WHEREAS, California Community Colleges are not adequately monitoring compliance with accessibility standards, and the Chancellor’s Office should provide additional guidance to assist community colleges in supporting students with disabilities [1];
WHEREAS, Able-bodied students who repeatedly use push-buttons wear down and oftentimes drain the battery of these battery operated systems [2] and this raises the maintenance requirement of these systems to a point where it is not very realistic for them to be repaired on a regular basis [2]; and
WHEREAS, Touch-type automatic doors use a wall mounted switch or panel that automatically opens the door so long as the individual presses the switch or panel [3]; Now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges advocate for faculty and staff to undergo yearly training to thoroughly understand ADA, Section 504, policies on how students with disabilities can advocate for themselves, to create a more supportive campus;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges work with the California Community College Chancellor’s Office to call for mandatory regular inspections of all ADA-Compliant systems, such as elevators, accessible door entry, accessible emergency evacuation, among others, to ensure all physical barriers for students with disabilities are removed; and
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges California Community College districts to change the touch-type automatic door buttons to motion activated sensors so that if students without the dexterity to push buttons need to access a building on campus, they can do so easily.
Citations:
[1] https://information.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2017-102/sections.html#section1
[2]https://cccadvocate.com/3778/news/life-of-handicap-buttons-reduced-by-excessive-abuse/.
[3]https://viewpointsonline.org/2016/05/access-for-disabled-students-on-campus-lacking/.