Audit of L.A. Unified School District’s facilities for accessibility finds chronic problems
An audit of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s progress in building and remodeling schools to make them accessible to the disabled found chronic problems in the design of parking, restrooms, ramps and drinking water fountains, as well as a troubling lack of documentation and misstatements of accomplishments. The improvement project is the product of a 1993 lawsuit against the school system on behalf of disabled students that resulted in two consent decrees under which the district agreed to make future schools accessible to the disabled and spend at least $87.5 million to upgrade existing campuses to provide access in compliance with state and federal laws. "The progress report raises serious issues," school district general counsel Kevin Reed says. The school system is reviewing the report and will come up with an "action plan" within 60 days, he says. He did not address specific problems. The audit, performed by Disability Access Consultants, found ramps with handrails that stopped short, new bleachers without wheelchair seating and outdoor lunch tables without wheelchair access. Bathrooms or stalls marked for use by the disabled did not provide proper clearance or the appropriate height for wheelchair users. Auditors found numerous problems in each of the 19 schools selected randomly for compliance, including four new campuses. An independent monitor appointed by the court in the 1993 lawsuit to review the district’s performance, Frederick Weintraub, directed the school system to hire an accessibility expert to oversee the upgrades in wake of the recent developments. Mr. Weintraub says it is impossible to know how much the district has spent on projects to improve access because it failed to provide backup documentation for a majority of projects that had been chosen for the audit. The district kept a log intended to outline the renovations completed for disabled access, but the audit showed it to be "considerably inaccurate in many areas and a misrepresentation of funds expended," says Mr. Weintraub. He questions the district’s decision to include as disability access improvements $66 million in fire alarm strobe light upgrades, when the reduction of barriers should have been given higher priority. The log also includes projects labeled class-size reduction and earthquake repair.
Los Angeles Times
By Evelyn Larrubia
[Full story]
[Editor’s Note: For information about litigation over the accessibility of Richmond, Virginia, schools, as well as resources on legal requirements, see below.]
[NSBA School Law pages on Bacon v. City of Richmond]