2022 California Standards for Accessible Design Guide (effective January 1, 2023)

Upcoming Revisions to the ADA Standards

Although these topics are out of the scope of this Guide, the following additions and updates to the ADA standards are worth watching for. More information on each of these can be found on the Access Board’s website and on Corada.

1. Public Rights-of-Way

On August 8, 2023, the U.S. Access Board issued a final rule on accessibility guidelines for pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way. From the Board’s website:

"“The Access Board is proud to issue these guidelines as a critical step toward equal access to the public right-of-way for people with disabilities in America,” remarked Executive Director Sachin Pavithran. “Equal access to pedestrian facilities is crucial because pedestrian travel is the principal means of independent transportation for many people with disabilities.” 

The guidelines cover the minimum scoping and technical requirements for various spaces and elements in the public right-of-way, such as pedestrian access routes, which ensure the accessibility of sidewalks, including alternate access routes when the main route is closed for maintenance or construction. Other highlights in the requirements include accessible pedestrian signals, curb ramps and blended transitions, detectable warning surfaces, crosswalks at roundabouts, on-street parking, transit stops, and street furniture. In addition, the guidelines address shared use paths, which are designed primarily for use by bicyclists, pedestrians and other authorized motorized and non-motorized users for transportation purposes and recreation purposes. 

The public right-of-way accessibility guidelines apply to alterations and additions to existing pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way as well as newly constructed pedestrian facilities covered under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Title II of the ADA applies to state and local government facilities, and the ABA requires that buildings or facilities that were designed, built, or altered with federal dollars or leased by federal agencies after August 12, 1968 be accessible. Section 504 covers any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, including those that require compliance with federal regulations established by Department of Housing and Urban Development, the United States Postal Service, and other agencies. 

The guidelines will be mandatory after they are adopted for enforcement by the Department of Justice and the Department of Transportation under Title II of the ADA. They will be mandatory for federal right-of-way once adopted by the General Services Administration, the Department of Defense, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Postal Service under the ABA, which requires that facilities built or leased by the federal government be accessible to people with disabilities."

2. Passenger Vessels

In June of 2013, the Board released for public comment proposed guidelines for access to ferries, cruise ships, excursion boats, and other passenger vessels under the ADA. That comment period was extended to January 24, 2014. Once finalized, these guidelines will supplement the Board’s ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Transportation Vehicles. The Department of Justice and the Department of Transportation will use the guidelines to set mandatory standards. More information can be found on the Access Board’s website at https://www.access-board.gov/pvag.

3. Medical Diagnostic Equipment

From the Board’s website:

“The Access Board has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to remove the sunset provisions in the our existing accessibility standards for medical diagnostic equipment (MDE) related to the low-height specifications for transfer surfaces, and replace them with a final specification for the low-transfer-height of medical diagnostic equipment used in the supine, prone, side-lying position and the seated position. The NPRM is open for public comment on Regulations.gov until August 31, 2023. More information is available in the Federal Register notice).

The accessibility standards for MDE under the Rehabilitation Act provide design criteria for examination tables and chairs, weight scales, radiological and mammography equipment, and other diagnostic equipment that are accessible to people with disabilities. They include requirements for equipment that necessitates transfer from mobility aids and address transfer surfaces, support rails, armrests, and other features. The Board developed the standards in consultation with the Food and Drug Administration.

As issued by the Board, the standards are not mandatory on health care providers and equipment manufacturers. The Department of Justice may adopt them as mandatory requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Other federal agencies may implement them as well under the Rehabilitation Act which requires access to federally funded programs and services.”

4. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines

From the Board’s website:

“On January 18, 2017, the Access Board published a final rule that jointly updates requirements for information and communication technology covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 of the Communication Act. The Section 508 Standards apply to electronic and information technology procured by the federal government, including computer hardware and software, websites, multimedia such as video, phone systems, and copiers. The Section 255 Guidelines address access to telecommunications products and services, and apply to manufacturers of telecommunication equipment.

The final rule jointly updates and reorganizes the Section 508 standards and Section 255 guidelines in response to market trends and innovations, such as the convergence of technologies. The refresh also harmonizes these requirements with other guidelines and standards both in the U.S. and abroad, including standards issued by the European Commission and with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a globally recognized voluntary consensus standard for web content and ICT.

On January 22, 2018, the Board corrected the final rule to restore provisions for TTY access that were inadvertently omitted.”

For more information on communications topics and up-to-date information on the effective dates, visit the Board’s web site at https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/final-rule

Although these standards and guidelines do not apply directly under the ADA, when followed, they provide strong evidence that private and public entities are meeting applicable portions of their effective communication requirements under the ADA.

5. Transportation Vehicles

On December 14, 2016, the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buses and Vans was published in the Federal Register. The final rule became effective on January 13, 2017. The Access Board issued an advance notice for public commend on an update of guidelines for rail cars on February 14, 2020. From the Board’s website:

“Under the ADA, the Department of Transportation (DOT) issues and enforces accessibility standards for transportation vehicles that are based on the Board’s ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) for Transportation Vehicles. These requirements apply to new or remanufactured vehicles covered by the ADA, including:

• buses and vans

• rail cars (rapid, light, commuter, intercity, high-speed, and monorail)

• automated guideway vehicles

• trams and similar vehicles

DOT’s current vehicle standards are consistent with the Board’s ADAAG as first published in 1991 and supplemented in 1998 for over-the-road buses. The Board is in the process of updating the vehicle guidelines and has finalized updates to sections of guidelines covering buses and vans.

Regulations issued by DOT under the ADA apply these requirements and indicate which vehicles are required to comply. DOT’s ADA regulations also address transportation service and facilities.”

More information can be found on the Access Board’s website at https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/transportation/vehicles/about-adaag-for-transportation-vehicles

6. Prescription Drug Container Labels

From the Board’s website:

“The Board has led the development of advisory guidance on making prescription drug container labels accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired or who are elderly. This initiative was authorized by the “Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act" which President Obama signed into law in July 2012. A provision of the act (section 904) directs the Board to convene a working group to develop best practices for making information on prescription drug container labels accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.

Shortly after the law was enacted, the Board formed the Working Group on Accessible Prescription Drug Container Labels, an 18-member stakeholder panel comprised of representatives from advocacy organizations and industry. The working group explored various access alternatives, including braille, large print labels, and auditory technologies such as “talking bottles” and radio frequency identification tags. In July 2013, it submitted to the Board its best practice recommendations for pharmacies on providing independent access to prescription drug container labels. These recommendations are advisory only, not mandatory, and will not have the force of guidelines or standards.

The law directed the National Council on Disability (NCD) to conduct an informational and educational campaign in cooperation with the stakeholder working group to inform the public, including people with disabilities and pharmacists, of the best practices. In June 2016, NCD issued a brochure on the best practices recommended by the Board's working group. The law also called upon the Comptroller General to conduct a review to assess the extent to which pharmacies are implementing the best practices and to determine whether barriers to prescription drug labels remain; the report was completed in December 2016.

Several national pharmacy chains now offer talking prescription information for blind customers: CVS (including its mail service company Caremark), Walmart, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Express Scripts Pharmacy.

On March 18, 2014, CVS announced that it is providing ScripTalk talking prescription labels to customers with visual impairments ordering through cvs.com. The CVS initiative will ensure that cvs.com customers who are blind can access the critical health and safety information provided in a standard print prescription label. The Access Board Working Group’s Final Report Regarding Best Practices for Making Prescription Drug Container Label Information Accessible to Persons who are Blind or Visually-Impaired is referenced in section 3.2 and 3.5 of the agreement that led to the announcement. The agreement and announcement is the result of Structured Negotiations between CVS and the American Council of the Blind, the California Council of the Blind and the American Foundation for the Blind.”

More information can be found on the Access Board’s website at https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/health-care/about-prescription-drug-container-labels