History of the A117.1 Accessibility Standard and What’s to Come

Accessibility is one of the most important parts of the built environment, but there will never be a single solution that can be implemented to solve every concern. The intricacies and individual needs of each person are too vast and varied for a one-size-fits-all approach. For every objective that stands to improve the lives of those who are disabled, there will always be another that has yet to be recognized.

As additional necessities come to light, changes must be made to accommodate the needs of as many people as possible. Achieving accessibility is therefore an evolving process for building safety professionals and all who are involved in developing, refining and updating the A117.1 Accessibility Standard.

“The first edition of the A117.1 standard was issued in 1961,” said Ken Schoonover, an independent consultant who has been involved with A117.1 for more than four decades. “It came about as a product of advocates for people with disabilities. Over time, the standard has responded to new issues that have been identified, new technology that has come along and expanded the types of disabilities that need to be accommodated in buildings.”

Operating on a five-year cycle, the most recent A117.1 standard was updated in 2017. One of the latest additions involves enhancements to classroom acoustics to reduce ambient noise and other auditory distractions. Another is a tweak to sign language interpreter stations to better indicate where the interpreter would be positioned and provide adequate seating for optimum viewing.

Some of the additions – such as a modification to bottle filling stations and electric vehicle charging stations – were simply made to ensure that all individuals can reach them. In a nutshell, that’s what the A117.1 standard is ultimately trying to achieve: equal accessibility for everyone.

While the actual implementation may be far more complex, there are instances where only a minor change is needed to ensure that these features are accessible to and usable by all people, including people with disabilities.

“Everybody who is involved is committed to developing rational, reasonable and appropriate standards,” said Schoonover. “That includes advocates for people with disabilities, people like myself who have an interest because of experience in the standard, product manufacturers, designers, building owners – they all have a stake in the standard. Those interests are largely represented on the committee so that the decisions are a consensus of views from all of those interested and affected parties.”

SEE RELATED: ICC Pulse Podcast: Building Accessibility Standards in the U.S. and Beyond

The proposed next edition of the ICC A117.1 Accessibility Standard includes a new addition that disability advocates are very excited about – requirements for adult changing tables. While baby changing tables have been commonplace for some time (with A117.1 requirements that ensure they are accessible to any parent using a wheelchair), adult changing tables are few and far between.

The draft for the revisions to the 2017 A117.1 is currently open for public comment.

“Right now, the standards don’t address how to install a changing table in a manner that accommodates an adult as opposed to an infant,” Schoonover explained. “The recognition that there was the need for a standard on how to do that in an accessible and safe manner is what resulted in the requirements for adult changing tables.”

Bringing the A117.1 Accessibility Standard in Alignment with Federal Laws

The A117.1 Accessibility Standard was the first of its kind. Its origins can be traced to the 1950s when the President’s Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped teamed up with the Veterans Administration to draft a guide on public building accessibility. State employment agencies first received the guide in 1958, but big changes were ahead in the year to come.

In 1959, representatives from the American Standards Association (ASA) – which later became the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) – worked with qualified people to devise a plan to remove environmental barriers. ASA agreed to accept the development of a new standard and, with the help of two co-sponsors (the President’s Committee and the entity that became Easterseals), the first A117.1 Accessibility Standard was created.

Approved by October 1961, the A117.1 Accessibility Standard predates both the Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968) and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Both acts have proved to be instrumental in advancing civil rights, but according to Schoonover, there is one caveat: the only enforcement mechanism comes after the fact in the form of legal action. In other words, if disabled individuals can’t access a building because it lacks a wheelchair ramp, they can file a complaint and trigger enforcement action under federal civil rights laws.

While this is an important avenue for individuals to overcome injustice, Schoonover said it is a “really inefficient way to get the majority of building construction to meet accessibility standards.” The code enforcement and building industries believed that it would be more efficient and far more effective to provide a standard that would require accessibility compliance from day one.

“The building industry recognized that if the accessibility requirements in state and local building codes meet or exceed the federal ADA and Fair Housing Act laws, they’re killing two birds with one stone,” said Schoonover. “The industry embraced the idea of making sure that the A117.1 standard, and codes like the International Building Code, are aligned with the federal laws.”

The International Code Council (first as CABO – Council of American Building Officials) has served as the secretariat for the A117.1 since 1987 and has since then been involved in the long term development of the standard. All meetings are open to the public, and anyone can suggest improvements and participate in the deliberations. Information can be found on the A117.1 webpage at https://www.iccsafe.org/icc-asc-a117-1/.

Schoonover added that the A117.1 committee has spent a great deal of time comparing the requirements for the standards to those necessary to satisfy federal laws. If they are all in alignment, Schoonover said that builders are far less likely to violate the latter and incur legal action.

The end result means that developers will achieve compliance while creating a more welcoming environment for people with disabilities.

As Wheelchairs Evolve, the A117.1 Accessibility Standard Follows Suit

Much has changed since 1961. New types of wheelchairs have been introduced to accommodate a wider range of needs, many of which are larger than the wheelchair that was assumed to be standard in 1961.

The standard wheelchair “footprint” was changed in the 2017 edition from 30” x 48” to “30” x 52”. Motorized wheelchairs tend to be on the larger side, and motorized scooters have also entered the market and have become common. These are among the changes that can influence the A117.1 standard, which is designed to ensure that people can enter and move all around a building.

“This standard is the basis for the minimum width of doors, corridors, etc.,” said Schoonover. “For example, when a person using a wheelchair has to operate the door on the pull side, they will have to back up to swing the door open and then pass through the doorway. If a designer designs a doorway that just meets the bare minimum maneuverability requirements of the old standard (30” x 52”), there may not be enough space for the larger wheelchair (30” x 52”) to use effectively.”

When increasing the basic footprint of the wheelchair, the A117.1 Committee was mindful of how this would affect the development of new buildings and how it may impact those that already exist. They didn’t want to create a situation in which the standard door size was no longer acceptable. While they were aware of the larger wheelchairs being adopted, they didn’t want the A117.1 standard to unreasonably alter the way buildings are designed.

Before making a decision, the committee enlisted in the research of Dr. Ed Steinfeld, who had been involved with the A117.1 Committee for multiple decades. His research and proposals led to the formation of a task group that studied the size and space requirements for wheeled mobility.

Instead of striving for accessibility for all wheelchairs (which would be next to impossible to achieve), the committee sought a happy medium. Dr. Steinfeld’s research showed that the current standard only accommodated 50-60 percent of wheelchairs being used, suggesting it was time for a change. By increasing the size of the standard wheelchair, the committee was confident that the standard would now accommodate 75-78 percent of all types of mobility devices.

“It would be folly to say, ‘We’re going to require all future buildings to accommodate 100 percent of the mobility devices out there,’” said Schoonover. “That’s not realistic, so we increased the dimensions to the point where we made achievable progress.”

Every Change to the A117.1 Accessibility Standard Helps, No Matter How Small

There are times when technology proves to be the driving force for change in the A117.1 Accessibility Standard. Motion-activated faucets are one such example. They were developed by the plumbing industry to conserve water by only operating when motion is detected. This made them very appealing to a wide range of developers and property owners. The touch-free component proved to be a bonus for germ-conscious individuals, especially during COVID-19.

The A117.1 Committee saw another potential advantage: by eliminating the need to turn a knob, people with disabilities may have an easier time using the sink.

“The committee made sure the requirements for the ability to activate the water changed,” said Schoonover. “All you have to do is  to be able to activate the motion sensor within the standard reach ranges for manual faucets. Part of that was making sure that the requirements appropriately reflected how to include that technology. The other part involved making buildings accessible to people with disabilities.”

Not all disabilities involve a wheelchair. People who use crutches or a walker, as well as anyone who has a degree of visual or hearing impairment, can benefit from a building that takes their circumstances into consideration.

The former is being addressed by, per the A117.1 standard, Ambulatory Accessible Toilet Compartments. These compartments are larger than the narrow stalls that dominate most public restrooms but smaller than a wheelchair compartment. Handrails are included on both sides to allow people to easily enter the compartment with a walker or crutches, have enough space to close the door and effectively use the facilities.

The end goal is simple but admirable: by providing a larger and more accessible toilet compartment for people who aren’t in a wheelchair, the demand for the wheelchair compartment will be reduced.

Schoonover said this will hypothetically increase the likelihood that the people who need the wheelchair compartment will be able to access it whenever necessary.

The Future of A117.1

The people behind the A117.1 Accessibility Standard are always searching for ways to improve accessibility. Schoonover said it is difficult to predict future evolutions or how new technologies may impact the standard, but he pointed to one area in which change could be on the horizon.

“The signage industry is heavily focused on people with sight disabilities,” he said. “Sight disabilities include blindness, low vision and color blindness, as well as the ability to see contrast between the letters that are on the sign and the background on which those letters are mounted. There’s a lot of work going on in the contrast field to try and set criteria that make signs more readable to people, primarily those with low vision.”

This may lead to a new minimum standard for permanent signage in buildings, such as those identifying a particular room. The signage industry had previously experimented with technology for talking signs that could assist those who are visually impaired. According to Schoonover, the tech was developed, presented to the committee and adopted as part of the A117.1 standard.

“To come full circle on how the committee responds to changing technology, talking signs became obsolete before very long,” said Schoonover. “As a result, the committee chose to remove this part of the standard because it was no longer relevant.”

Though it may not have created a useful, long-term solution, Schoonover said that the talking sign example illustrates how industries can approach the committee about new technologies that could meaningfully improve accessibility. Not every concept will turn out to be a home run, but that shouldn’t deter anyone from proposing new ideas. 

The draft for the revisions to the 2017 edition of ICC A117.1 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities Standard is now open for public comment, click here to learn more.