Appendix C:
Policy Statement on Meeting Accessibility for Individuals with Disabilities

SUBJECT: Department Policy Statements on Access for Individuals with Disabilities

I am pleased to disseminate the attached policy statements which represent the results of the Work Group on the Recruitment, Advancement and Access for Individuals with Disabilities that I established in October of 1993. Co-chaired by Rod McCowan, Assistant Secretary, Office of Management, and Judy Heumann, Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the work group developed and recommended two policies related to the provision of equal access to all aspects of Departmental business for all individuals, including individuals with disabilities. I am now issuing these as Department policy.

The U.S. Department of Education Policy Statement on Meeting Accessibility for Individuals with Disabilities and the U.S. Department of Education Policy Statement on Making Materials and Information Available and Accessible to Individuals With Disabilities clarify the obligations of the Department of Education under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in federally assisted and federally conducted programs and activities.

The two policies define the obligations of the Department in two particular circumstances. The policy on Accessible Formats requires the Department to make all of its printed and audiovisual materials available to individuals with disabilities in a format that will enable them to have equal access to the information. The policy on Meeting Accessibility requires that all meetings conducted by or on behalf of the Department be readily accessible to individuals with disabilities. In addition to the policy statements, these issuances contain background information and strategies to ensure equal access for individuals with disabilities.

Each Assistant Secretary and Executive Officer will be working to implement these policies and to ensure that they become standard operating procedures for the Department.

Thank you for your assistance in making the Department of Education a model workplace for all individuals.

Attachments

Introduction

Background

Ensuring that all programs and activities are accessible to individuals with disabilities means that all facilities, services, and information must be readily accessible and usable by persons with disabilities. The Department is responsible for furnishing auxiliary aids if necessary to afford an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in, and enjoy the benefits of, a program or activity conducted by the Department. Auxiliary aids may include readers, materials in braille or large print, audiocassette recordings, materials on electronic disk, interpreters, assistive listening devices, opened captioned videos or other similar services or devices. Accessibility standards are found in the Departmental regulations implementing Section 504 issued in 1990 which are set forth at 34 CFR Part 105.

Meetings, conferences, and seminars must be accessible to persons with disabilities, including employees, participants, and the members of the public. Accessibility at meetings includes accessible communications and materials and accessible facilities for persons with mobility impairments. Meetings referred to in this paper include the following: (1) official Departmental meetings on Federal property; (2) meetings conducted by Department officials on non-Federal property; and (3) meetings conducted by contractors of the Department, acting on behalf of the Department.¹ In addition, this paper will comment upon meetings attended by Department officials on non-Federal property.

Policy Statement

Toward this end, the Department or contractor organizing a federally conducted meeting ("the organizer") will be responsible for locating, planning and using sites that are readily accessible, or making contracts or other procurement arrangements to make sites accessible before the time of a meeting.

In long-term planning of meetings, seminars and conferences, the organizer will write into the contract that the meeting rooms, restrooms, and other facilities to be used as part of the meeting and services provided by the site will be accessible to individuals with disabilities. In addition, it should be written into a contract that the organizer will reserve the right to cancel any contract if a hotel/site does not make the services and facilities accessible within a specified period of time prior to the conference/meeting.

When planning a federally conducted meeting, organizers should be aware when selecting a location for the meeting that the accessibility of facilities may vary depending on whether the property is publicly or privately owned and when it was constructed. Access to a federally conducted meeting is still governed, however, by the Department's regulations at 34 CFR Part 105. Therefore, organizers must ensure that the site chosen for the location of a meeting meets the accessibility standards governing the Department's programs and activities, i.e., that the program or activity, viewed in its entirety, is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. See 34 CFR Sec.105.32.

It is the responsibility of the meeting organizers to provide auxiliary aids in order to ensure accessible communication with individuals with disabilities who are to participate in or in other ways benefit from the meeting. Such auxiliary aids could include, for example, providing materials in alternative formats, providing sign-language interpreters, etc. Please refer to the Department's Policy Statement on Making Materials and Information Available and Accessible to Individuals With Disabilities for further information on this subject.

During the course of inviting participants and confirming participation, efforts must be made by both the organizer and the site reservations desk to notify participants what materials or visual aids will be used and where and how the facilities are accessible. Also, the meeting organizer must inquire whether the individual with disabilities has any additional needs and must determine what, if any, auxiliary aids are required by the individual, either before or during the meeting, in order to have access to the meeting. This information is to be shared between the meeting site and the organizers.

Department officials are encouraged, at the time of accepting an invitation to make an official appearance or presentation at major public meetings or events that are not conducted by or on behalf of the Department, to state the Department's commitment to the inclusion of all individuals and to inquire as to the event's efforts to address accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Department officials should consider the accessibility of the meeting or event to individuals with disabilities, in addition to the significance of the meeting or event to the Department's interests, in deciding whether to participate.

Strategies

1. A "check-list" will be developed by appropriate Departmental employees and members of the Department's Disability Work Group to assist persons in planning meetings by ensuring that all accessibility issues and requests for auxiliary aids are considered at the time a meeting is being planned. In the meantime, meeting organizers should confirm with the meeting site that the facilities and services planned for the meeting are accessible to persons with disabilities and that meeting participants are asked whether they need any auxiliary aids in order to make the meeting accessible.

2. Requisition forms used by the Department will be revised to include a space to indicate the accessibility of facilities and the type of auxiliary aids required.

3. Training for all Executive Officers, Contract Monitors, Managers, and any other appropriate headquarters and regional personnel will be given concerning this policy; Section 504 regulations; and monitoring of both. The training plan should include biannual refresher courses to assure proper implementation of accessibility requirements.

4. A list of local facilities that are accessible to persons with disabilities will be developed by members of the Disability Work Group, constituents from the disability community, and other appropriate Departmental staff.

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[Appendix A: 504 Regulations at 34 CFR Part 105]

[Appendix D: Policy Statement on Making Materials and Information Available and Accessible to Individuals with Disabilities]