ADA25: #6 of 25 -- Title IV (02:04)

NAD Attorney Tawny Holmes explains Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). View the entire #ADA25 series at www.nad.org/ADA25.

Video begins with an off white vintage background. Three black and white photos appear. First photo shows a group of people marching, one holds a NAD poster. Second photo shows another group of people marching, one holds a poster "We Shall Overcome." Third photo shows President Bush signing the Americans with Disabilities Act. Text appears "ADA25 -- Americans with Disabilities Act". Video flashes to white then to Tawny Holmes inside NAD Headquarters. On bottom left corner, "#ADA25" appears as a light watermark. On bottom right corner, the NAD logo appears, also as a light watermark. 

TAWNY: Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers three areas. First, Title IV prohibits telephone companies from discriminating against deaf and hard of hearing people. Second, it mandated the creation of a national relay service program. This was a critical change in history because prior to this nationwide relay program, deaf and hard of hearing people had to ask hearing family, friends, and even neighbors to make calls for them. Sometimes if they couldn't find anyone to call, they'd have to drive to places to convey a message. For example, perhaps a deaf parent would have to drive to her or his child's school to let them know the child is sick at home. Modern relay services provide deaf and hard of hearing people the same independence that others enjoy. With such relay services, deaf and hard of hearing people can be more productive in all areas including making appointments or having personal calls without having to rely on someone else to help. Title IV also requires that the relay program is free without charge for everyone to use. Title IV also mandates that the relay program be 24-hour, 7-days a week, all year long. Relay calls must be functionally equivalent to calls made by hearing people. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), who is responsible for overseeing the national relay program, promotes not only existing technologies but also seeks to incorporate future technologies to enhance accessibility for all. We have seen the relay program grow in the last 25 years. The relay program at first only used TTYs but today, we can use Video Relay Services (VRS), IP-Relay, and captioned telephones! With VRS, deaf and hard of hearing people can make calls with other hearing people by using our natural language, American Sign Language (ASL). Finally, the third area of Title IV requires captioning of all public announcements on television produced by the Federal Government or made possible through federal funds.

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