POLICY AREA 700 Exclusion of Handicapped Students Because of Inaccessible Local guidelines should be established to ensure that handicapped stu- 700.1 Each program or activity shall operate so that when viewed in its POLICY DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES Section 504 states that no qualified handicapped person can be excluded from participation in or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity because a facility is inaccessible to or unusable by that person. Program accessibility does not require that all existing facilities or every part of a facility be made accessible as long as other methods can be employed to make all programs readily available to handicapped persons requiring them. How to Comply Programs can be made accessible through such methods as: • Redesign of equipment. • Reassignment of classes or other services to accessible buildings. • Assignment of aides to students. • Alteration of existing facilities or construction of new accessible facilities. • Any other methods that result in making programs accessible to handicapped per sons. The local educational agency is not required to make structural changes in existing facilities when other methods are effective in achieving compliance. When the methods for meeting program accessibility are chosen, priority should be given to those methods that offer programs and activities in the most integrated setting. POLICY AREA 701 Accessibility of New Construction New construction must be designed and constructed so that the facility is FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT 63 existing facilities also are required to be accessible to and usable by handicapped persons to the maximum extent feasible. POLICY DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES Both P.L. 93-112, Section 504, and P.L. 94-482 require that all facilities constructed with federal funds or housing federally funded programs be accessible. How to Comply Compliance with this requirement may be met by designing, constructing, or altering facilities in conformance with the American National Standard Specifications for Making Buildings and Facilities Accessible to and Usable by the Physically Handicapped (American National Standards Institute, Inc., 1971). Information can also be obtained from the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, Washington, DC. POLICY AREA 702 Safety Standards Local guidelines should be established to ensure that all facilities conform to the minimum safety standards as required by health, fire, and safety regulations. POLICY DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES While safety standards are established and enforced for all students, there are some areas affecting the health and safety of handicapped students that should receive attention. For example: Facilities should have adequate and accessible toilets. • Vocational shop areas should be accessible with exterior exits as necessary for safety. • Storage areas should be accessible and apart from academic or vocational class rooms. •Work stations and equipment should be adapted to meet the needs of the individual student. • Fire exits should be adequate and accessible. • Routes of travel must ensure easy and safe access for all handicapped students. How to Comply Local and state health, fire, and safety regulations should be studied to ensure that facilities meet minimum standards. Although the standards published by the American National Standards Institute, Inc. (1971) deal primarily with accessibility, the suggested modifications reflect concern for safety and the general public welfare. POLICY AREA 703 Adaptive Devices and Special Equipment Provisions should be made to adapt vocational education shop equip- POLICY DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES Purchase of Adaptive Devices and Special Equipment Program staff will probably identify the student's need for adapted equipment during the vocational assessment. Some devices and equipment for different handicapping conditions are available by mail order. A directory of these sources is Accent Buyer's Guide (Accent Special Publications, 1977). Design of Special Equipment by Program Staff Meeting the particular need of a handicapped student may require a special piece of equipment. Staff will have to rely on their imagination and ingenuity to develop the appropriate equipment. Program staff could consult occupational therapists or bioengineers for assistance in this area. Examples of Simple Adaptive Devices and Modifications to Equipment The following is a list of some of the ways equipment can be adapted to meet the needs of handicapped students: • Installing safety devices on machines, such as: Guardrails. Cover plates. Warning plates for tactual interpretation. Warning lights. Warning sounds. • Installing adaptive operating devices on machines, such as: Hand controls (mono-, bi-). Foot controls. Hand-foot controls (hemi). Head controls. Mouth controls. FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT 65 Adapting existing equipment or securing other equipment to assist handicapped students, such as: Adaptive handles on tools. Guard plates to direct finger/hand accuracy. Left-handed scissors. Pattern guides. Cutting guides. Tape recorders. Caution: Reasonable Accommodation In order to provide realistic training programs, vocational programs always attempt to create a physical environment resembling as closely as possible that found in industry, thus allowing the development of skills as they are used in industry. In adapting equipment to meet the needs of handicapped students, it is important to work closely with representatives of the business-industrial community to ensure that training conditions that can be transferred to industry are created. Most employers are willing to make reasonable accommodations to modify or adapt equipment or devices to meet the needs of handicapped workers. (They are required under P.L. 93-112, Section 503, to do so if they receive federal contracts.) Therefore, when accommodating students in vocational programs, training conditions should not be so special that their duplication would impose undue hardship on employers. Students trained under such conditions might be unable to find employment in industry. |