The final rule incorporates changes needed to reflect amendments to Section 504, enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and significant case law. Most HHS recipients have been covered by the ADA since 1991. New sections added to ensure consistency are:
- Service animals. Recipients must permit the use of trained service animals except under certain circumstances.
- Maintenance of accessible features. Facilities and equipment required to be accessible to individuals with disabilities must be maintained in operable working order.
- Personal services and devices. Personal services and devices are not required unless they are customarily provided to individuals without disabilities.
- Mobility devices. Recipients must permit individuals to use manually powered mobility devices such as wheelchairs in areas open to pedestrian use and power-driven mobility devices, such as Segways® and golf carts, under certain circumstances.
- Communications. Recipients must ensure effective communications with individuals with hearing, vision, and speech disabilities through the provision of auxiliary aids and services. Such aids and services may include qualified interpreters or readers, assistive listening devices or systems, text telephones, captioning, and information in Braille, large print, or electronically for use with a computer screen-reading program.
- Direct threat. Recipients are not required to permit individuals in programs or activities when they pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others as described in the final rule.
- Retaliation and coercion. Recipients may not retaliate against an individual for making a complaint or objecting to any act or practice made unlawful by Section 504.
- Limitations. Recipients need not take actions if those actions would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of their program or in undue financial and administrative burdens. A recipient must still take other action that would not result in such alteration or burdens but would nevertheless ensure that people with disabilities receive benefits or services to the maximum extent possible.
