[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 22, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 36318]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-12242]



[[Page 36317]]

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Part V





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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Request for Comments on HUD's Draft Section 504 Self-Evaluation Report 
on HUD-Conducted Programs and Activities; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 22, 2005 / 
Notices  

[[Page 36318]]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4994-N-01; HUD-2005-0012]


Request for Comments on HUD's Draft Section 504 Self-Evaluation 
Report on HUD-Conducted Programs and Activities

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Through this notice, HUD solicits public comment on its draft 
self-evaluation report of HUD-conducted programs and activities and 
regional office facilities. The draft report was prepared consistent 
with HUD's responsibilities under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 
of 1973 and HUD's implementing regulations. The draft report consists 
of two phases. Phase I assesses HUD's current policies and practices 
(including regulations, handbooks, notices, and other written guidance) 
and the effects of those policies and practices on the ability of 
persons with disabilities to access and use all HUD-conducted programs 
and activities. Phase II assesses the accessibility of HUD regional 
office facilities. The draft report also discusses the methodology HUD 
used to conduct the self-evaluation, and contains recommendations for 
addressing identified barriers. HUD will issue a final self-evaluation 
report after consideration of the public comments received on the draft 
report.

DATES: Comments Due Date: July 22, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this notice to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, 
Room 10276, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410-0500. Electronic comments may be 
submitted through either:
     The Federal eRulemaking Portal: at http://www.regulations.gov; or
     The HUD electronic Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/feddocket. Follow the link entitled ``View Open HUD Dockets.'' 
Commenters should follow the instructions provided on that site to 
submit comments electronically. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not 
acceptable. In all cases, communications must refer to the docket 
number and title.
    All comments and communications submitted will be available, 
without charge, for public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 
p.m. weekdays at the above address. Due to security measures at the HUD 
Headquarters building, please schedule an appointment to review the 
public comments by calling the Regulations Division at (202) 708-3055 
(this is not a toll-free number). Copies of the public comments are 
also available for inspection and downloading at http://www.epa.gov/feddocket.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Milton Turner, Director, Compliance 
and Disability Rights Division, Office of Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh 
Street, SW., Room 5240, Washington, DC 20410-2000; telephone (202) 708-
2333, extension 7057 (this is not a toll free number). Hearing or 
speech-impaired individuals may access this number via TTY by calling 
the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. HUD Section 504 Self-Evaluation

    HUD has conducted a self-evaluation of its regional office 
facilities and its policies and practices, consistent with HUD's 
responsibilities under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 
(29 U.S.C. 794) (Section 504). Section 504 prohibits discrimination on 
the basis of disability in federally assisted programs and activities. 
In 1978, Section 504 was amended to extend its coverage to programs and 
activities conducted by federal executive agencies, including HUD. The 
Department's regulations implementing Section 504 for its programs and 
activities are codified at 24 CFR part 9 (entitled ``Enforcement of 
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Programs and Activities 
conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development'').
    The objective of the self-evaluation is two-fold: (1) To determine 
whether current HUD policies and practices (including regulations, 
handbooks, notices, and other written guidance) discriminate, or have 
the effect of discriminating, on the basis of disability; and (2) to 
determine if HUD facilities are accessible to persons with 
disabilities. The types of disability discrimination the self-
evaluation seeks to disclose include those situations where:
    1. Otherwise qualified persons are excluded from participation in, 
or denied benefits of, HUD programs and activities on the basis of 
disability;
    2. HUD policies that, although neutral on their face, in operation 
limit the ability of persons with disabilities to benefit from program 
opportunities (e.g., requiring a person to make a written request for 
information on HUD's assisted housing programs); and
    3. Separate or different benefits or services are provided to 
persons on the basis of disability where such action is not required to 
provide a benefit or service as effective as those provided to others 
(e.g., holding a separate training program for persons with hearing 
impairments is discriminatory when the training can be effectively held 
in an integrated setting with the provision of interpreters).

II. Draft Self-Evaluation Report

    HUD has prepared a draft report presenting the results of its self-
evaluation. The draft report also discusses the methodology HUD used to 
conduct the self-evaluation, and contains recommendations for 
addressing identified barriers. The HUD draft report is located at 
http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/disabilities/index.cfm.
    HUD seeks public comment on the draft report from interested 
parties, including persons with disabilities, or organizations 
representing individuals with disabilities. Comments must be submitted 
to HUD no later than July 22, 2005 and must be submitted to the address 
specified in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. HUD will issue a 
final self-evaluation report after consideration of the public comments 
received on the draft report.

    Dated: June 14, 2005.
Roy A. Bernardi,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-12242 Filed 6-21-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-28-P