Make your school’s graduation celebration accessible to students, friends and loved ones of all mobility levels
Graduation season is right around the corner, which means ceremonies and celebrations will be taking place for high school, college, and graduate school students coast-to-coast. Planners must consider not just graduates who may use a wheelchair or require assistance but also faculty and staff, family members, and friends. It’s vital to ensure that your school’s event has the necessary components in place to make your venue accessible to all – especially aging or injured loved ones.
ADA-compliant graduation ceremony requires the following, according to this helpful checklist created by the Illinois ADA Project:
- Staff coordination and training – Make sure that staff members are fully informed and properly trained on how to provide assistance throughout the event, since failure in this area is the number one cause of problems and lawsuits.
- Invitations, promotional materials, and programs – Invitations and promotional materials need to take into account recipients with hearing, sight, and other communication issues, and should make clear what the accessibility options will be at the ceremony. It’s also smart to include an accommodation-request form.
- Site selection – The right venue is clearly an essential step, and Amramp’s rental modular ramps and lifts can help to convert any site into an ADA-compliant one.
- Auxiliary aids and services – A school must provide visual or aural aids and services for those with vision or hearing limitations.
- Service animals – Specially trained/designated animals are to be permitted in all public areas throughout the event.
- Auditorium seating – Try to integrate wheelchair seating throughout the auditorium so that families can sit together.
- Stage access – There should be no need for wheelchair-using students, faculty, administrators, and honored guests to have to speak or receive/bestow diplomas anywhere other than the stage. Amramp’s modular ramps make it easy for planners to accommodate their needs.
Amramp previously published an article listing additional steps to consider from a logistical and aesthetic standpoint when organizing a wheelchair-accessible graduation; these steps go beyond the basic ADA requirements to create an event that is streamlined, aesthetically pleasing, and memorable. Click the link above for Brett McKee of Amramp of California’s useful tips.
It may seem like a lot, but with a little planning and consideration, you’ll find these are easy modifications to make – especially with the help from friendly experts your nearby Amramp franchise, who will walk you through the process step-by-step. Everyone deserves to take part in a graduate’s special day, and Amramp’s modular ramps, lifts, and friendly service can convert any space, indoor or outdoor, into an accessible one.
Graduation wheelchair ramps: Rent from the ADA experts
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Please contact Amramp’s National Customer Service Center 888-715-7598
