| Popis: |
Few higher education meetings today are without a session that outlines the regulations and the court decisions related to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The tone of the sessions tends to be dark and gloomy with specters of capital costs for accommodations projected in weary detail. Then, if the follow-up goes beyond the usual recitation of the provisions, most recent rulings, and potential admission problems, the continuing costs from the operating budget are addressed. Often the audience leaves with either a feeling of despair over one more claim on the dwindling resource pool or open resentment toward the entire access issue. Although one certainly needs to know the rules and have an idea of the costs that may be related to them, I would submit that these are some of the least important aspects of what is occurring and that we need to get on to the other issues that 504 presents. In response to the general issues, we will either put in an elevator or move the chemistry lab to an accessible first floor. We will either locate a benefactor or cut more out of the snow-removal budget. We do not control the decision about "whether" anymore. That decision has been made, and in the physical plant area we will find a means of compliance. Although handwringing after the fact is a time-honored ritual, it is a pointless waste of time, and higher education has no time to waste these days. Besides, discussions of rules and costs do not address the |
