PHILADELPHIA — To help ensure nondiscrimination of people with disabilities, the City of Philadelphia released a number of new and revised policies today under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Two of the policies — Grievance and Appeal and Requests for Reasonable Modification — were previously included on the City’s website (phila.gov), but were revised to include the most accurate and up-to-date information. Three new documents were also added.
The policies posted online today include:
- Grievance and Appeal Policy — Allows individuals with disabilities who feel that they have been discriminated against, based on disability, in City operated programs, services, and activities to submit a grievance. Grievance forms can be submitted online, by mail or in person.
- Requests for Reasonable Modification Policy — Allows residents to request communication in alternative formats and case-by-case changes to programs, services or activities when needed to gain equal access to programs, services and activities offered by the City of Philadelphia. Reasonable Modification forms can be submitted online, by mail or in person.
- Effective Communication Policy — Ensures that the City’s communications with people with disabilities are as effective as communications with others.
- ADA Liaison Policy — Requires City departments and agencies to identify an employee who is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the policies are rolled out within their department and that residents with disabilities have equal access to programs, services and activities.
- Notice of Nondiscrimination — The notice summarizes the City’s responsibilities under Title II of the ADA. It includes statements about nondiscrimination towards people with disabilities, providing reasonable modifications and effective communication without charge to the resident, the grievance process, and contact information for the Director of ADA Compliance.
“Philadelphia prides itself on being a welcoming city — one that embraces all people,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “However, for our residents with disabilities, we have more work to do to create an accessible environment for all people. These new and updated policies are a small, but important, step towards increasing accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities in Philadelphia.”
In 2017, Mayor Kenney signed Executive Order 7-17, which formally established the Mayor’s Office on People with Disabilities — reorganizing the work for people with disabilities under a permanent office that operates to advance strategic policies and programs. The order also re-established the Mayor’s Commission on People with Disabilities. Saron McKee, the City’s Director of ADA Compliance, played an instrumental role in revising the policies.
“In my role, I am charged with making sure that the policies, procedures and practices of the City do not lead to unintended discrimination against people with disabilities,” said Saron McKee, Director of ADA Compliance. “It is critical that we ensure individuals with disabilities have the same access to participate in all aspects of City government as people without disabilities. This is the first of many steps we plan to undertake to make Philadelphia a better city for people with disabilities. It’s not just about meeting the standards — we aim to go above and beyond on all of these policies and procedures, establishing best practices that all of our departments will strive to meet.”
The City of Philadelphia’s full ADA Policy is also available on the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities website.
About the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination civil rights legislation passed in 1990 that prohibits discrimination based on disability. Title II of the ADA prohibits state and local governments from perpetuating discrimination against persons with disabilities through their program access, budgetary allocations, employment, contracts, policies, delivery of services, infrastructures (owned or contracted), and all remaining functions or actions. Title II also allows qualified people with disabilities to request a change in the way the government does business so they can engage with services, programs or activities.