Welcome to NewADAAG.com

Your source for the most current information on New ADAAG and How to Use It

A Public Service Web Site maintained by Evan Terry Associates, P.C.** The links on this web site will become active as soon as the documents they refer to are released.  If any link does not work on your first try, come back when the referenced documents are released and try again.

!!! NEWS !!!

See What’s NEW with ADA.

The House gave final approval on September 17 for legislation to stop discrimination against individuals with disabilities by restoring the original intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The House passed the ADA Amendments Act by voice vote to overturn the erroneous Supreme Court decisions that have eroded protections for people with disabilities.

The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (S. 3406, passed by the Senate unanimously on September 11, 2008):

• Overturns the erroneous Supreme Court decisions that have eroded the protections for people with disabilities under the ADA, restoring original Congressional intent.
• Rejects strict interpretation of the definition of disability, and makes it absolutely clear that the ADA is intended to provide broad coverage to protect anyone who faces discrimination on the basis of disability.
• Strikes a balance between employer and employee interests.
• Prohibits the consideration of mitigating measures such as medication, prosthetics, and assistive technology, in determining whether an individual has a disability.
• Covers people who experience discrimination based on a perception of impairment regardless of whether the individual experiences disability.
• Provides that reasonable accommodations are only required for individuals who can demonstrate they have an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, or a record of such impairment. Accommodations need not be provided to an individual who is only “regarded as” having an impairment.
• Is supported by a broad coalition of civil rights groups, disability advocates, and employer trade organizations.

Click here for more details:

Sign up* to receive a free copy of Evan Terry Associates’ detailed analysis of what is new, what has changed, and what has disappeared in the New ADAAG when compared with the current ADA Standards.  This is a line-by-line comparison with a detailed summary that can be sorted to follow the current Standards or the New ADAAG.

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Link to Publications for sale.

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Links

The Access Board

Read and/or subscribe to the Access Board’s Newsletter – Access Currents

Download a copy of the New ADA-ABA Guidelines

More News

Visit the Board’s Home page to see everything else they have to offer

Visit Access Board's web site for Draft Guidelines for Accessible Public Rights-of-Way

The Department of Justice – Disability Rights Section

Read what DOJ has to say about their progress adopting a new ADA Standard                  

Download a copy of the ANPRM (Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule) for adopting New Standards

Download a copy of the ANPRM for the Proposed Framework for Regulatory Analysis

(Both released September 30, 2004)

Visit DOJ’s ADA Home page to see everything else they have to offer

The General Services Administration

Read about the GSA’s policy on Accessibility for the Disabled

Buy the current Facilities Standards for Public Buildings Overview (P100)

The Department of Housing and Urban Development

Read about Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Accessibility Requirement for Buildings

The Department of Transportation – Federal Transit Administration ADA Page

Download a copy of the NPRM (Proposed Rule) on adopting the New ADAAG

(If this one isn’t here when you click, it’s probably because it has not been released yet.  Look again in late 2005)

Visit DOT/FTA’s ADA Home page to see everything else they have to offer

Evan Terry Associates, P.C.

ETA’s recent ADA Update Newsletter on New ADAAG

Register* to begin receiving ADA email updates and access-related announcements

Download our comparison of the current ADA Standards and the New ADAAG

Available soon (we’re still working on it) or sign up here to be notified when it’s ready.

Visit our Access Compliance Home page to see all of our materials

Visit our ADA Information page for free articles and publications

Visit our Publications page to order our Pocket Guides and other publications

Visit our Access Compliance Links page to find other web sites of interest

Visit our Home page for more information on our firm

Other New ADAAG Comparisons and Publications by Others (When available)

Training

Harvard University

If you are interested in updating your skills in universal design and standards compliance, this is the time.  

Three-Day Program

Harvard University’s Office of Executive Education is offering a three-day program entitled Universal Design and Fair Housing, and the New ADA/ABA on July 30, 2008 through August 1, 2008.  Program instructors include Cynthia A. Leibrock, Bill Hecker, Marsha Mazz, James L.E. Terry and Valerie Fletcher. Click here for more details

One-Day Program

Harvard is also offering the one-day program on The New ADA/ABA as a stand alone option entitled The New ADA/ABA and an introduction to Universal Design Concepts in Practice on July 31, 2008. Program instructors include Cynthia A. Leibrock and Marsha Mazz. Click here for more details.

National Association of ADA Coordinators

Fall 2008 Conference in Las Vegas.  Click here for more details.

The Access Board

Access Board’s training web page or schedule.

Others

Please let us know of any seminars or workshops that you know about.

Old News

On July 15, 2008, the Department of Justice plans to broadcast live over the internet the Public Hearing on Proposals to Amend Regulations under Titles II and III of the ADA.

The Webcast will be provided in Windows Media and Real Media formats.  Real-time captioning will be provided.  Click here for details.

A public hearing is scheduled for July 15, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.  In order to provide an opportunity for interested persons to express their views directly to Department officials, the Department will hold a public hearing in Washington, D.C., on the proposed regulatory amendments.  The hearing will be held at the Marriott Hotel at Metro Center, 775 12th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.  20005, (202) 737-2200.  All comments will be made available for public viewing online at www.regulations.gov and must be received by August 18, 2008.

Important Documents available for review/download on proposed ADA Standards

Key documents for the Proposed ADA Standards can be found at in both HTML and PDF formats:  Links to these documents can be found on the same webpage by clicking here to review or by simply clicking on the topics listed below:

1]  Proposed ADA Standards for Accessible Design

2]  NPRM [Notice of Proposed Rule Making] – Proposed Rules for Title II and for Title III [June 17, 2008]

Appendix A and B both were supposed to have been inserted at the end of the Federal Register for Title II and for Title III Proposed Rules.  The Appendices are identical for both Title II and for Title III. 

3]  APPENDIX A: Analysis of the Proposed Standards,

4]  APPENDIX B:  Initial Regulatory Assessment.

June 4, 2008 – US DOJ released “Advanced Text” of their Proposed Rule to revise the ADA Standards and Regulations for Titles II & III.

The documents are temporarily available in PDF & HTML versions at: http://www.ada.gov/NPRM2008/ADAnprm08.htm. 

According to the DOJ Notice:

The Department cannot accept comments on the Department’s proposals through www.regulations.gov until they are published in the Federal Register. Once they are published, interested parties will have sixty days to comment on them. Although the text that is published in the Federal Register may have slight variances in font, punctuation, and format from the advance text, there will be no substantive changes in the Federal Register text from the advance text. The Department will update its ADA website at www.ada.gov and provide notice of the publication date in the Federal Register. At that time, the Department will remove the advance text from its website and replace it with the published version of the Department’s proposals. The regulations will also then be available at www.regulations.gov

May 30, 2008 – The Global Universal Design Commission held its Inaugural Meeting in Syracuse, NY

This new organization has formed to develop a voluntary consensus Standard for designers and developers to follow to receive recognition for going beyond mandatory accessibility requirements (the recognized base) to develop truly universally-designed buildings and facilities.  The Standard will be developed incrementally over the next few years with an early release version slated for later this year.  The process will work very similarly to the US Green Building Council’s LEED program except that it will give credits for Universal Design features.  To accomplish that, they have enlisted the help of Mike Italiano who co-founded the USGBC and who spoke at the Inaugural Meeting about how the process will work.  Among the very notable Council members behind the effort are John Lancaster, Executive Director of the National Council on Independent Living, Peter Blanck, Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse Univ., Graham Hill, member of the National Council for Disability, and Ed Steinfeld, Director of the IDEA Center at SUNY Buffalo.  Serving in a less active roll, but also involved in the process is Luis Gallegos, Ecuador’s Ambassador to both the United States and the United Nations who helped to shepherd the new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities through the UN this past year.  For more information on this initiative, go to www.globaluniversaldesign.org and/or Register here to receive email updates as new developments happen with the GUDC Standard.

May 23, 2008 - Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") releases proposed New ADA Title II and Title III Regulations to the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ").  Proposed rule should be issued by DOJ within a week or two to adopt new regulations and standards.

March/April 2008 - See articles from Facilities Manager Magazine: "New ADAAG" - The New ADA/ABA Accessibility Guidelines.

March 23, 2007 - the Board added supplementary information on its 2004 Guidelines for the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA).  More information can be found at http://www.access-board.gov/ada-aba/supplement.htm.

October 30, 2006 - the US Department of Transportation adopted the New ADA/ABA Guidelines, with minor modifications, as its Standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The action took effect on November 29, 2006. DOT was already covered by the ADA/ABA Guidelines for its own facilities when GSA adopted them as their ABA Standards a year ago. This makes all transportation facilities covered by the ADA and the Architectural Barriers Act subject to the new Standards.

Specific Guidelines and Standards for Public Rights of Way elements are still under consideration by the Access Board and DOT with no firm deadline for adoption. More information can be found in the attached adoption notice and at http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/civil_rights_2360.html.

May, 2006 - GSA Adopts New Accessibility Standards

New Accessibility standards adopted by GSA will soon govern the design of new or altered GSA buildings.  The Standards, which are based on the new ADA/ABA Guidelines apply to the design and construction of new facilities and altered areas of existing facilities subject to the Architectural Barriers Act, which ensures access to buildings that are federally funded.  Leased GSA property, however, will not fall under the new standards until February 2007.

New accessibility standards adopted by the U.S. Postal Service will soon govern the design of new or altered Postal Service buildings. The standards, which are based on the new ADA/ABA Guidelines apply to the design and construction of new facilities, altered areas of existing facilities, and leased facilities subject to the Architectural Barriers Act, which ensures access to buildings that are federally funded.

August 5, 2005 - Access Board Publishes Editorial Corrections to the ADA and ABA Guidelines. 

The Access Board issued corrections to the updated guidelines it published last year (July 23, 2004) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA).  The revisions are editorial in nature and do not change the substance of the provisions.  For example, defined terms are italicized consistently throughout the document, and in several instances this convention was inadvertently omitted.

May 16, 2005 - Announcement of Alternative ADA ANPRM Comment Process.

Representatives of small business, along with individuals with disabilities, have told the Department of Justice they are interested in providing comments on the Department’s rulemaking, but would prefer to do so anonymously. While the Department is not able to accept anonymous comments, it is hereby offering an alternative means for submitting comments. The purpose of this alternative is to assist commenters who do not wish their identity to be known to Department personnel who initiate enforcement action under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and commenters who wish to remain anonymous to the public.

Spring, 2005 – US Postal Services Adopts New Accessibility Standards.

January 19, 2005 - DOJ Extends Public Comment Period for Revised ADA Design Standards until May 31, 2005

Members of the public may submit comments until May 31, 2005. Comments may be submitted electronically to www.adaanprm.org or www.regulations.gov or by mail to P.O. Box 1032, Merrifield, VA 22116-1032 .   All comments will be available to the public online at www.adaanprm.org and, by appointment, at the offices of the Disability Rights Section.

November 26, 2004 - Access Board releases Draft Guidelines for Passenger Vessels.

The Access Board has released Information on Guidelines for Passenger Vessels for accessibility access to both large and small passenger vessels.  Current standards used to enforce the ADA’s transportation provisions do not address passenger vessels.  The Access Board held a hearing for public feedback on January 10, 2005 in Washington, D.C.

September 30, 2004 - US Department of Justice Publishes ANPRM to begin process of adopting New Standards.

The Department of Justice has published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to begin the process of revising the Department's ADA regulations to adopt design standards that are consistent with the revised ADA Accessibility Guidelines published by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (also known as the Access Board) on July 23, 2004.  The ANPRM is the first of three steps in the regulatory process.  The ANPRM will be followed by notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and a final rule.  Members of the public may submit comments here or in writing until January 28, 2005.

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Last Updated September 19, 2008

**Disclaimer - Although Evan Terry Associates, P.C. (ETA) offers this free public service web site for your convenience, ETA does not warrant that all information on it is up to date.  If you are aware of any errors on the site, or new information that you believe should be added, please send us your comments at newadaag@evanterry.com.  Users remain individually liable for compliance with all Federal regulations and ETA makes no claim to assume any of that liability.