ADA: Know Your Rights - Returning Service Members with Disabilities

Civic Life

Using State and Local Government Services and Activities: What to Expect

State and local governments offer a wide variety of services and activities that returning service members might need or wish to participate in, and all of these must comply with the ADA. Here are just a few examples of the many types of public services that are covered by the ADA: public trade schools and community colleges, public libraries, public hospitals, public parks and recreational facilities, public transit buses and trains, city and county offices where people go to renew licenses, apply for food stamps, pay their taxes, attend town meetings, serve on boards and commissions, or conduct other government business.

The rules for State and local governments concerning policy modification, effective communication, and facilities built or altered since the ADA went into effect are very similar to the rules for businesses, as described in the previous section of this publication. However, the rules for government facilities that have architectural barriers are different than the rules for businesses. The rules for government facilities are outlined here.

Government offices are not required to make all of their facilities accessible, but are required to make all of their programs accessible. They can do this by removing barriers at an existing facility, by relocating the program to an accessible facility, or by providing the program in a different manner. Government offices are not, however, required to undertake steps that would result in an "undue burden" or that would fundamentally change the nature of their programs.

Examples of making a program accessible are:

• A community college has two campuses, one is accessible while the other is not. It is not necessary to remove physical barriers at the inaccessible campus, if the two campuses offer the same courses, have the same hours, and serve the same geographic area.
• If the community college offers different courses at its two campuses, offers different programs (for example, day courses at one campus and evening courses at the other), or serves different geographic areas, it must undertake physical improvements at the inaccessible campus or move classes to accessible locations.
• If a person who uses a wheelchair volunteers to serve on a city Parks and Recreation Commission and the Commission's regular meeting place is inaccessible, the Commission must remove barriers at the regular meeting place or relocate its meetings to an accessible location, such as the auditorium of a nearby high school.

An example of providing a program in a different manner is:

• A public library that cannot be made accessible can drop books in the mail and allow them to be returned by mail to accommodate an individual who uses a wheelchair.

An example of an "undue burden" and how it might be solved is:

• In a small municipality, the town council holds its public meetings in an auditorium on the second floor of an historic town building. There is no space on the accessible first floor large enough to hold the meetings, there is no other building where the meetings could be held, and the cost of installing an elevator is beyond the town´s financial ability and would destroy the historic features of the town hall. The town´s solution may be to install a video conference system in a room on the first floor so people with mobility disabilities can participate in the meetings.