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The following resources are intended to assist in planning to provide accessible services for Americans with disabilities.
Accessibility Laws – Federal
- Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- U.S. Department of Justice ADA Homepage
Accessibility Laws – State
Accessibility Planning Guides
- 12-Step Plan to Access (.doc)
- 12 Step Plan to Access (.PDF)
- This 12-Step Plan was developed by Deborah Lewis, a national accessibility consultant, to help arts organizations identify their weaknesses in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and to create a plan that will complete their access needs. It can be used with other tools on this website.
- Metropolitan Regional Arts Council & VSA Minnesota’s Arts Access Planning Guide Spreadsheet
- This self-survey tool, created by VSA Minnesota and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council in 2016, guides an arts group or venue through its policies, programs, facilities, events and access plan to identify its accessibility strengths and what may need attention in order to remove barriers to participation. The tool is a spreadsheet that includes instructions, a three-part survey and a sheet where you will construct an access plan based on the findings of the 3-part survey. A separate 20-question Questionnaire and other Access Plan resources are also available on this website.
- Minnesota State Council on Disability Building Access Survey
- NASA Grant recipient Access guide
- National Endowment for the Arts Access Guide
- Sample ADA Access Plans
- Smithsonian Guide for Accessible exhibition Design
Accessible Presentations
- Description Tip Sheet from The Described and Captioned Media Program for speakers to consider when describing slides
- How to make presentations accessible to all from the Web Accessibility Initiative
- Accessible Meetings, Events and Conference Guide from ADA Hospitality
- Association of University Centers on Disabilities guides on presentations and handouts.
Accessibility Symbols
- Accessibility Symbols
- These symbols advertise your accessibility to employees, customers, audiences, and anyone else who needs access to your building or offices. Examples of places you’ll want to promote your accessibility include: advertisements, newsletters, conference and program brochures, membership forms, building signage, floor plans and maps.
- The Accessible Icon Project
- The Accessible Icon Project is an ongoing work of design activism. It starts with a graphic icon, free for use in the public domain, and continues its work as a collaboration among people with disabilities and their allies toward a more accessible world.
Accessibility Training
- Arts and cultural organizations are changing — audiences, visitors, staff, volunteers, guest artists or speakers, donors, budgets, access plans and new projects. As we age, move, transition and try to serve our communities better, one realm where it’s important to be up-to-date is in being accessible, welcoming and inclusive to our growing number of patrons with disabilities — physical, mental, cognitive. As MNAA is raising the bar for accessibility across the culture and arts sectors in Minnesota, we want to connect with you about your accessibility training needs. For suggestions, recommendations for consultants, or to inquire about upcoming workshops presented by MNAA, please contact us by email: info@mnaccess.org
- Past workshops presented by MNAA
- Welcoming All: Accessibility Design for Festival Settings workshop by Diane Nutting
- American Sign Language (ASL) for Cultural Workers by Regina Daniels
- Accessible Programs & Services for Visitors who are Blind or Low Vision
- An Introduction to Accessibility on Social Media
- Getting Started with Website Accessibility by WeCo
- Marketing for Accessibility with Guthrie Theatre staff
- Snapshot session LEAD Conference 2019 report back
Accommodations for People who are Blind or have Low Vision
- What is Audio Description
- Audio Description Sample Contract
- Audio Describer Listing
- Email info@mnaccess.org for current listing.
Accommodations for People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
- ASL Interpreter Guides
- Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) or real-time captioning
- Interpreted Performance Guides
- Interpreter Sample Contract
- Interpreter & CART Provider Listing
- Email info@mnaccess.org for current listing.
Other Resources
- Great Lakes ADA Center
- Minnesota’s regional ADA resource center is full of information and educational resources.
- Archived Arts and Recreation Accessibility Webinar Sessions
- Kennedy Center Leadership Exchange on Arts and Disability (LEAD®) Conference
- LEAD® is the preeminent conference on access for arts (as well as history, science and culture) administrators.
- VSA and Accessibility Office Resources and TipSheets