In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. The ADA, the most comprehensive of the nation’s disability laws, prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation. The ADA was amended in 2008 (now the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act, or ADAA), and it broadened the scope and definition of disability.
Title II - includes publicly-funded universities, community colleges, and vocational schools.
Title III states, “No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any private entity who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation.”
Title III applies to:
(1) Public accommodation;
(2) Commercial facility; or
(3) Private entity that offers examinations or courses related to applications, licensing, certification, or credentialing for secondary or post-secondary education, professional, or trade purposes.
Fact: Harvard and MIT, both private schools, were brought to court in 2015 under title III of the ADA, section 3, over accessibility of electronic media. This means that private schools, (like Lewis University) are not exempt from the ADA.
Section 504 states: “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in section 7(20), shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the 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 or by the United States Postal Service.”
Section 508 mandates that federal agencies make electronic information accessible to members of the public with disabilities, as well as employees with disabilities. Section 508 applies to colleges and universities that receive federal funding.
Fact: 97% of new incoming Lewis students receive financial assistance. Approximately $60 million is awarded each year through federal, state, institutional and donor funding. This means that Section 504 and Section 508 laws apply to Lewis University!
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