  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Tech Support |
||
|
The Access Board has issued a
comparison
between the new ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG),
the original ADA standards, and the International Building Code. This side-by-side comparison is arranged and ordered according to the format and sequence of the new ADAAG, which the Board published in July 2004. Provisions in the ADA Standards maintained by the Department of Justice, which currently are based on the original ADAAG (1991), are provided alongside corresponding sections of the new ADAAG. The Department of Justice is in the process of updating its ADA standards according to the new ADAAG. In updating ADAAG, the Board sought to reconcile differences from model building codes, including the International Building Code (IBC). Used by a growing number of states and local jurisdictions, the IBC contains scoping provisions for accessibility and references the technical criteria of the ANSI A117.1 standard, a voluntary consensus standard issued by American National Standards Institute. The comparison includes accessibility provisions of the IBC, including those referenced in the ANSI standard. For further information on the IBC, visit the International Code Council's website at www.iccsafe.org. “When will new ADA and ABA Standards take effect?” It's a common question posed to the Access Board since its release of new design guidelines for facilities covered by the ADA and ABA. These guidelines will drive updates of the standards used to enforce the ADA and ABA. The standards, which are maintained by a handful of other Federal agencies, are what must be followed, not the Board's guidelines. The Board’s guidelinese are not enforceable or mandatory in and of themselves, but instead serve as a baseline for updating the standards that are. The responsible agencies are updating their ADA or ABA standards on separate tracks and their progress to date is varied. As part of this work, the agencies will indicate when the new standards will take effect. |