the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is a civil rights statute that prohibits discrimination against people who have disabilities. With the advent of the Act, designing and constructing facilities for public use that are not accessible by people with disabilities constitutes discrimination.

The Act applies to all facilities, including facilities built before and after 1990. As a necessary step to a program access plan to provide accessibility under the ADA, state and local government, public entities or agencies are required to perform self-evaluations of their current facilities and infrastructure, relative the accessibility requirements of the ADA. Agencies are then required to develop a Transition Plan, to address any deficiencies. The Plan is required to be updated periodically until all accessibility barriers are removed.