U.S. Department of Justice

                                           Civil Rights Division

                                           Coordination and Review Section


DJ #204-012-00042                          P.O. Box 66118
                                           Washington, D.C. 20035-6118

                                                FEB 26 1994


Mr. Richard B. Engelman
Chief
Technical Standards Branch
Office of Engineering and Technology
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554

Dear Mr. Engelman:

     This letter is in response to your request for information
about Federal laws pertaining to closed captioning of television
programs and films. We apologize for the delay in responding.

     The ADA authorizes the Department of Justice to provide
technical assistance to individuals and entities having rights
and obligations under the Act. This letter provides informal
guidance to assist your agency in understanding the ADA's
requirements. However, it does not constitute a legal opinion or
legal advice and it is not binding on the Department.

     You state that you are aware of the FCC requirements that
television public service announcements that are funded by the
Federal government be closed captioned (47 U.S.C.  611) and that
television stations transmit information during emergencies both
aurally and visually (47 C.F.R.  73.1250(h)). You also state
you are unaware of any other requirements.  

     In addition to those requirements you mentioned, at least
three Federal requirements deal with the provision of closed
captioning: title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) , title III of the ADA, and section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

     Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of
disability in all programs, activities, and services provided or
made available by State and local governments, instrumentalities,




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or agencies, regardless of the receipt of Federal funds. Title
III of the ADA covers public accommodations such as shopping
centers, doctors' offices, museums, zoos, private schools, and
other private establishments. Copies of the title II and III
regulations and manuals explaining the regulations are enclosed.

     Regulations implementing titles II and III require the
provision of auxiliary aids and services by public and private
entities where necessary to ensure effective communication with
an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing (section 35.160, p.
35721, of the title II rule; and section 36.303, p. 35597, of the
title III rule, respectively). For individuals with hearing
impairments, auxiliary aids and services include, but are not
limited to, qualified interpreters, closed captioning, and
transcription services such as computer aided real-time
transcription (section 35.104, p. 35717, of the title II
regulation; and section 36.303(b)(1), p. 35597, of the title III
regulation).

     The title II regulation covers television and videotape
programming produced by public entities. Access to audio
portions of such programming may be provided through the use of
closed captioning. Page 35712 of the title II regulation
explains this concept.

     The title III regulation, section 36.307, p. 35598, does not
require that video-tape rental establishments stock closed-
captioned video tapes, although the most recent titles in the
establishments are, in fact, closed-captioned. Further
discussion of this point can be found on p. 35571 of the title
III regulation. Movie theaters are not required by title III to
present open-captioned films. However, other public 
accommodations that impart verbal information through soundtracks
an films, video tapes, or slide shows are required to make such
information accessible to persons with hearing impairments.
Captioning is one means to make the information accessible to
individuals with disabilities. Page 35567 of the title III
regulation explains this concept.

     Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits
discrimination on the basis of handicap in federally conducted
and assisted programs. Like the title II regulation, regulations
implementing section 504 require that Federal agencies and
recipients provide auxiliary aids and services whenever necessary
to ensure effective communications with members of the public.
Services include the provision of closed captioning. Thus,
audio-visual materials produced by the Federal government should
be captioned.


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     I hope this information is helpful to you.

                            Sincerely,


                      Stewart B. Oneglia
                             Chief
                 Coordination and Review Section
                      Civil Rights Division


Enclosures (3)






































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