What Do Engineers and Architects Need To Know About The Americans With Disabilities Act?

What Do Engineers and Architects Need To Know About The Americans With Disabilities Act ?

Course Outline

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law intended to protect qualified persons with disabilities from discrimination in employment, government services and programs, transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunications. The ADA covers a wide range of legal and regulatory issues with regard to Americans with disabilities. This course will focus on the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, with which engineers and architects need to comply when working on new constructions or alterations of existing structures. The ADA Accessibility Design Guidelines include general instructions and definitions as well as technical specifications and requirements on elements and spaces. Specific requirements for restaurants, cafeterias, medical facilities, business facilities, lodging facilities, libraries and transportation facilities are also discussed in the ADA Accessibility Design Guidelines. It is very important for engineers and architects to get familiar with the guidelines. In some states, professional engineers who design buildings are required to have certain professional development hours (PDH) in ADA Accessibility Design Guidelines for their PE renewals.

This course includes a multiple choice quiz at the end.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

Be familiar with the purpose of Americans with Disabilities Act;
Be familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities;
Have a better understanding of the general instructions;
Have a better understanding of the the definitions;
Be familiar with general terminology;
Be familiar with dimension tolerance;
Have a better understanding of the scope for accessible elements and spaces;
Have a better understanding of the technical requirements for accessible elements and spaces;
Be familiar with minimum requirements for accessible sites and exterior facilities;
Be familiar with minimum requirements for accessible new buildings;
Be familiar with minimum requirements for accessible building additions and alterations;
Be familiar with minimum requirements for historic preservation;
Be familiar with space allowance and reach range;
Be familiar with accessible route;
Be familiar with requirements for ramps;
Be familiar with requirements for stairs and elevators;
Be familiar with requirements for doors and entrances; and
Have a better understanding of the specific requirements for various facilities;

Course Introduction

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law enacted on July 26, 1990. It is intended to protect qualified persons with disabilities from discrimination in employment, government services and programs, transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunications. The ADA supplements and complements other federal and state laws which protect persons with disabilities. The Department of Justice published revised regulations for Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 "ADA" in the Federal Register on September 15, 2010. The Department is providing this document with the official 2010 Standards in one publication. The document includes:

• The 2010 Standards for State and local governments, which consist of the Title II regulations at 28 CFR 35.151 and the 2004 ADAAG at 36 CFR part 1191, appendices B and D;
• The 2010 Standards for public accommodations and commercial facilities, which consist of the Title III regulations at 28 CFR part 36, subpart D, and the 2004 ADAAG at 36 CFR part 1191, appendices B and D.

State or local government will be in compliance with the ADA for new construction and alterations if it follows the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities, which is the standard that must also be used for public accommodations and commercial facilities under title III of the ADA. A public accommodation is a private entity that owns, operates, leases, or leases to, a place of public accommodation. Places of public accommodation include a wide range of entities, such as restaurants, hotels, theaters, doctors' offices, pharmacies, retail stores, museums, libraries, parks, private schools, and day care centers. Private clubs and religious organizations are exempt from the ADA's title III requirements for public accommodations.

A public entity must ensure that individuals with disabilities are not excluded from services, programs, and activities because existing buildings are inaccessible. A State or local government's programs, when viewed in their entirety, must be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. This standard, known as "program accessibility," applies to facilities of a public entity that existed on January 26, 1992. Public entities do not necessarily have to make each of their existing facilities accessible. They may provide program accessibility by a number of methods including alteration of existing facilities, acquisition or construction of additional facilities, relocation of a service or program to an accessible facility, or provision of services at alternate accessible sites.

The ADA requires that all new buildings constructed by a State or local government be accessible according to the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities. In addition, when a State or local government undertakes alterations to a building, it must make the altered portions accessible. The design of new public accommodations and commercial facilities and the alterations of the existing public accommodations and commercial facilities must also comply with Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities.

Course Content

In this course you are required to study the following:

2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design

Course Summary

The Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities provide guidelines and specifications for accessibility to places of government buildings, public accommodation and commercial facilities by individuals with disabilities. These guidelines are to be applied by engineers and architects during the design, construction, and alteration of such buildings and facilities to the extent required by regulations issued by Federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as revised in 2010.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDHonline.org or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.