The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) of 1990 is a civil rights statute that prohibits discrimination against people who have disabilities. There are five separate titles of the Act relating to different aspects of potential discrimination. Title II of the Act specifically addresses making public services and public transportation accessible to those with disabilities.
State and local government, public entities or agencies are required to perform self-evaluations of their current facilities, relative to the accessibility requirements of the ADA. The agencies are then required to develop a Program Access Plan, or Transition Plan ("Plan”), to address any deficiencies.
The Town has prepared a draft ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan (see attached). The purpose of the Plan is to summarize the activities completed to-date related to ADA compliance and to create a roadmap for the Town of Highland Park to update the Plan. The draft Plan is a working document and will remain in draft form over the next several years as the Town continues to address ADA-related tasks.
A Grievance Procedure is being established to meet ADA requirements as part of Title II of the Act. It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination based on disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by the Town of Highland Park. The Town of Highland Park Employee Handbook governs employment-related complaints of disability discrimination.
The resolution specifies the Town will:
- Publish notice regarding ADA requirements
- Designate at least one person to coordinate its efforts for compliance
- Publish grievance procedures
The Town Attorney prepared the resolution for approval by the Town Council.