ADA Title II & Title III Revisions
The revisions to Title II and Title III regulations to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) were officially adopted by the Department of Justice along with the 2010 ADA Standard for Accessible Design. Compliance with the new federal regulations for alterations and new construction is option at this time, however, compliance will be mandatory after March 15, 2012. For a comparison matrix of the ADA/ABA Accessibility Guidelines and IBC/ICC A117.1 and the latest information from DOJ and the Access Board view ICC's Accessibility page.
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
The Access Board is undertaking rulemaking to address acoustics in classrooms by referencing the “ANSI/ASA S12.60-2010 American National Standard Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements, and Guidelines for Schools (Parts 1 and 2)”. This standard sets specific criteria for maximum background noise and reverberation time in classrooms. For more information click here.
The Access Board is developing access standards for medical diagnostic equipment, including examination tables and chairs, weight scales, radiological equipment, and mammography equipment. The health care bill signed into law in March, the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”, calls upon the Board to issue these standards in two years in consultation with the Food and Drug Administration. The standards are to address independent access to, and use of, equipment by people with disabilities to the maximum extent possible. Click here for more information.
IBC a "Safe Harbor" for Accessibility Compliance
On July 18, 2007, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a report in the Federal Register that announced its approval of the 2006 International Building Code (IBC) as a ‘safe harbor’ for compliance with the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act. View the report and stay tuned regarding HUD’s review of the 2009 IBC and the 2009 ICC A117.1!