Title II Technical Assistance Manual

II-3.5000 Eligibility criteria

II−3.5100 General. A public entity may not impose eligibility criteria for participation in its programs, services, or activities that either screen out or tend to screen out persons with disabilities, unless it can show that such requirements are necessary for the provision of the service, program, or activity.

ILLUSTRATION 1: The director of a county recreation program prohibits persons who use wheelchairs from participating in county-sponsored scuba diving classes because he believes that persons who use wheelchairs probably cannot swim well enough to participate. An unnecessary blanket exclusion of this nature would violate the ADA.

ILLUSTRATION 2: A community college requires students with certain disabilities to be accompanied to class by attendants, even when such individuals prefer to attend classes unaccompanied. The college also requires individuals with disabilities to provide extensive medical histories, although such histories are not required from other students. Unless the college can demonstrate that it is necessary for some compelling reason to adopt these policies, the policies would not be permitted by the ADA.

II−3.5200 Safety. A public entity may impose legitimate safety requirements necessary for the safe operation of its services, programs, or activities. However, the public entity must ensure that its safety requirements are based on real risks, not on speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations about individuals with disabilities.

ILLUSTRATION: A county recreation program may require that all participants in its scuba program pass a swimming test, if it can demonstrate that being able to swim is necessary for safe participation in the class. This is permitted even if requiring such a test would tend to screen out people with certain kinds of disabilities.

II−3.5300 Unnecessary inquiries. A public entity may not make unnecessary inquiries into the existence of a disability.

ILLUSTRATION: A municipal recreation department summer camp requires parents to fill out a questionnaire and to submit medical documentation regarding their children's ability to participate in various camp activities. The questionnaire is acceptable, if the recreation department can demonstrate that each piece of information requested is needed to ensure safe participation in camp activities. The Department, however, may not use this information to screen out children with disabilities from admittance to the camp.

II−3.5400 Surcharges. Although compliance may result in some additional cost, a public entity may not place a surcharge only on particular individuals with disabilities or groups of individuals with disabilities to cover these expenses.

ILLUSTRATION: A community college provides interpreter services to deaf students, removes a limited number of architectural barriers, and relocates inaccessible courses and activities to more accessible locations. The college cannot place a surcharge on either an individual student with a disability (such as a deaf student who benefited from interpreter services) or on groups of students with disabilities (such as students with mobility impairments who benefited from barrier removal). It may, however, adjust its tuition or fees for all students.