T 5-9-94

DJ 202-PL-590

May 13 1994

James R. Judge, Esquire

Foley Maehara Judge Nip & Chang
2233 Vineyard Street, Suite B
Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii 96793

Dear Mr. Judge:

I am responding to your letter asking for clarification of

the requirements of title III of the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA), and this Department's regulation implementing title
III. Specifically, you have asked for an interpretive opinion
about the application of the ADA to XXX, which you have
identified as an Episcopal School in XXX, XXX, XXX.

The ADA authorizes the Department of Justice to provide

technical assistance to individuals and entities that have rights
or responsibilities under the Act. This letter provides informal
guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA and the
Department's regulation. However, this technical assistance does
not constitute a legal interpretation of the statute, and it is
not binding on the Department.

Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis

of disability by any private entity that owns, leases, leases to,
or operates a place of public accommodation. A private school,
as a place of education, would ordinarily be regarded as a place
of public accommodation subject to title III. However, a
religious entity, i.e., a religious organization or an entity
controlled by a religious organization, is exempt from the
requirements of title III. The exemption is intended to have
broad application; it applies to both religious and secular
activities of a religious entity. Therefore, a private school
controlled by a religious entity is exempt from coverage under
title III.
 Please note, however, that the ADA establishes no procedure
through which a religious entity may be "certified" eligible to
claim this exemption. The ADA, like all other Federal civil
rights laws, requires each covered entity to use its best

cc: Records, Chrono, Wodatch, Breen, Blizard, FOIA, Friedlander

n:\udd\blizard\adaltrs\judge

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judgment to comply with the statute and the implementing

regulations.

For your information, I am enclosing a copy of the

regulation implementing title III of the ADA and the Department's
Title III Technical Assistance Manual, which was developed to
assist individuals and entities subject to the ADA to understand
the requirements of title III. I hope that this information is
helpful to you.

Sincerely,

John L. Wodatch
Chief
Public Access Section

Enclosures

01-03088