The accessibility standards and guidelines were developed to facilitate inclusion of people with disabilities.  The standards and guidelines play a critical role in the design of facilities and programs.  A keen understanding of accessibility standards and guidelines are necessary in order for any agency, organization, or business to successfully include people with disabilities in all facets of parks, recreation and tourism.

Architectural Barriers Act of 1968
In the mid-1960’s the National Commission on Architectural Barriers to Rehabilitation of the Handicapped was established through an act of Congress.  The Commission's responsibility was to determine how architectural barriers impede access for people with disabilities; determine what is being done to eliminate barriers in existing buildings; and propose action to ensure access for people with disabilities.  In its findings, the Commission reported that architects, manufacturers, suppliers, and the general public were ignorant of accessibility issues.  As the Commission found that voluntary compliance was not enough to ensure access, it recommended enactment of federal legislation requiring all new buildings be accessible to people with disabilities.
 
In response to the Commission's report, Congress passed the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA; Public Law 90-480) in 1968.  The ABA required “any building or facility, built or renovated, or leased with Federal funds, will be built to be accessible to and usable by physically disabled persons.”  The ABA then designated four federal agencies as responsible for accessibility standards: the General Services Administration (GSA), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the US Postal Service (USPS).  As a result, each agency published its own set of technical provisions causing considerable confusion regarding federal accessibility standards.
 

ABA Key Points

•  “any building or facility, built, renovated, or leased with Federal funds, will be built to be accessible to and usable by physically disabled persons.”

• Addresses physical access for individuals with disabilities.

• Designates four federal agencies responsible for accessibility standards.

Rehabilitation Act of 1973
In 1973, the Rehabilitation Act ( Public Law 93-112) was passed.  This legislation was a comprehensive revision of the 1965 Vocational Rehabilitation Act, removing emphasis from vocational rehabilitation and focusing on total rehabilitation of all people with disabilities.  Sections 501 and 503 addressed employment of people with disabilities, requiring affirmative action plans for their hiring in the federal government and with federal contractors receiving contracts over $2,500.

Section 502 of Rehabilitation Act
As the four federal agencies responsible for accessibility standards were each doing their own thing and as the overlapping of authority caused much confusion, Section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act established the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (ATBCB).  The ATBCB was established as an independent regulatory agency with authority to enforce the ABA.  The ATBCB (today known as the Access Board) consists of representatives from 11 federal agencies and 12 members of the general public that are appointed by the President of the United States.
 
In 1982, the ATBCB published Minimum Guidelines and Requirements for Accessible Design (MGRAD).  This document was based on publications of the Americans Standards Institute that had published ANSI A117.1 in 1971 which detailed minimum requirements for access to public buildings for people with disabilities.  In 1984, the ATBCB updated MGRAD and published the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS).  The four agencies responsible for accessibility standards adopted UFAS as the standard for all buildings or renovations funded in whole or in part by the federal government.

Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act
As much of the legislation to this point concentrated on architectural access, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act address access to programs stating:
 

No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall solely by reason of his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive Agency.

 
Section 504 requires programming to be accessible to people with disabilities.  Options for accessible programming can include making the program available in alternative locations when the site itself cannot be made physically accessible.  In addition, Section 504 addresses the program access needs of people with visual impairments, hearing impairments, and learning impairments.  Section 504 also required all federal agencies to develop their own regulations for programs under their direction that were either federally assisted or federally conducted.
 

Section 504 states that an agency shall not:

• Deny a person with a disability the opportunity to participate in, or benefit from, a service solely on the basis of their disability.

• Offer a person with a disability an opportunity to participate that is not equal to that afforded to others.

• Provide a service for a person with a disability that is not as effective as that provided to others.

• Provide separate aids or services, unless it is necessary in order to provide an equal opportunity.

• Provide significant aid or assistance to any agency that discriminates on the basis of disability.

• Deny a person with a disability the opportunity to participate as a member of a planning or advisory board.

Additionally, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requires specific actions from agencies including conducting a self evaluation of its policies, facilities, programs and services to determine the extent to which they meet the intent of the regulations.  The agency is required to maintain the self evaluation on file for public inspection.  In choosing among available methods for compliance, the agency is directed to give priority to those methods offering programs and opportunities in the most integrated setting possible.  In the event that structural changes are necessary in order to provide program access, the agency is directed to develop a transition plan identifying barriers, describing the methods to eliminate the barriers, specifying the schedule for completion,
indicating the official responsible, and identifying the persons or groups consulted.  Emphasis is placed on including people with disabilities in the evaluation and transition planning processes.
 

Rehab Act Key Points

• Section 502 establishes Access Board (ATBCB) as an independent regulatory agency with authority to enforce the ABA.

• UFAS published and adopted as standard for accessibility specifications.

• Section 504 expands accessibility legislation to include program areas.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA; Public Law 101-336) was enacted in 1990 to extend the rights of people with disabilities into the private sector.  The ADA essentially extends the ABA and Section 504 to cover state and local government in addition to private businesses providing public accommodations.
 
The passage of the ADA evolved out of a series of findings from national research including points like:

• 49 million Americans have one or more physical or mental disabilities, and this is increasing as the population as a whole is growing.

• Discrimination against individuals with disabilities persists in such critical areas as housing, public accommodations, education, transportation, communication, recreation, health services, voting, and access to public services.

• Unlike individuals who have experienced discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, origin, religion, or age, individuals who have experienced discrimination on the basis of disability often had no legal recourse to redress such discrimination.

• The continuing existence of unfair and unnecessary discrimination and prejudice denies people with disabilities the opportunity to compete on an equal basis and to pursue those opportunities our free society is justifiably famous, and costs the United States billions of dollars in unnecessary expenses resulting from dependency and non-productivity.

The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the areas of employment, public services provided by state and local governments, public services operated by private entities, transportation, and telecommunications.

Accessibility Guidelines
The ADA also brought its own set of accessibility guidelines, the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG).  Although UFAS still applies to many federal agencies, the Department of Justice and the Department of Transportation have adopted ADAAG as their standard.  Some federal agencies have been provided with internal directives to also use ADAAG, but to reference back to UFAS in those few instances where UFAS is more strict.
 
The ADA requires that all new construction of places of public accommodation, as well as of commercial facilities such as office buildings, be accessible.  Moreover, all alterations to existing facilities that could affect the usability of a facility must be made in an accessible manner to the maximum extent feasible.  For example, if during renovations a doorway is being relocated, the new doorway must be wide enough to meet the new construction standard for accessibility.
 

ADA Key Points

• Extends protection of people with disabilities from discrimination in employment; public services provided by state and local, governments; public service provided by private entities; transportation; telecommunications.

• Adopts ADAAG as recommended accessibility guidelines for agencies covered by ADA