A person is protected under the ADA if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that has substantially limited one or more major life activities. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC ), a "substantial limitation" can be defined as:
Take care of yourself.
Performing manual tasks.
See and hear.
Eat and sleep.
Walking, standing, lifting and bending.
Talk and breathe.
Learn, read, concentrate and think.
Communicate and work.
A college campus is a melting pot of diversity with japan business mailing list students from all walks of life. According to a recent finding from the National Center for Education Statistics, 19 percent of undergraduates have some sort of disability. Most colleges have a disability office or offices with similar responsibilities. When most people think of reasonable accommodations, they tend to make those accommodations physically, with signs, ramps, and accessibility to classrooms.
Most college campuses neglect their web presence as ADA compliant. The growth of a non-traditional body of study that thrives online is causing the legislation to catch up. A recent example can be seen in a recent lawsuit by a blind Brooklyn resident, where he is suing 50 schools for failing to comply with ADA rules.
Peter Blanck, a Syracuse University law professor and president of the Burton Blatt Institute , says: "It's been almost 30 years since the ADA was passed, and we should have made more progress," Blanck says. "In the '90s, I was asked to testify about whether websites would be subject to the ADA," he says. "There's no question that universities have been on notice for a long time." Plus, failure to comply can result in loss of federal funding.
