EFE Marks Third Year as Host Site for ADA Learning Series

For the third year, Equip for Equality is the designated host site for the ADA Distance Learning Series. Monthly sessions, which began Nov. 19, 2002, and will continue through Sept.16, 2003, will focus on the issues, trends and challenges to implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The continuing education series is in collaboration with the Great Lakes ADA and IT Center, which is part of the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

How It Works

The 90-minute sessions are scheduled from 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Central Time and are real-time captioned on the Great Lakes ADA Center Web site, which also posts a digital recording of the session for later listening. This year, new technology permits the captioned version to be offered via streaming text from their Web site and is fully accessible to individuals utilizing screen readers and other assistive technology.

Who Should Participate

The ADA Distance Learning Series is a valuable resource for people with disabilities and their families, as well as for employers, supervisors, human resource and legal professionals, advocacy groups, business owners, ADA coordinators, and officials of state and local government.

Interested participants may attend the sessions free of charge at Equip for Equality's Chicago office, 11 East Adams, Suite 1200. To register or for more information, call Paris Tillery at Equip for Equality, 312-341-0022, ext. 7334, or visit the Great Lakes Web site at www.adagreatlakes.org/. Information about future seminars is also available on EFE's Web site at www.equipforequality.org.

Remainder of 2003 ADA Distance Learning Series Schedule

May 20, 2003 - Ask the Department of Justice (DOJ)
Speakers: DOJ representatives from the Civil Rights Division

Do you have a tough programmatic or policy question that nobody seems to be able to answer? Do you have questions about the ADA regulations or the application of the ADA to your business? Here is the opportunity to dialogue directly with DOJ representatives on any issues related to implementation and compliance with Title II and Title III provisions of the ADA and learn from questions posed by others.

June 17, 2003 - Demystifying the Federal Accessibility Requirements: Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) and Fair Housing Act
Speakers: Representatives from the U.S. Access Board

Are you confused about - which federal accessibility requirements apply to what; how the ADAAG and UFAS interface; which standard a state government receiving federal funds should use when remodeling an existing structure or designing a new building; how the ADAAG applies to housing, or what the difference is between transient housing addressed under the ADAAG and multifamily housing addressed under the Fair Housing Act Accessibility Guidelines? These and other technical questions will be addressed at this session.

July 15, 2003 - ADA Update: 13 Years Later
Speakers: John Wodatch, Chief, Disability Rights Section, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and Sharon Rennert, Attorney Advisor, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Join DOJ and EEOC representatives for updates on their enforcement efforts and policy initiatives, as well as on the status of recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and their impact on the ADA.

Aug. 19, 2003 - Accessibility of the Performing Arts: Assuring Access for Everyone
Speaker: Betty Siegel, Manager of Accessibility, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Washington, D.C.

Last year, we talked about ticketing policies; this year, we will focus on issues related to ensuring effective communication by providing sign language interpreters, audio description, assistive listening devices and alternative formats. Learn from the experiences of The Kennedy Center and other major performance venues across the country that have successfully implemented equal-access programs.

Sept. 16, 2003 - Best Practices in Accessible Electronic and Information Technology Policy
Speakers: Representatives from AccessIT, University of Washington, and the Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center (ITTATC), Georgia Tech

Does your agency have a policy on the acquisition and utilization of accessible electronic and information technology that you have avoided because it seems too complicated? Do you consider accessibility in your purchasing decisions? What are the advantages and how hard is it to do? Once you have a policy, how do you enforce it? Our experts will address your concerns.

Special Sessions

Dates will be announced based on timing of the release of revisions to the ADAAG and finalization of the 2002-2003 Supreme Court schedule and any related ADA cases.

Date: To be announced
Revisions to ADAAG: What's New?
Speakers: Representatives from the U.S. Access Board

This session will be scheduled following the final release of the Access Board's guidelines issued under the ADA, which are currently being updated and revised. They include a scoping document for ADA facilities, and a common set of technical criteria that the scoping section will reference. The rule also includes new scoping and technical provisions for accessible housing that derive from requirements for "Type A" dwelling units contained in the 1998 edition of the ICC/ANSI A117.1 standard, "Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities."

The proposed rule was issued in November 1999, and it is anticipated that the final rule will be issued during 2003. Join the staff from the U.S. Access Board for an incisive review of the changes in both format and technical requirements, and learn how the revised guidelines will apply to existing and new construction.

Date: Pending Supreme Court schedule
The Supreme Court and the ADA: 2002-2003 Session Overview
Speaker: To be announced

Previous U.S. Supreme Court sessions have tackled issues such as Who is a person with a disability? Can an employer withdraw an offer of employment based on the defense of "direct threat to self"? Is the ADA Constitutional? Join us as we examine the ADA-related cases taken up by the justices during the 2002-2003 Supreme Court session. The exact date of this program will be announced later, based on the schedule of the Supreme Court. =

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