2001 Conference Proceedings
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WHEN PUBLIC AGENCIES MUST PROVIDE TECHNOLOGY AS A REASONABLE
ACCOMMODATION
Michael J. Kluk, Senior Attorney
PROTECTION & ADVOCACY, INC.
100 Howe Avenue, Suite 235N
Sacramento, CA 95825
ph. (916)488-9950
People with disabilities have the right to receive public
benefits and participate in public programs to the same extent as
others. If you need an accommodation such as assistive technology
to receive equal treatment, the agency administering the public
service must provide it at no cost to you.
Assistive technology is any device that helps overcome the
effects of a disability, but it does not include personally
prescribed devices. The laws do not use the terms "accommodation"
and "assistive technology." Instead, they use terms such as
"auxiliary aids for effective communication" and "modification to
policies, practices and procedures." They mean the same
thing.
Eligibility:
To be protected, you must, with or without reasonable
accommodations, meet the program's criteria for participation.
Second, you must demonstrate that:
You have a physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more of your major life activities (such as
learning, working, seeing, hearing, speaking, performing manual
tasks, walking, breathing, and caring for yourself); or
You have a record of such an impairment (such as a disease that
is in remission); or Other people believe you have such an
impairment (for example, you have scarring from severe burns, but
have no impairments).
How to Get What You Need:
If the agency has a formal process for requesting accommodations,
you should contact the agency's ADA or section 504 coordinator to
find out what you need to do. Otherwise, you can make your
accommodation request either orally or in writing. Identify
yourself as a person with a disability, describe how your
disability affects your participation in the program, and set out
the specific accommodations you need. To be sure, you should make
your request in writing and specify a date by which you expect an
answer.
Public agencies must honor your preference unless they can show
that an equally effective accommodation exists. A public agency
need not provide the accommodation you requested when it would
change the essential nature of the program, or it would pose a
significant difficulty or expense on the public agency. In such
cases, the agency must provide an alternative, if one exists,
which ensures that you can participate in its program to the
maximum extent possible.
Appeals
If a public agency refuses to provide you with the accommodations
you need, or discriminates against you because of your
disability, you can do three things. First, file an internal
grievance with the agency itself, which you should do as soon as
possible. You should contact the agency to find out its process
for internal grievances.
Alternatively, within 180 days from the date of discrimination,
you can file a complaint with the federal agency that has
authority over the agency that has discriminated against you. If
you don't know which federal agency to file with, you can file
with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ will
forward your complaint to the appropriate federal agency. To file
a complaint, send a letter to the DOJ that includes complete
information about you, the agency and the incident about which
you are filing the complaint. The address for the Department of
Justice is:
Disability Rights Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
Post Office Box 66738
Washington, D.C. 20035-6738.
Finally, from the moment you experience discrimination you also
have one year to file a lawsuit in court. For this, you must
first file a Tort Claim Act request with the agency within 180
days of the date of the discrimination. You do not have to file
an internal grievance or a complaint with a federal agency before
you file a lawsuit. You can go to court even if the federal
agency finds no discrimination. You can represent yourself in a
court action but you probably should get an attorney.
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