Americans with Disabilities Act - Assignment Example

Section 504 contains three alternate prongs based on three criteria (Zirkel, 2009 P.1, L 3-10).

The first prong is for individuals who have; a) a mental or physical impairment that; b) substantially limits; c) a major life activity. The second and third parts are for people who are not currently meeting these three criteria but have a record of or are regarded as meeting the requirements. The office of civil rights (OCR) is the department within the education department that enforces and administers section 504 in a K12 school setting. They are vocal in the interpretation of the second and third prongs about learners. They have also clarified the regard as and record of points to protect exclusions. OCR has also ensured that students under the first prong are entitled to a free and appropriate education (Zirkel, 2009 P.1, L 11-26).

The Americans with Disabilities Act properly covers deafness disability. It has identified deafness as a condition that substantially limits hearing and also states that hearing is a major life activity. The act has had positive effects on deaf people within public accommodations by ensuring that they are not discriminated against, for example, to enter certain premises (Steinberg, 2013 Paragraph 3). The ADA together with ADAAA fails to recognize partial hearing as a disability. Under the ADA's definition of disability, the only issue found in people with one deaf ear is that they have difficulty hearing in noisy surroundings. The definition according to ADA means that partial deafness does not substantially limit the person’s abilities, the ruling is evident in the Christine Mengel case (Steinberg, 2013 P.2, Paragraph 2). Read More