Protecting the Rights of Parents and Prospective Parents with Disabilities: Technical Assistance for State and Local Child Welfare Agencies and Courts
1. What are the basic requirements of ADA Title II and Section 504?
Answer: Title II of the ADA provides that no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in, the services, programs, or activities of state and local government entities.31 Section 504 similarly prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability against qualified individuals with a disability in programs, services, and activities receiving Federal financial assistance.32
Under the ADA and Section 504, programs cannot deny people with disabilities an opportunity to participate,33 and must provide people with disabilities with meaningful and equal access to programs, services, and activities.34 Programs and services must be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.35 In addition, programs must provide people with disabilities with an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from the programs, services and activities of the entity;36 they are also prohibited from using methods of program administration, which includes written rules as well as agency practices, that have a discriminatory effect on individuals with disabilities.37 Moreover, programs must provide reasonable modifications in policies, practices, and procedures when necessary to avoid discrimination;38 and must take appropriate steps to ensure that communications with applicants, participants, members of the public, and companions with disabilities are as effective as communications with others through the provision of auxiliary aids and services.39
31 42 U.S.C. § 12132.
32 29 U.S.C. § 794(a).
34 Choate, 469 U.S. 287.
35 28 C.F.R. § 35.150(a); 45 C.F.R. § 84.22(a).
36 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(b)(1)(ii); 45 C.F.R. § 84.4(b)(1)(ii);
37 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(b)(3); 45 C.F.R. § 84.4(b)(4).
38 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(b)(7); Choate, 469 U.S. at 301.
39 28 C.F.R.§ 35.160(a)(1); see also 45 C.F.R. § 84.52(d) (requiring health and social services entities to provide appropriate auxiliary aids to persons with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills, where necessary to afford such persons an equal opportunity to benefit from the service in question).
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