Accessing Arizona's Arts.
ARTability and its partner organizations strive to make it possible for everyone to enjoy the arts in Arizona. Among the estimated 54-58 million Americans living with a disability, 1 million of those reside in Arizona. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed by George Bush in 1990, prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. This includes employment, public accommodations, commercial facilities, state and local government and transportation. ADA defines disability as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity." In September of 2008, George W. Bush enacted the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) which widened the protections given to disabled workers by adding to the list of "major life activities."
Below are links to resources of interest:
The University of Arizona's website provides useful information for those planning an accessible event. The document may be downloaded as a PDF and contains well-documented, reliable sources.
The Arizona Center of Disability Law has posted a PDF on their objectives and priorities for the 2011 fiscal year. Included is information on case selection criteria and descriptions of each objective.
The Arizona Commission of the Arts has a page of their website dedicated to the accessibility of arts for state-wide events. For arts organizations, the ACA has supplied an Accessibility Checklist and Accessibility Statement in PDF format, along with an extensive list of contacts and resources.