The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, PL 101-336) is a civil rights law that was signed by President George Bush in July of 1990. It is a comprehensive piece of legislation that promotes the rights of people with disabilities. It is similar to, yet more extensive than Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which prevents discrimination against persons with disabilities by organizations that receive federal funds. Both of these acts are included in this manual in Appendix A. An ADA checklist is also provided in Appendix B.

Federal law (ADA and Section 504) requires that adult education and literacy programs adhere to the following policies to ensure compliance:

1. Ensure that all program services are accessible and barrier-free in accordance with the ADA (see Appendix A).
2. Access to program enrollment and orientation will be in accordance with the ADA (see Appendix A).
3. All adult education and literacy programs are legally responsible for five specific administrative requirements in the ADA:
   1. Each program must have a designated ADA coordinator.
   2. Each program must provide public notice.
   3. Each program must have an established ADA grievance policy. Procedures in this policy should include how, where, and with whom a grievance can be filed, a reasonable time period for filing, reviewing and ruling a grievance, an appeals process, and how each step in the grievance process will be documented. All programs should provide information to all students with disabilities that describes the process for filing a grievance with Disability Rights, Inc. (Phone: 800/482-1174) If the program is part of a larger agency, know the components of that agency's grievance policy, especially if that agency requires all divisions under its purview to follow them.
   4. Each program must conduct a self-evaluation.
   5. Each program must develop a transition plan regarding accessibility.

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