be focusing on the following: Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights Selected provisions of the Air Carrier Access Act Introduction This episode is designed to provide a good amount of knowledge of our rights as airline passengers with disabilities. It is not intended to address every requirement the airlines have to provide us, nor is it going to address every aspect of discrimination we may face as people with disabilities when we travel by air. My hope is that by providing this information I can help others in our community understand the rights we have, how to make those rights work for us when we can, and what changes to the law we should be demanding. If you want more information about the topics presented here, or you think you may need information not presented here, the show notes accompanying this episode and posted to the website has links to all of the resources covered here. So, I wouldn&#8217;t listen to this podcast expecting to take notes; rather, I would listen to gain an understanding of what is generally required. When you are planning a trip, or you are thinking about filing a complaint, use the website to access information applying to your specific situation. Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights The Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights (Bill of Rights) was developed by the Department of Transportation (DOT) as a cleaner way of explaining the rights promised people with disabilities in the Air Carrier Access Act (ACA). The Bill of rights makes the following 10 promises: The right to be treated with dignity and respect The right to receive information about airline services, and aircraft services, capabilities, and limitations The right to receive information in an accessible format The right to accessible airport facilities The right to assistance at airports The right to assistance on the aircraft The right to travel with an assistive device or service animal The right to seating accommodations The right to accessible aircraft features The right to resolution of a disability related issue While the rest of this episode will cover provisions of the ACA, the Bill of Rights is a great place for you to begin learning about your rights under the ACA. Selected Provisions of the ACA Effective Communication Website Accessibility The accessibility of airline websites is discussed in 14 C.F.R. § 382.43. Some of its key provisions are as follows: If an airline flies at least one plane with 60 or more seats, that airline&#8217;s primary website had to be accessible by December 12, 2016. If an airline&#8217;s primary website is covered, it must comply with level AA of version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The pages on the primary websites were to be tested by people with disabilities and/or disability organizations for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and for the usability of the pages. Consulting by the disability community was to be done prior to the scheduled dates for compliance. There is no requirement for ongoing, organized testing of web pages. If someone acknowledging their disability says they cannot access something on an airline&#8217;s website, the airline needs to accommodate them in another way. Airline websites must allow people with disabilities to request accommodations for future flights. Information for Blind, Deaf or Hard of Hearing at Airports The regulations related to people who are blind, deaf, or hard of hearing having access to information are addressed in 14 C.F.R. § 382.53. US carriers must ensure People with disabilities have &#8220;prompt&#8221; access to the same information provided to other passengers at each gate, ticketing area, and customer service desk that an airline owns, leases, or controls at any US or foreign airport, to the extent that this does not interfere with employees&#8217; safety and security duties. foreign carriers must make this information available at each gate, ticketing area, and customer service desk that they own, lease, or control at any US. airport. At foreign airports, foreign carriers must make this information available only at gates, ticketing areas, or customer service desks they own, lease, or control and only for flights that begin or end in the US. The information covered by this section includes, but is not limited to, the following: flight safety information ticketing flight check-in delays cancelations schedule changes boarding information connections gate assignments checked bags volunteer solicitation when flights are oversold individuals being paged by airlines aircraft changes affecting the travel of people with disabilities emergencies Regarding checked bags, the information must be provided to people who are blind, deaf, or hard of hearing no later than it is provided to other passengers. Accessible Kiosks Information related to accessible automated kiosks at airports is covered in 14 C.F.R. § 382.57. Things to know about kiosk accessibility are as follows: At least 25 percent of automated kiosks at every airport location were to be accessible by December 12, 2022. The accessible kiosks must provide the same services as the inaccessible kiosks in their location. A passenger with a disability wishing to use an accessible kiosk must be given priority access to an accessible kiosk. Accessible Information on Aircrafts The requirements for what information must be accessible to people who are blind, deaf, or hard of hearing on aircrafts is covered in 14 C.F.R. § 382.119. Some of the requirements are as follows: Passengers with hearing or visual disabilities have &#8220;prompt&#8221; access to the same information provided to other passengers on the aircraft to the extent that providing the information accessibly does not interfere with the safety duties of employees. Covered flight information includes, but is not limited to, the following: flight safety procedures for takeoff and landing flight delays schedule or aircraft changes that affect people with disabilities diversion to another airport scheduled departure and arrival information boarding information weather conditions at the flight&#8217;s destination Beverage and menu information connecting gate assignments baggage claim individuals being paged emergencies Information related to the training of airline employees and contractors on effectively communicating with people with disabilities can be found in 14 C.F.R. § 382.141. Assistance at Airports Assistance in Moving Within the Terminal Assistance in the terminal is addressed in 14 C.F.R. § 382.91. The important things to know are as follows: Airlines are responsible for helping us make connecting flights. If our flights are with two separate airlines, the airline on which we took the first leg of our trip is responsible for ensuring we have assistance to our second flight. Airlines must also provide assistance from the terminal entrance or a vehicle drop-off adjacent to the terminal entrance to the gate. At our departure location, airlines must provide assistance from the plane to the terminal entrance or a vehicle pick-up area adjacent to the terminal. This requirement includes assistance accessing key functions of the terminal like ticket counters and baggage areas. Our assistant has to let us make a &#8220;brief stop&#8221; at a restroom, including an accessible restroom, as long as it is on the way and stopping would not create an unreasonable delay. Airlines must work with airports to provide us assistance accessing an animal relief area. If our disability prevents us from carrying our bags, the airline must assist. To and From Transportation The requirement to assist us from a vehicle drop-off or a to a vehicle pick-up area adjacent to the terminal is absurdly impractical and assumes we always have someone without a disability available to drop us off and pick us up. In many instances, Uber and Lyft are restricted to certain areas, which sometimes are not adjacent to the terminal. If an airport offers a public transit option it may be adjacent to one terminal but not all terminals at an airport. Assistance Boarding and Deplaning The regulations governing assistance boarding and deplaning are set forth in 14 C.F.R. 382.95. Things to know are as follows: Assistance enplaning and deplaning must be &#8220;prompt.&#8221; The regulation also mandates assistance through the use of wheelchairs, lifts, and ramps, but that assistance depends on the airport in question having at least 10,000 flights each year. Right to Assistance on the Aircraft Preboarding Preboarding is covered in 14 C.F.R. § 382.93. Preboarding must be offered if you need additional time boarding, stowing accessibility equipment, or locating a seat. Assistance with Respect to Boarding and Deplaning The regulations related to boarding and deplaning are established in 14 C.F.R. § 382.95. This section indicates that service enplaning and deplaning must be &#8220;prompt&#8221; The section further requires the use of ramps, lifts, and wheelchairs as needed in most circumstances. Services Required on the Aircraft Services to be provided on the aircraft are covered in 14 C.F.R. § 382.111. Things to know are as follows: Airlines must provide assistance moving to and from seats as a part of the enplaning and deplaning processes. Airlines must provide assistance in preparation of eating, including opening packaging and identifying food. If there is an onboard wheelchair, airlines must provide assistance moving around the plane, including to and from the restroom. Airlines are not required to carry us. Airlines must provide assistance stowing and retrieving carry-on items. Airlines must provide effective communication to those of us with visual disabilities, are deaf, or are hard of hearing so we have &#8220;prompt&#8221; access to the same information provided passengers without disabilities. The Right to Travel with an Assistive Mobility Device or Service Animal Assistive Mobility Devices A few things to know about assistive mobility devices on planes are as follows: Airlines must allow assistive devices on planes as carry-ons free of charge consistent with safety regulations. This includes medical devices and/or a personal amount of medication. Assistive devices must not count against our carry-on limits. Sections of the ACA related to traveling with assistive mobility devices are as follows: 14 C.F.R. § 382.67 (Priority Stowage of Wheelchairs in Cabin) 14 C.F.R § 382.121 (Assistive Devices in Cabin) C.F.R. § 382.125 (Stowage of Assistive Devices in Cargo) 14 C.F.R. § 382.131 (Liability for Los, damage, or Delay of Assistive Devices) Service Animals Service Animals on aircrafts are covered in 14 C.F.R. § 382.72-80. Things to know about Service Animals on aircrafts are as follows: When it comes to airline travel, dogs are the only animals that qualify as service animals. Airlines can only ask two questions when determining if a dog qualifies as a service animal: Is the animal required to accompany the passenger because of a disability? What work or task related to the person&#8217;s disability has the dog been trained to perform? Airlines cannot ask about the nature or extent of our disability. Airlines cannot ask us to demonstrate the work or task our dog has been trained to perform. Airlines must allow our service animal to accompany us in the cabin unless The dog poses a direct Threat to the health or safety of others. The dog causes a significant disruption or misbehaves in the cabin or at the gate area. Transporting the dog would violate US law or the law of another country. Current DOT forms were not provided as required by the airline for the current trip. A decision by airline personnel to refuse a service animal transportation in the cabin must be based on an individualized and objective assessment of the dog that considers the nature of the risk and the likelihood that harm will actually or continue to occur. The assessment should also consider whether mitigation possibilities exist. Service Animal Forms The Department of Transportation&#8217;s Service Animal Air Transportation form must be completed every time your service animals rabies vaccine is updated. Every airline is required to make this form available online and is encouraged to provide it as an accessible HTML form (not a PDF). There is no standard process for completing and submitting the form. Every time you fly on a new airline, you are very likely to need to complete the form again. Given the general disorganization of the airline industry, and the lack of meaningful government oversight of the airline industry you may be expected to complete the form every time you fly. Whether you do that or insist you have given it to that specific airline already is a personal choice. If you are flying with a service animal, you really should ask the airline(s) you will be traveling with about their service animal forms as soon as you make your reservation. You should also let them know you understand you are covered by 14 C.F.R. § 382.81 (discussed below) and that you know they must provide a seat that will accommodate you and your service animal. When you make contact with airline(s) about flying with your service animal, make sure you understand the provisions related to block seating and priority seating (discussed in the next section) and ask the airline(s) which seating method they use. For more information, visit DOT&#8217;s page on flying with a service animal. Seating Accommodations Passengers entitled to Seating Accommodations The people with disabilities entitled to seating accommodations are listed in 14 C.F.R. § 382.81. Things to know are as follows: If you use an aisle chair to access the aircraft and you cannot readily transfer over a fixed aisle armrest, you are entitled to a seat in a row with a movable aisle armrest. If you bring a personal care attendant (PCA) to assist with accommodations airlines must allow your PCA to sit next to you. If you travel with a service animal, you are entitled to either a bulkhead seat or another seat as requested by you. If you have a fused or immobilized leg, you are entitled to a bulkhead seat or other seat that provides greater legroom than other seats, on the side of an aisle that better accommodates your disability. Mechanisms For Addressing Seating Accommodations The mechanisms airlines must use to provide seating accommodations are set forth in 14 C.F.R. § 382.83. Airlines are allowed to choose from three methods of ensuring people with disabilities entitled to seating accommodations get their accommodations: the block method; the priority method; and the other method meaning they do not assign seats in advance. Most airlines use either the block or priority method. The Department of Transportation has a web page where you can see which method of making seating accommodations each airline uses. The block Method If an airline chooses the block method, the following apply: The seats blocked for people with disabilities covered in 14 C.F.R. § 382.81 cannot be made available to people not entitled to accommodated seating until 24 hours before the flight is scheduled to depart. Any time prior to 24 hours before departure airlines must assign the blocked off seats to someone with a disability covered in 14 C.F.R. § 382.81. If you have a disability covered by 14 C.F.R § 382.81 and you do not request accommodated seating at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled departure, the airline is not required to move a person without a disability who has been assigned one of the previously blocked off seats. The Priority Method Things to know about the priority method are as follows: Airlines must notify passengers who purchase seats the airline has classified as priority that they are subject to being reassigned to a different seat to accommodate a person with a disability. If you request a seating accommodation and you are covered by 14 C.F.R. § 382.81 airlines using the priority method must assign you a seat meeting your need for accommodated seating. If you make a request for a seating accommodation and you are covered by 14 C.F.R § 382.81, the airline must grant the accommodation, but they can require you to check in at the airport an hour earlier than they require other passengers to do so. If you are covered by 14 C.F.R. 382.81, you request an accommodation, and you, if required, arrive at the airport an hour before other passengers are required to, the airline must reassign another passenger to provide your accommodation. If you are covered under 14 C.F.R. 382.81 but you do not check in at least an hour prior to the standard check-in time (if required by the airline), the airline must try accommodating you. But they do not have to reassign any passenger to accommodate you. Additional Things to Know If an airline does not assign seats until the day of the departure, the airline must use the priority method when accommodating people with disabilities covered in 14 C.F.R. § 382.81. If airlines do not assign seats, they must allow people with disabilities covered in 14 C.F.R. § 382.81 to board the aircraft even before other people who qualify for preboarding. Accommodations not Covered in 382.81 The seating accommodations process for people with disabilities not covered in 14 C.F.R. § 382.81 are established in 14 C.F.R. § 382.85. Under the Block Method If an airline uses the block method of assigning seats to people with disabilities and you are not covered by 14 C.F.R § 382.81, the following apply: If you request a seating accommodation more than 24 hours prior to departure, the airline is not required to offer you seat blocked for people covered by 14 C.F.R. § 382.81. The airlines must assign to you any other seat not already assigned to another passenger that meets your needs. Under the Priority Method When you are not covered by 14 C.F.R § 382.81 and the airline uses the priority method, the following apply: If you request a seating accommodation related to your disability, the airline must assign you a seat meeting your needs but they do not have to reassign another passenger. If the airline grants your request, they may require you to check in an hour prior to the standard check-in time. If you are assigned to a priority seat and someone covered by 14 C.F.R § 382.81 requests accommodated seating, the airline can relocate you regardless of your need for accommodated seating. Additional Things to Know On flights where advanced seat assignments are not offered those of us with disabilities not covered by 14 C.F.R. § 382.81 airlines must allow us to board prior to everyone else , including other preboarders, and select our seat. If an airline assigns seats on the day of departure it must use the priority seating method.

In episode two we begin discussing key concepts under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act including: notice of rights, complaints; and ADA coordinators. This link goes to the PDF for episode two. The PDF has all of the most important information discussed in the episode.

Welcome to the first episode of the Demand Our Access podcast. In this episode, I will describe the podcast, the website for the show, and briefly discuss basics of the Americans with Disabilities Act.