By Christy Kim, AIA, CASp, National Technical Director of Accessibility
& Mandy Register, Project Manager of Accessibility, both at Partner
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights legislation that provides equal opportunity for persons with disabilities. The ADA prohibits discrimination in access to jobs, public accommodations, government services, public transportation, and telecommunications. Additionally, Title II of the ADA prohibits public entities from excluding people from programs, services, or activities (PSA) on the basis of disability. Public entities are required to complete five action steps to comply with the ADA:
- Designate a Responsible Employee
- Provide Notice of ADA Requirements
- Establish a Grievance Procedure
- Conduct a Self-Evaluation
- Develop a Transition Plan.
Although the ADA is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, many public entities may not realize their obligation to complete a self-evaluation and transition plan. Noncompliance with Title II of the ADA makes public entities vulnerable and can lead to legal action and fines. Public entities should be proactive in complying with Title II of the ADA, ensuring accessibility by providing an inclusive environment for individuals with disabilities and avoiding potential legal issues.
What Must Be Included in a Title II Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan?
A self-evaluation is a comprehensive review of all the entity’s policies and practices. The self-evaluation should identify policies and practices that do not comply with Title II, and the policies and practices should be modified to bring them into compliance. A transition plan documents when structural changes to existing facilities are needed in order to make a program, service, or activity accessible to individuals with disabilities. At a minimum, transition plans should identify physical obstacles that limit accessibility and provide a schedule for removing the obstacles.
It is recommended that any public space where programs, services, and activities are provided by evaluated for physical obstacles, whether that space is owned by a public entity or leases. Such spaces may include, but are not limited to:
- Government buildings and offices, such as city halls, public libraries, and community centers
- Courthouses and administrative facilities
- Police and fire stations
- Public health and social services offices
- Transportation facilities, such as bus stops and terminals, train stations, airports, or transportation shelters
- Public parks and recreational facilities, including playgrounds, swimming pools, and sports facilities
- Parking lots and parking spaces
- Polling places
- Public housing
- Public education facilities (K-12 schools and higher education)
- Public event venues
- Other specialized facilities, such as emergency shelters or disaster recovery centers
Getting Help with the Title II Self-Evaluation Process
Public entities may try to complete the self-evaluation process using in-house staff. However, this often results in a significant drain on the entities’ resources, and in-house staff may lack sufficient technical knowledge. Completing a self-evaluation and transition plan requires expertise in ADA regulations as well as data collection. It is important to engage a qualified consultant with Title II experience who can perform detailed accessibility evaluations to determine compliance with ADA Standards and other applicable laws. This includes facility evaluations to identify physical barriers and program, services, and activities reviews to identify programmatic barriers. Qualified consultants must be able to capture their observations in a usable format, which means complete and consistent data throughout the evaluation process, gathered and provided to the public entity in a format that can be analyzed and used to address all deficiencies and barriers.
A qualified consultant should not only be able to complete evaluations but should also compile a self-evaluation and transition plan document, assist with determining a timeline for making necessary changes; prioritize barriers based on the severity and their impact on accessibility; and provide opinions of costs to remove barriers. The plan should be realistic and tailored to the specific needs of the public entity, ensuring the improvements are achieved in a timely manner.
The accessibility team at Partner Engineering and Science, Inc., includes specialists with over 20 years of experience helping public entities complete self-evaluations and transition plans.
Conclusions
To be certain, the self-evaluation and transition plan process can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. Even with the support of a qualified consultant, the process could take anywhere from six to 24 months to complete, depending on the size of the entity. Failing to complete a self-evaluation and transition plan can be costly and leave public entities vulnerable to legal actions, reviews by the Department of Justice (DOJ), fines, and loss of funding. By engaging a qualified accessibility consultant, public entities can get the technical expertise, practical recommendations, and strategic guidance they need to comply with Title II of the ADA. An accessibility consultant who is experienced in Title II will ensure that the self-evaluation process is thorough, actionable, and compliant, while also helping public entities make meaningful progress toward improving accessibility for all individuals with disabilities.
