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IntroductionAccess for Everyone can be used to evaluate plans, buildings, and sites to determine whether they are accessible. To provide the most current ideas and information about accessibility, we have extensively consulted the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). Throughout Access for Everyone, we include references to the ADAAG standards of 1998 and the revised 2004 ADAAG for your convenience. We have also incorporated principles of Universal Design, which suggest that environments should be designed to serve the needs of a variety of users. The ADAAG addresses buildings and sites covered under both the ADA and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). The specific guidelines for spaces and elements of buildings, facilities, and sites covered under the ADA and ABA are the same and are included in the ADAAG. However, scoping requirements for the ADA and the ABA contain some differences. Access for Everyone focuses throughout on ADA scoping requirements. We cover scoping for the ABA separately in the Specific Use Areas section The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is a civil rights law that protects people against discrimination on the basis of physical and mental disabilities. The ADA is important because approximately 20% of all American people, about 55 million of us, have some type of disability that affects daily life (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). The ADA mandates policies, procedures, and practices that provide equitable access for all people to jobs, buildings, services, transportation, and other aspects of everyday life. The ADA has five titles that include information pertaining to employment and the accessibility of programs, services, transportation, and buildings and sites. Access for Everyone specifically focuses on building and site accessibility requirements that may pertain to entities covered under Title II and Title III. The entities covered under Title II and Title III have different responsibilities for ensuring accessibility of buildings and sites. |
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