# 123


DJ 204-012-00035


II-7.3000                               February 9, 1994






Mr. James D. Goerke
Deputy Director
Advisory Commission on State 
  Emergency Communications
1101 Capital of Texas Highway South
Suite B-100
Austin, Texas  78746-6437

Dear Mr. Goerke:

     This letter is in response to your inquiry regarding
telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDD's) to be stored as
redundancies in a public safety answering point (PSAP) under the
Americans with Disabilities Act.  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 you 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.  

     In your letter, you asked for clarification regarding
minimum standards of service under title II of the ADA,
particularly the required number of TDDs each PSAP must install
in its telephone emergency services.

     The applicable Title II regulation states:

     Telephone emergency services, including 911 services, shall
     provide direct access to individuals who use TDD's and
     computer modems.

28 C.F.R.  35.162.  

As explained in section II-7.3000 of the enclosed Technical
Assistance Manual for title II, public entities that provide
telephone emergency services must provide "direct access" to
individuals who rely on a TDD for telephone communications.  

     While the regulation does not specify any minimum number of
TDD's that are required, the mandate for direct access to a
PSAP's telephone emergency services (including 9-1-1) means that
the services to individuals who use TDD's must be as effective as
those provided to other telephone users.  Thus, a PSAP must 
establish a sufficient number of TDD's within its system to
provide equally effective services.  A PSAP must also ensure that
TDD's are established at the other points where the PSAP would 
transfer non-emergency calls.  In addition, the PSAP must obtain
the necessary additional TDD equipment to ensure that there will
be backup equipment to be utilized in case of emergency or TDD
malfunction.  Finally, the PSAP must include TDD equipment in
power failure contingency plans.  The exact number of TDD's
needed to meet these requirements will differ, depending upon the
particular situation.   

     I hope this information is useful to you.

                            Sincerely,




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

Enclosures (2)