Title II Technical Assistance Manual

II−3.3000 Equality in participation/benefits. The ADA provides for equality of opportunity, but does not guarantee equality of results. The foundation of many of the specific requirements in the Department's regulations is the principle that individuals with disabilities must be provided an equally effective opportunity to participate in or benefit from a public entity's aids, benefits, and services.

ILLUSTRATION 1: A deaf individual does not receive an equal opportunity to benefit from attending a city council meeting if he or she does not have access to what is said.

ILLUSTRATION 2: An individual who uses a wheelchair will not have an equal opportunity to participate in a program if applications must be filed in a second-floor office of a building without an elevator, because he or she would not be able to reach the office.

ILLUSTRATION 3: Use of printed information alone is not "equally effective" for individuals with vision impairments who cannot read written material. On the other hand, as long as persons with disabilities are afforded an equally effective opportunity to participate in or benefit from a public entity's aids, benefits, and services, the

ADA's guarantee of equal opportunity is not violated.

ILLUSTRATION 4: A person who uses a wheelchair seeks to run for a State elective office. State law requires the candidate to collect petition signatures in order to qualify for placement on the primary election ballot. Going door-to-door to collect signatures is difficult or, in many cases, impossible for the candidate because of the general inaccessibility of private homes. The law, however, provides over five months to collect the signatures and allows them to be collected by persons other than the candidate both through the mail and at any site where registered voters congregate. With these features, the law affords an equally effective opportunity for the individual who uses a wheelchair to seek placement on the ballot and to participate in the primary election process.

Also, the ADA generally does not require a State or local government entity to provide additional services for individuals with disabilities that are not provided for individuals without disabilities.

ILLUSTRATION 5: The ADA does not require a city government to provide snow removal service for the private driveways of residents with disabilities, if the city does not provide such service for residents without disabilities.

Specific requirements for physical access to programs and communications are discussed in detail below, but the general principle underlying these obligations is the mandate for an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from a public entity's services, programs, and activities. II−3.4000 Separate benefit/integrated setting. A primary goal of the ADA is the equal participation of individuals with disabilities in the "mainstream" of American society.

The major principles of mainstreaming are --

1) Individuals with disabilities must be integrated to the maximum extent appropriate.

2) Separate programs are permitted where necessary to ensure equal opportunity. A separate program must be appropriate to the particular individual.

3) Individuals with disabilities cannot be excluded from the regular program, or required to accept special services or benefits.