Access Board: A Federal Agency Committed to Accessible Design. FY 2000 Annual report

US Transportation Collection2001PDFOrganization InfoUnited States. Access BoardUnited States. Access BoardUnited StatesPersons with disabilitiesTransportation disadvantaged personsBarrier free designAnnual reportsUnited States. Access BoardA key mission of the Board is establishing design criteria for accessibility. Over the years, this mandate has broadened considerably in scope. When it was created, the Board was responsible for issuing design guidelines for federally funded facilities, which it maintains to this day. With passage of the ADA in 1990, the Board gained the responsibility to develop similar requirements for facilities in the private and public sectors. The ADA also called on the Board to develop accessibility guidelines for transportation vehicles. More recently, the Board\u2019s mission was expanded to not only cover the built environment, but also the world of telecommunications and electronic and information technology. Indeed, this expansion of the Board\u2019s mission calls attention to the importance of accessibility in the Information Age. Developing and keeping these various requirements up-to-date remain essential activities of the Board, and FY 2000 was no exception. The Board proposed two comprehensive rules during the year. One featured new standards for electronic and information technology in the Federal sector. The other involved a combined full-scale update of the Board\u2019s guidelines for facilities covered by the ADA and guidelines for federally funded facilities. Both rules were made available for public comment according to a standard procedure for issuing Federal regulations. In addition, the Board furthered work on new guidelines under the ADA in several different areas: recreation facilities, play areas, public rights-of-way, and passenger vessels.120