MAY 12 1994



The Honorable Pete V. Domenici
United States Senator
Room 302
New Post Office Building
120 South Federal Place
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

Dear Senator Domenici:

     This letter is in response to your inquiry on behalf of your
constituent, (b)(6)    XX     who is asking for assistance in
her efforts to get captioning or films  in Santa Fe movie
theaters.

     Movie theaters are "places of public accommodation," and,
therefore, are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) and  36.104 of the title III regulation. Public
accommodations are required to provide appropriate auxiliary aids
and services to persons who are deaf or who have hearing
impairments.  However, the legislative history of the ADA
indicates that this requirement does not mandate open captioning
of films shown in movie theaters.  Moreover, at present there is
no proven technology available for providing closed captions
(i.e. captions visible only to individuals who need them) in this
setting.  Accordingly, captioning in movie theaters is currently
not required by the ADA.

     We hope this information is helpful to you in responding to
your constituent.

                                 Sincerely,



                              Deval L. Patrick
                         Assistant Attorney General
                           Civil Rights Division

Enclosure
  Title III regulation

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