ADAAG Update

At its January meeting, the Access Board unanimously approved new guidelines covering access to facilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The approved rule overhauls the existing ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), which were first published in 1991. The rule also revises guidelines for federally funded facilities required to be accessible under the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). Both the ADA guidelines and the ABA guidelines specify access in new construction and alterations and provide detailed provisions for various building elements, including ramps, elevators, restrooms, parking, and signage, among others.

The Board published in November 1999 a proposed set of guidelines that featured a host of updated provisions and clarifying revisions, as well as a new look and format. This proposal, which was made available for public comment for six months, attracted over 2,500 comments. These comments provided considerable input on the substance of the guidelines. The Board made a variety of changes to the guidelines based on this feedback from the public.

The Board will submit the final guidelines to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance. OMB has 90 days for its review. Once cleared by OMB, the guidelines will be published in final form. The Board's guidelines, by themselves, are not enforceable or mandatory for entities covered by the ADA or ABA. Other agencies, such as the departments of Justice and Transportation under the ADA, and several others under the ABA, are authorized to set the design standards that must be met. Their standards are to be consistent with the Board's guidelines. These agencies will update their enforceable standards based on the Board's final guidelines. As part of this action, the agencies will specify when the updated standards take effect.

For more information on the update of ADAAG, visit the Access Board's website at http://www.access-board.gov/news/ADA-ABA-update.htm

Northeast ADA&IT Center

331 Ives Hall

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY 14853