American Disabilities Act & Title VI

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009.

The ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits, under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal.

Disability is defined by the ADA as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.” The determination of whether any particular condition is considered a disability is made on a case by case basis. An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such impairment. The ADA, however, does not specifically name all of the impairments that are covered. Certain specific conditions are excluded as disabilities, such as current substance abuse and visual impairment which is correctable by prescription lenses.

Notice Under The Americans With Disabilities Act

In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the Town of Rossville will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.

Employment:  The Town of Rossville does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title I of the ADA.

Effective Communications:  The Town of Rossville will generally, upon request provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in the Town of Rossville’s programs, services, and activities.  These could include a qualified sign language interpreter, documents in Braille, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments if available at the time of the request.

Modifications to Policies and Procedures:  The Town of Rossville will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of its programs, services, and activities.  For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in Rossville offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.

Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a program, service, or activity of the Town of Rossville, should contact the office of Patricia McIlrath, Clerk Treasurer, Rossville Town Hall, 17 West Main St., P.O. Box 550, Rossville, Indiana 46065, (765)379-2645, rossville@geetel.net, as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.

The ADA does not require the Town of Rossville to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.

Complaints that a program, service, or activity of the Town of Rossville is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to the Clerk Treasurer, Rossville Town Hall, 17 West Main Street, P.O. Box 550, Rossville, Indiana 46065, (765)379-2645, rossville@geetel.net.

The Town of Rossville will not place a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individuals with disabilities to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids/services or reasonable modifications of police, such as retrieving items from locations that are open to the public but are not accessible to persons who use wheelchairs.

ADA Coordinator

Effective communication is essential to address all the complaints or concerns of all individuals.  In order to keep maintaining the lines of communications open, and thereby ensuring effective communication between all parties, the Town of Rossville has designated the Clerk Treasurer as the ADA coordinator.

The ADA coordinator shall coordinate the Town’s efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Title II of the ADA, including any investigation of any complaint communicated to the ADA coordinator.  Such complaints may take the form of alleging noncompliance with ADA mandates or alleging any actions that would be prohibited under the ADA.

The Town shall make available to all interested individuals the names, office address, and telephone number of the employee(s) so designated and has adopted and published procedures for the prompt and equitable resolution of complaints.  Every complaint must be directed in writing to the ADA coordinator, in this case the Clerk Treasurer.

Patricia McIlrath
Clerk-Treasurer
Rossville Town Hall
17 West Main Street
P.O. Box 550
Rossville, IN 46065

rossville@geetel.net