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Accessible Meetings, Events, Programs
Policy:
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibit
discrimination against individuals with disabilities. According to
these laws, no otherwise qualified person
with a disability shall,
solely by reason of his/her disability, be excluded from the
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any program or activity of a
public entity. Title II of the ADA requires all services, programs and
activities of all state and local governments and their departments,
agencies or special purpose districts, to be accessible to qualified
individuals with disabilities. It is Kutztown University of
Pennsylvania’s policy to adhere to the ADA and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act.
Overview
A goal of the ADA Task Force is to make
the university community aware that meetings, events, programs
and
activities that are open to the public or the Kutztown University campus
community must be held
in an accessible location and that there may be
attendees who need reasonable accommodation.
The need for accessible
physical space will be handled by a remodeling of the Room Scheduler
system
so rooms or buildings that are currently inaccessible will
require a second approval before they
can be scheduled. For other
accommodations, the sponsor of an event, meeting or program will include
on the promotional/invitational material a statement that asks for
special needs to be made known ahead
of time in order to allow a
reasonable accommodation.
Ideally, a shared sense of
responsibility will develop for providing reasonable accommodations
across departments. However, this will most likely be an evolutionary
process.
Therefore, Disability Services will be
listed as the contact for requesting an accommodation with
the following
exceptions: commencement ceremonies handled by Administrative
Services
and events scheduled through the Cultural Affairs Office.
For others, Disability Services
will serve as a resource and will contact the sponsoring
department to discuss the accommodation
needs. For example, if the
request is to arrange chairs acertain way for a hearing impaired
individual, the request will be made known and the sponsoring department
will take care of the request.
Or, if the request is for an interpreter
at an event, Disability Services will arrange for the interpreter.
A
separate account will be created so reasonable accommodation may be
paid for out of that
account. Disability Services will manage the
account and monitor and report the
use of accommodations.
There will be an understanding that the
procedure will evolve and change into the most workable
procedure for
the university community. The guidelines sheet (attached) will be shared
with departments
so they have an understanding of what possible
reasonable accommodations may be.
Procedure for Planning Accessible
Meetings, Events, Programs
Language:
The proposed statement for the
university to use for programs such as workshops, events, seminars,
organizational meetings, etc. may be used in all methods of promotion,
including written, verbal
and electronic materials and announcements and
posters:
“Persons with a
disability, and who require accommodation, should notify the Disability
Services
Office two weeks prior to the event at 610-683-4108 or email
accommodation@kutztown.edu,
TDD number: 610-683-4499, in order to
discuss accommodations. Every effort will be made to
provide reasonable
accommodations.”
For Printed Materials:
Provide a statement of alternate format
on printed materials, pamphlets or brochures from offices:
“If you need this information in an
alternate format, please notify (name, phone number and email).”
If the printed material is already
available on a website, direct the reader to the website address.
Alternate formats include large print,
Braille, tape recordings, or computer disk/CD. Brailing
materials may
take up to 4 weeks,depending on the amount, so advance
notice is needed. For
presentations, providing all information in
electronic format is essential. Any diagrams or graphics
should be
accompanied by a written description.
Physical Access
The Room Scheduler system will be
adjusted so completely inaccessible rooms such as: Risley Hall,
the Blue
Room, Schaeffer 200, the Little Theatre in Schaeffer-SA2, and Sharadin
will require an alternate
form of approval through the Office of
Conference Services. The rooms will not be available to reserve
through
the online reservation system, but special approval and procedures will
be required to reserve
these rooms. The inaccessible rooms will not be
available for public use.
University Relations will include in
the procedures of the style guide and print shop:
A statement:
In order to assist individuals with
disabilities, invitational communications to
University events and programs should
include the following statement:
“Persons with a disability and who
require accommodation, should notify the Disability Services Office
two
weeks prior to the event at 610-683-4108 or email
accommodation@kutztown.edu or, TDD number:
610-683-4499, in order to
discuss accommodations. Every effort will be made to provide
reasonable
accommodations.”
Printed materials should have a
statement of alternate format included. For example:
“If you need this information in an
alternate format, please notify (name of originator of printed
material,
phone number and email).” If the printed material is already available
on a website, direct the
reader to the website address.
GUIDELINES for Planning Accessible
Meetings, Events, Programs
The following list provides guidance for
advance preparation, so departments can be aware
of possible reasonable
accommodation requests. Following these guidelines will make events
more comfortable for attendees and sponsors and demonstrate good faith
efforts to
provide reasonable accommodations. If you need assistance
please contact Disability
Services at (V) 610-683-4108, (TDD)
610-683-4499.
The provision of accessible meeting room
spaces will be included in the Room Scheduling
System via the rearranged
model.
Mobility Considerations:
Physical access to all areas to be used
for the program, including social areas, should be
accessible. Check
the location of the activities for the following:
·
Hallways are free of
clutter and provide clear and accessible route to all meeting areas.
·
Wheelchair seating
provided at designated locations for wheelchairs, not in the aisles.
·
Accessible parking spaces
serving a particular building shall be located on the
shortest
accessible route of travel from adjacent parking to an accessible
entrance.
Vision Considerations:
·
Agendas and any written
material available in alternate formats (Braille, enlarged print, disk,
audio tape)
·
Power Point or overhead
materials described to participants. If copies of the Power
Point or
overheads are provided to attendees, alternate format copies should be
provided
upon request.
Hearing Considerations:
·
Round table where
attendees can see one another.
·
Assistive Listening
Device can be borrowed for meetings.
Page 2 Guidelines
·
Persons who are deaf may
need a sign language interpreter. Suitable rooms allow the
interpreter
to stand by the speaker and have adjustable lighting.
·
Schedule interpreters well
in advance (two week minimum notice). Contact Disability Services.
·
A note taker may need to
sit beside the person and use a portable computer to provide
notes.
Outlets close to the seating and a table would be needed.
Medical Considerations:
·
Air-conditioned meeting
rooms
·
No chemical fumes/odors
A statement on brochures
and advance advertisement, “Because some participants may
have
a reaction to some chemicals, please be sensitive in your use of
perfumes, colognes,
and after shave and products with strong scents.
Thank you.”
·
If meals are served,
special dietary considerations are provided upon request.
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