T. 6/26/92
SBO:LMS:KGF
    XX       (b)(6)                                   JUL 9 1992






XX               (b)(6)
Hutchinson, Kansas XX

Dear Mr. XX

     This letter responds to your April 25, 1992, letter
requesting information relating to the accessibility requirements
for a State prison.

     Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended,
prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with
handicaps by recipients of Federal financial assistance. Each
agency which provides Federal financial assistance has issued
regulations implementing section 504. In 1988, Congress enacted
the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 which, among other
things, amended section 504. Under the Civil Rights Restoration
Act, if a State department of corrections receives Federal
financial assistance from a Federal agency, then the State's
whole prison system is covered by section 504 including each of
its prison facilities. Therefore, if at the time that a State is
constructing new prison facilities, its department of corrections
is receiving Federal financial assistance, the prison facilities
should be constructed in compliance with the construction
standards contained in the Federal funding agency's section 504
regulation.

     In your letter you asked what accessibility standards would
have applied to the construction of a prison in 1989 or 1990.
Your specific concern is bathrooms. Most Federal funding
agencies, including the Department of Justice, which frequently
funds State departments of corrections, have adopted the Uniform
Federal Accessibility Standards as the accessibility standards
for new construction. Sections 4.21 and 4.22 of those standards
cover bathrooms and shower rooms. We have enclosed a copy of
those sections of the standards for your information.

     Additionally, title II of the Americans With Disabilities
Act prohibits discrimination against individuals with

cc: Records, CRS, Friedlander, Stewart, Foster
:udd:stewart:   XX   (b)(6).ltr


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disabilities by State and local governments. Under title II, a
State must provide access to its programs, services, and
activities in those facilities existing on January 26, 1992, the
effective date of the title. Thus, the program accessibility
requirements of title II would apply to all State prisons,
regardless of the date of their construction. The services,
programs, or activities of a prison, when viewed in their
entirety, must be readily accessible to and usable by individuals
with disabilities. Prisons, however, are not necessarily
required to make each of their existing facilities accessible.
The primary focus of program accessibility is not on existing
prison facilities but on whether the programs, services, or
activities are accessible to and usable by individuals with
disabilities. Program accessibility may or may not require
alterations to existing prison facilities.

     With respect to new construction begun after January 26,
1992, a State must follow the construction guidelines required by
the Department of Justice regulation. See page 23 of the
enclosed Technical Assistance Manual on title II.

     In response to your question concerning carrying individuals
with mobility impairments as a means of providing access to a
facility, the Technical Assistance Manual states:

          Is carrying an individual with a disability
     considered an acceptable method of achieving program
     access? Generally, it is not. Carrying persons with
     mobility impairments to provide program accessibility
     is permitted in only two cases. First, when program
     accessibility in existing facilities can be achieved
     only through structural alterations (that is, physical
     changes to the facilities), carrying may serve as a
     temporary expedient until construction is completed.
     Second, carrying is permitted in manifestly exceptional
     cases if (a) carriers are formally instructed on the
     safest and least humiliating means of carrying and (b)
     the service is provided in a reliable manner. Carrying
     is contrary to the goal of providing accessible
     programs, which is to foster independence.

Technical Assistance Manual at 20-21. Therefore, under limited
circumstances, it is permissible to carry individuals with







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mobility impairments to provide them access to different parts of
a facility.

     We hope this information is responsive to your inquiry.

                              Sincerely,



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

Enclosures (2)





























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