New Jersey Summer Camps Must Reasonably Accommodate Children With Disabilities

NEWARK, N.J. – With summer approaching, parents are making arrangements to send their children to camps. To help ensure that children with disabilities receive the opportunity to attend summer camp, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today that it has sent the attached flyer to hundreds of summer camps located within the District of New Jersey, reminding them of their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

“A disability is no reason to deny a child a chance to enjoy the friendships and learning experiences available at summer camps,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Reasonable accommodations are not an option; they are a requirement under the law.”

Under the ADA, summer camps, both private and those run by municipalities, must make reasonable modifications to enable campers with disabilities to participate fully in all camp programs and activities. This generally means that children with disabilities are entitled to attend any camp or activity that non-disabled children attend, that camps must evaluate each child on an individual basis, and that camps must train their staff in the requirements of the ADA. Camps are obligated to pay for the cost of any reasonable modifications necessary for disabled children to participate in camp activities, and parents should not be charged any additional fee beyond standard camp enrollment costs.

Additional information about the ADA is available at www.ada.gov and http://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement.

camp_ada_flyer.pdf (58.21 KB)