It is really important to remember that the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) is one of the United States' most comprehensive civil rights laws.
The ADA bases much of its structure and enforcement remedies and procedures
on the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  In addition, if museums are federally run or
receive federal dollars (e.g., from NEA, NEH, IMLS, NSF), they also have
obligations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the first
U.S. civil rights legislation for people with disabilities.  While there
are people *without* disabilities who may try to use the laws for their own
benefit, museums cannot risk violating the rights of people with
disabilities for the few who cheat the system.

One of the sections of the ADA requires that entities make reasonable
modifications to their policies, practices, and procedures to provide
accessibility -- both use of service animals and having medical reasons for
food or drink in museum galleries fall under this provision.  A museum
cannot ask about which disability the visitor has -- that violates the
visitor's right to privacy -- and cannot require that service animals have
certification or a vest to identify them.  The museum can only ask if the
request is to accommodate a disability.

The Museum-Lers who responded to this question and have disabilities or
work with people who do made it clear that requiring water or soda to be
stored at the front of the museum or in a locker somewhere is not
reasonable.  Imagine trying to find your way back to the location when your
vision is blurred or you are disoriented.  It seems reasonable, however, to
require that the containers are covered and spill-proof.  I would recommend
that museums have written policy addressing this practice so that the one
staff member who forgot or never heard the policy doesn't inadvertently
violate it.

DOJ has numerous settlement agreements and consent decrees with
organizations that violated individuals' civil rights related to service
animals and medical equipment/food being allowed into establishments.  You
can find them on http://www.ada.gov/enforce_activities.htm.

Jan Majewski
Advisor, Inclusive Culture and Development
Institute for Human Centered Design

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).