10/09-13/2021 – Southeastern Region APPA (SRAPPA) Conference – Mobile, AL

Kristi Avalos will be speaking at 2:00 pm on 10/11/21 at this conference for facilities professionals who work with educational facilities at colleges, universities, K-12 schools, libraries, and museums.

Topic: “Where Accessible Design Meets Budget Constraints”

Session Information:

Budgetary constraints are on everyone’s minds while planning for renovations of aging education facilities – even more so since COVID. The requirement to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) seems like adding insult to injury where funding is concerned.

But are you aware that there are significant monetary benefits to ADA compliance for education facilities?  They include:

• Assuring that education institutions retain existing federal funding

• Making them eligible for new funds from federal grants that more and more often are being tied to ADA compliance

• Increasing the numbers of tuition-paying students as it opens doors to a growing population of students with disabilities to be able attend

• Greatly reducing the possibility of access-related complaints and litigation

This presentation will provide a brief history of the Americans with Disabilities Act then quickly segue into identifying the key access areas on campuses.  Citing both Department of Justice established priorities and actual campus related complaints and lawsuits, it will become clear where resources should be directed when fulfilling continual barrier removal obligations. In this session, participants will learn how to create better school access with a new and innovative approach that focuses on exceeding minimum standards without adding additional costs.  Where greater access is provided, complaints and lawsuits are averted, and positive publicity is generated on the institution’s behalf.

Goals:

• Upon conclusion of this presentation, attendees will know about the positive monetary impact of ADA compliance on education institutions.

• Upon conclusion of this presentation, attendees will be able to identify where greater access is most beneficial and readily achievable.

• Upon conclusion of this presentation, attendees will know how to apply a more creative and cost-effective approach to accessible design.

• Upon conclusion of this presentation, attendees will know how to market this approach to prospective students and the public at large.

Click here for more conference information and registration.