Appendix B:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law designed to prevent discrimination and enable individuals with disabilities to participate fully in all aspects of society. The OAC requires that all grant recipients comply with the ADA.

ACCESSIBILITY

The OAC is committed to making the arts accessible to all Ohioans. The agency believes that accessible buildings or spaces, programs and creative opportunities enrich the artistic experiences of all and enhance a community's cultural climate. To that end, organizations that receive funding from the OAC must be fully accessible and inclusive to every individual, including people with disabilities and older adults.

The OAC also requires an ADA transition plan for organizations that are not in compliance with the ADA. For examples of ADA transition plans, please contact your regional program coordinator. For more information on accessibility, see the Helpful Accessibility Links section.

As a reference, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act states, in part, that "no otherwise qualified person with a disability ... shall solely by reason of their 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."

HELPFUL ACCESSIBILITY LINKS

People with disabilities have the legal right to access OAC programs. Therefore, all programs and facilities of grant applicants must be accessible to everyone. A helpful tool available on the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) website is the Accessibility Planning and Resource Guide for Cultural Administrators, located here: http://www.nea.gov/resources/Accessibility/Planning/index.html.

The aforementioned guide is an online companion to the printed and online publication, Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator's Handbook, which can be found here: http://www.nea.gov/resources/Accessibility/pubs/DesignAccessibility.html.

Both of the above resources provide guidance to cultural administrators on how to achieve accessible and inclusive programming for everyone, including individuals with disabilities and older adults. A hardcopy of the handbook is also available upon request at the OAC. Please contact your regional program coordinator.

The NEA also offers a workbook to accompany the handbook at: http://www.arts.gov/resources/accessibility/pubs/DesignAccessibility/DesignAccess.pdf.

To learn more about a self-evaluation process that can help your arts and cultural organization comply with Section 504 and the ADA, visit the following link: http://www.arts.gov/resources/Accessibility/Planning/Step6.pdf.

Another useful checklist from the U.S. Department of Justice ADA website is the Americans with Disabilities Act Checklist for Readily Achievable Barrier Removal. Use it to assess your accommodations for people with disabilities. The checklist is available as a downloadable PDF document at: http://www.ada.gov/racheck.pdf

CONTACT US

For more information on how to make your programs accessible, contact your regional coordinator at 614/466-2613; for TTY/TDD use the Ohio Relay Service at 1-800/750-0750. For more suggestions on how to make your arts and cultural organization accessible to all citizens, visit the accessibility section on our website at: http://www.oac.ohio.gov/aboutOAC/accessibility.asp.

ADA GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

If you believe an event or facility funded by the OAC is inaccessible, you are encouraged to file a complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) at 30 E. Broad Street, 4th floor, Columbus, OH 43215-3414 or call them at 1-888/278-7101. You can also visit the OCRC's website at: http://www.crc.ohio.gov.

The OAC works with the OCRC to resolve complaints against grantees. After you file a complaint, please notify the OAC. The OAC will wait to receive written notification from the OCRC regarding the complaint that was filed before sending a formal letter informing the grantee of the complaint. Once the complaint is verified--and if the grantee is found to be noncompliant by the OCRC--then any funds the grantee has from the OAC will be put on hold. Decisions on any pending grant applications will be withheld until the grantee addresses and resolves the noncompliance issues.