Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Recreation and Parks
Accessibility and Inclusion Policy

The Division of Recreation and Parks is committed to making all reasonable efforts to ensure that its facilities, programs and services are accessible to, and usable by, all people, including those with disabilities. This policy reflects the commitment to provide access to the widest cross section of the public and to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, and the Florida Americans with Disabilities Accessibility Implementation Act, Sections 553.501-553.513, Fla. Stat. (2006). The Division of Recreation and Parks will not discriminate on the basis of disability or impairment and will not exclude persons with disability or impairment from reasonable access to any facility or from participation in any program or activity. The Division’s goal is to provide equal access to all facilities and programs within the State Park System units and to treat everyone with dignity and respect.

Facilities

The Division of Recreation and Parks will design, construct, and operate all buildings and facilities so they are accessible to, and usable by, all people, including those with disabilities to the greatest extent reasonable, in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and standards. This means that all new and altered buildings and facilities will comply with appropriate design standards. It also means that a sufficient number of existing buildings and facilities will be modified to ensure that programs are provided in an accessible location.

Programs and Activities

The Division of Recreation and Parks will ensure, to the greatest extent feasible, that all people, including persons with disabilities, receive the same program and activity opportunities. The Division of Recreation and Parks will take all reasonable steps to ensure effective communication with individuals having hearing and vision impairment or loss by providing appropriate auxiliary aids or alternate formats, in order to afford them the opportunity to participate in and enjoy the benefits of our programs and activities. The Division of Recreation and Parks , however, is not required to take any actions or provide access that would result in a fundamental alteration to the nature of a program or activity.

Cultural Sites

The Division of Recreation and Parks will provide persons with disabilities the highest feasible level of physical access to cultural sites, including historic properties, that is reasonable and consistent with the preservation of each property's significant archaeological, historical and/or cultural features. Access modifications for persons with disabilities will be designed and installed to least affect the features of a property that contribute to its significance. Modifications to some features may be acceptable in providing access, once a review of options for the highest level of access has been completed. If it is determined that modification of particular features would impair a property's integrity and/or character, such modifications will not be made. In situations where access modifications cannot be made, alternative methods of achieving program access will be adopted.

Wilderness Areas

The Division of Recreation and Parks will provide persons with disabilities the highest feasible level of physical access to wilderness areas that is reasonable and consistent with the preservation of each property’s significant natural features. Undeveloped areas, such as those outside the immediate influence of buildings and roads, will not normally be modified.

Concessionaires

Concessionaires share the Division of Recreation and Parks responsibility to provide employees and visitors with the greatest degree of access to facilities, programs and services that is reasonable, within the terms of existing contracts and/or agreements.

Requests for Access

Requests or inquiries for access to facilities, programs or activities may be made to the specific state park or to the Division of Recreation and Parks Accessibility and Inclusion Coordinator at (850) 245-3076 (voice) or 711 (Florida Relay Service). In the event a request for access to a facility, program or activity is not resolved in a timely or acceptable manner, a complaint may be filed in writing to the Division of Recreation and Parks Accessibility and Inclusion Coordinator and sent to:

Terri Messler, Accessibility and Inclusion Coordinator
Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Recreation and Parks
3900 Commonwealth Boulevard, MS 535
Tallahassee , Florida, 32399-3000

A complaint may be submitted by telephone to Terri Messler, Division of Recreation and Parks Accessibility and Inclusion Coordinator, at (850) 245-3076 (voice) or 711 (Florida Relay Service).