APR 26 1993


The Honorable J. James Exon
United States Senate
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Exon:

        This letter is in response to your inquiry on behalf of your
constituent,           XX       concerning the Americans with
Disabilities Act ("ADA") that was sent to this office and to the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.      (b)(6)
requested information about the ADA and expressed some concerns
about the financial impact that the ADA may have on the resources
of the Ponca School Board in Ponca, Nebraska.

        The ADA authorizes this Department to provide technical
assistance to individuals and entities that have rights or
responsibilities under the ADA. Therefore, this letter provides
informal guidance to assist you in responding to      XX         .
However, this technical assistance does not constitute a legal
interpretation, and it is not binding on the Department of
Justice.

        Title II of the ADA, which became effective on January 26,
1992, prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability and
governs the operations of local and State governments.
Accordingly, the Ponca School Board is covered by title II and is
required to comply with its provisions. If the Ponca School
system receives Federal financial assistance from any Federal
agency, then the school system also is subject to section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination on
the basis of handicap in federally assisted programs and
activities.


cc: Records; Chrono; Wodatch; McDowney; Bowen; Delaney; FOIA.
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        Title II requires that all programs, services, and
activities of a public entity be made available without
discrimination on the basis of disability. A public entity is
not necessarily required to make each of its existing facilities
accessible but it must ensure that its services, programs, or
activities, when viewed in their entirety, are readily accessible
to and usable by individuals with disabilities. See section
35.150(a) of the enclosed title II regulation. Accordingly, it
may be possible for the Ponca School Board to comply with this
obligation without necessarily making all of its existing
buildings physically accessible. Services and programs may be
made available in alternate locations, or special arrangements
can be made to afford services to persons with disabilities in
accessible parts of a building. See also section 35.150(b).

        The title II regulation requires all public entities,
regardless of size, to conduct a self-evaluation or review of its
services, policies, and practices by January 26, 1993, to
identify inaccessible facilities and to develop solutions to make
the programs, services, and activities accessible. See section
35.105. In the event that structural changes to existing
facilities are necessary in order to make a program, service, or
activity accessible to persons with disabilities, a public entity
that employs fifty or more employees must develop a transition
plan by July 26, 1992, setting forth the steps necessary to
complete those changes. Any structural changes outlined in the
transition plan must be completed as expeditiously as possible
but no later than January 26, 1995. See section 35.150(d) of the
title II regulation.

        The title II regulation, like the section 504 rule, does not
require a public entity to take action that it can demonstrate
would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of its
programs or activities or in undue financial and administrative
burdens. The decision that compliance would result in such
burdens must be made by the head of a public entity after
considering all resources available for use in the funding and
operation of the service, program, or activity, and must be
documented by a contemporaneous written statement of the reasons
for reaching that conclusion. If making a program fully
accessible would result in such burdens, a public entity is
required to take any other action that would not result in such
burdens but would nevertheless ensure that individuals with
disabilities receive the benefits or services provided by the
public entity.

        The title II regulation makes it clear that all facilities
designed, constructed, or altered by, on behalf of, or for the
use of a public entity, must be readily accessible and usable by
individuals with disabilities if the construction or alteration
began after January 26, 1992. See section 35.151. Section
35.151(c) of the title II rule permits a public entity, when
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altering or constructing a building or facility, to use either
the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) or the ADA
Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), which are an appendix to the
enclosed title III regulation.

        I hope this information is helpful in responding to your
constituent.

                                        Sincerely,


                                     James P. Turner
                            Acting Assistant Attorney General
                                  Civil Rights Division

Enclosures (2)






























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