Assessing Your School Environment for Access to People with Disabilities
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  • Is the international symbol of access (an outline of a person in a wheelchair) displayed in the entrance way of the school?
  • Are forms of public transportation that reach the school accessible to people with disabilities?
  • Are parking spaces available close to and level with the entrance to the school building, and clearly marked with the international symbol of access?
  • At entrances with stairways, are ramps available?
  • Do the doors of the entrance way provide a clear opening of no less than 32 inches, and can they be easily opened?
  • Is there a working elevator in the building? If not, are there enough classrooms on the first floor for all students who use a wheelchair? Or do stairways have mechanical risers wherever possible or necessary? Are there enough classes scheduled in these accessible classrooms for all students who use a wheelchair?
  • Do all stairways have handrails?
  • Do floors have a nonslip surface?
  • Are the building hallways wide and flat enough to accommodate a person who uses a wheelchair, or by other persons with different kinds of physical impairment?
  • Are safety alarms, telephones and room controls (lighting, heat, air conditioning, windows, window shades) within reach for a person with a disability?
  • Is there an emergency exit plan that assumes the needs of people with disabilities?
  • Are warning signals clear to people with disabilities? Can they be heard and seen by people with disabilities?
  • Are there water fountains and phones at a height that can reached by a person in a wheelchair?
  • Are there Braille signs in elevators, on restroom doors, public phones, etc?
  • Are common areas (library, cafeteria, auditorium and other common spaces) accessible to people who use wheelchairs?
  • Are there restroom stalls that permit a full 36” rotation of a wheelchair? Are there grab rails surrounding the restroom seat? Are sink, soap, and paper to w el holders at a height accessible to a person in a w heelchair?
  • Are there tables in common areas (computer labs, libraries, snackbars) and in classrooms high enough so that students who use wheelchairs can fit under them?
  • Is classroom furniture moved so that aisles can be wide enough for students who are blind/visually impaired or who use wheelchairs or crutches?
  • Are students with disabilities given equal opportunity to learn in public schools in your community?
    • Are students with disabilities given multiple means of representation, expression and engagement throughout the curriculum and within the classroom?
    • Are inclusion methods employed to include students with physical, mental, developmental and/or learning disabilities in all aspects of classroom activity?
    • Are support services, special educational services and paraprofessionals provided to students with disabilities as needed?
    • Are extracurricular and athletic programs provided for students with disabilities?
    • Are books in Braille provided to students?
    • Are forms of assistive technology available to students with disabilities?
    • Are audio and visual devices equipped with captions?
    • Are big books or large type books provided for students who are visually impaired?
    • Are specially-equipped computers available to students who have difficulty printing on paper?
    • Is there computer software that "reads" the print on screen to students?
    • Are there classes provided in sign language for students who are hard of hearing or deaf?
    • Are there athletic programs for students with disabilities, or athletic programs taught by a staff person with a disability?

 

Sources:

  • Adele Schwartz, Ed.D., Marymount Manhattan College, “Educational Inclusion Course Materials”, 1999
  • Miller, Nancy B. & Sammons, Catherine C., Everybody’s Different: Understanding and Changing Our Reactions to Disabilities, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co, 1999.

© 2005 Anti-Defamation League