U.S.

Department of Justice

Civil Rights Division

Public Access Section

202-PL-243 P. O. Box 66738

Washington, DC 20035-6738

OCT 13 1993

Mr. J. Larry Poole

Architect
116 East Market Street
Kingsport, Tennessee 37660

Dear Mr. Poole:

This letter responds to your inquiry regarding the Americans

With Disabilities Act (ADA). Specifically, you asked for
guidance regarding ADA requirements for rescue and ambulance
stations in Sullivan County, Tennessee. We regret the delay in
responding.

The ADA authorizes the Department of Justice to provide

technical assistance to individuals and entities having rights or
obligations under the Act. This letter provides informal
guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA's requirements.
However, it does not constitute a legal interpretation and it is
not binding on the Department.

In your letter, you asked several questions regarding ADA

requirements for rescue and ambulance stations operated by your
County. First, you inquired as to whether title IV of the ADA
(addressing telecommunications relay services for individuals
with hearing or speech impairments) requires each such station to
have a TDD (telecommunications device for the deaf). As your
letter recognizes, title IV addresses only the duty of common
carriers to establish relay systems (services that enable two-way
communication between an individual who uses a TDD or other
nonvoice terminal device and an individual who does not use such
a device.) Title IV does not address the legal duties of state
and local government entities under the ADA. These obligations
are covered by title II of the Act.
 The Department of Justice regulation implementing title II
contains several provisions addressing the duty of state and
local government entities to communicate effectively with members
of the public, including requiring such entities to be equipped
with TDD's in certain circumstances. These requirements differ
depending on whether emergency or non-emergency services are at
issue.

01-02628​ -2-
Emergency Telephone Services

The regulation applicable to telephone requirements for

emergency services provided by state or local government entities
states:

Telephone emergency services, including 911 services,

shall provide direct access to individuals who use
TDD's and computer modems.

28 C.F.R. S 35.162; see enclosed title II regulation at pages

35721 and 35712-35713. "Direct access" means that emergency
telephone services can directly receive calls from TDD and
computer modem users without relying on outside relay services or
third party services. This means that where 911 service is
available, the state or local government entities operating the
911 service must be equipped with TDD's and thus provide direct
access to individuals who use TDD's and computer modems. The
logic behind the "direct access" requirement is obvious, since
the speed with which a person can reach emergency services may
have life or death consequences.

The question posed in your letter is not whether state or

local government entities operating 911 emergency services must
be equipped with TDD'S, but whether an individual rescue or
ambulance station must be so equipped. The answer depends in
part, however, upon the comprehensiveness of your locality's 911
system. Your letter of inquiry does not contain facts sufficient
to determine the comprehensiveness of Sullivan County's 911
system. To answer your question, it is therefore necessary to
consider several different scenarios.

Under the first scenario, let us assume that Sullivan

County, Tennessee, has 911 telephone emergency services which
comply with the ADA (i.e., that the entities operating such
services are equipped with TDD's and are compatible with computer
modems, thus providing direct access to non-voice callers). Let
us further assume that the emergency services provided by
Sullivan County rescue and ambulance stations can be accessed via
911, meaning that a citizen who needs emergency services from the
rescue or ambulance stations typically dials 911 to obtain such
services. Under this scenario, the ADA would not require
individual rescue or ambulance stations to obtain TDD'S.

Quite a different result is obtained if we assume that

Sullivan County's 911 service does not cover the rescue or
ambulance stations at issue, and members of the public could
obtain emergency services only by dialing the stations direct.
Under this scenario, the rescue or ambulance station would have
to be equipped with TDD's to provide direct access to nonvoice
callers. The station could provide two separate lines to reach
this service -- one for voice calls, and another for nonvoice
01-02629​ -3-

calls -- but it would have to ensure that the service for

nonvoice calls was as effective as that offered for voice calls
in terms of response time and availability in hours. Also, the
nonvoice number would have to be publicized as effectively as the
voice number, and displayed as prominently as the voice number
wherever such emergency numbers are listed. See Title II
Technical Assistance Manual at pages 38 and 39.

A third possibility is that the emergency services of the

rescue or ambulance stations at issue here can be obtained by
either dialing 911 or a seven-digit (voice) number. Such an
arrangement would comply with the ADA so long as nonvoice callers
whose calls were directed through 911 received emergency
attention as quickly as voice callers who dialed local seven-
digit numbers for emergency assistance instead of 911. See
generally preamble to enclosed title II regulation at 35713.

Non-Emergency Telephone Services

Where a public entity communicates with applicants and

beneficiaries by telephone in non-emergency situations, the
public entity does not have to provide "direct access.,, Instead,
public entities have the option of using TDD's or "equally
effective telecommunication systems" to communicate with
individuals with impaired speech or hearing. See 28 C.F.R. S
35.161. Under the regulation, relay services such as those
required by title IV (involving a relay operator who uses both a
standard telephone and a TDD to type the voice messages to the
TDD user and read the TDD messages to the standard telephone
user) constitute equally effective telecommunication systems.

Title IV of the ADA requires all common carriers (i.e., the

telephone companies) to provide telephone relay services by July
26, 1993. Thus, most County government entities in Tennessee
could choose to rely on relay services provided by the phone
companies for non-emergency communications with individuals with
impaired speech or hearing. Entities which have extensive
telephone contact with the public such as city halls, public
libraries and public aid offices, however, are strongly
encouraged to have TDD's to ensure more immediate access. See
preamble to title II regulation at 35712 ("The Department
encourages those entities that have extensive telephone contact
with the public. . . to have TDD's to insure more immediate
access. Where the provision of telephone service is a major
function of the entity, TDD's should be available.")

Physical Accessibility of Rescue and Ambulance Stations

Your letter also asks about the ADA's requirements for

physical accessibility of rescue and ambulance stations. As you
know, title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination against
persons with disabilities in all services, programs and

01-02630
-4-

activities provided or made available by state or local

governments. This obligation does not require extensive
retrofitting of existing facilities utilized by state and local
government entities. Instead, the operative concept is "program
accessibility." The "program" at issue here -- i.e., emergency
rescue and ambulance service -- must be accessible to persons
with disabilities. Members of the public are not typically
invited into rescue and ambulance stations: instead, station
personnel go to the site of an emergency. Under these
circumstances, it may not be necessary to render accessible the
physical facility housing the rescue or ambulance station. Of
course, if stations offer programs or services requiring members
of the public to enter and use the facilities (such as
educational tours, for example), the County would need to ensure
that the portions of the stations open to the public were
accessible, unless the County could demonstrate that this
obligation caused a fundamental alteration in its program or
resulted in undue financial and administrative burdens. See
S 35.150 at page 35719 of the enclosed title II regulation, and
interpretive commentary at pages 35708-9 and 35720-1. See also
Title II Technical Assistance Manual at pages 19-23.

Standards Applicable to Separate Titles of the ADA

In your letter, you observe that the terms "reasonable

accommodations," "undue hardship," and "readily achievable" are
"scattered throughout" the public law. Your letter goes on to
state the following with respect to Sullivan County's rescue and
ambulance stations:

My understanding of the law is that the accommodations must

be accomplished as soon as is reasonably possible "without
much difficulty or expense."

This conclusion is incorrect. Each of the legal standards

cited above apply to separate titles of the ADA. For example,
the term "reasonable accommodation" applies only to employment
situations. It has no relevance to analysis of any other part of
the ADA. Similarly, the term "readily achievable" is not
applicable to ADA obligations of state or local government
entities such as Sullivan County. "Readily achievable" is the
title III legal standard applicable to barrier removal in
existing facilities of private entities which own, operate, or
lease places of public accommodations. As discussed above, the
standard applicable to programs and services offered by Sullivan
County is that of "program access." Defenses to non-provision of
such access are "fundamental alteration" or "undue financial and
administrative burdens." As discussed above, these terms are
found in the title II regulation, as are deadlines for providing
program access, accomplishing structural modifications, and
completing self-evaluations and transition plans. See discussion

01-02631
-5-

of time periods at pages 35720 and 35709-10 of the enclosed title

II regulation.

Finally, in your letter, you express concern with the

multitude of so-called "experts" on the ADA attempting to market
their consultant services to covered entities. You should be
aware that the Department of Justice has not certified any
outside persons or organizations as authorities on the ADA. A
number of entities have received grants from the Department to
develop materials to educate the public regarding rights and
responsibilities under the ADA, however, and a list of these
grantees is attached for your information.

I hope that this information has been helpful to you. If

you have any questions, you may wish to call our information line
at (202) 514-0301 (voice) or (202) 514-0383 (TDD).

Sincerely,

John L. Wodatch
Chief
Public Access Section
Enclosures
Title II regulation
Title II Technical Assistance Manual
Grantee Information

01-02632
​ J. L A R R Y P O O L E

ARCHITECT
116 EAST MARKET STREET
KINGSPORT, TENNESSEE 37660
AIA AREA CODE 615 TELEPHONE 245-5221

August 2, 1993

The Honorable James Quillen

US House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative Quillen:

I would appreciated your help in getting an answer from the

Justice Department to the enclosed letter. I believe you
will find the enclosed material self-explanatory.

Thank you for your help in this matter,

J. Larry Poole

JLP/m

01-02633​July 3, 1992

U. S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Co-Ordination & Review Section
P. 0. Box 66118
Washington, D.C. 20035-6118

RE: TITLE IV - TELECOMMUNICATIONS, PUBLIC LAW 101-336 -

JULY 26, 1990 (THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF
1991)

Dear Sir:

I have been asked to assist the County Attorney of Sullivan

County, Tennessee in assessing certain County properties
for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
One type of property in question are the Rescue/Ambulance
stations. The County Attorney attended a seminar at which
one of the instructors indicated that all such stations
must have Telecommunications Devices. I do not interpret
the amendment to Section 401 as written in the ADA manual
as requiring these devices in every emergency station. As
I understand this Section, it is the Common Carrier who
must be equipped with the TTD equipment.

I do not remember any regulation which has produced the

quantity of "Certified Experts" as this new law. We have
them coming out of the woodwork, especially from the
University of Tennessee. One of the instructors at the
above mentioned seminar indicated that all public owned
facilities must be treated as open to the general public.
I am having a hard time defining a Rescue/Ambulance Station
or Fire Station as "open to the public". I can understand
providing this type of facility with the amenities required
for handicapped employees but I would not classify them as
open to the general public.

Scattered through out Public Law 101-336 are such terms as

"reasonable accommodations, undue hardship, and readily
achievable." My understanding of the law is that the

01-02634​accommodations must be accomplished as soon as is

reasonably possible "without much difficulty or expense".
In the case of the Rescue/Ambulance stations, the County
has been told that they are not allowed to contribute
finances until these stations are in compliance.

Please let me have your opinions and suggestions in this

matter. These stations cannot operate for long with out
the support of the County.

Sincerely,

J. Larry Poole

JLP/m

01-02635