Teaching · Related Services

Measure the ramp
before the student meets it.

Tape-measure each ramp and staircase on a student’s route. The checklist works out the slope, compares the figures with the general ones in the 2010 ADA Standards, and keeps how the student manages and what was reported together for the team.

Check a routeWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Related Services toolkit, $99 for 96 items.

Ramps and stairs

The worked example checks three made-up routes: a front ramp that is too steep, gym stairs with one handrail and a portable classroom ramp with worn grip strips. Checks save as you type and stay in this browser.

Loading the route form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Teaching · Related Services$5 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
One page per ramp or staircase with the student code and how they move; rise, run, clear width, handrail height, riser and tread with the slope worked out; a ten-point check; how the student manages and the time to go up; the plan; problems reported with status; flags for a slope steeper than 1:12, a width under 36 inches, rails outside 34 to 38 inches and steps outside the usual range; printouts, a blank form, a spreadsheet and an export file.
Who it is for
School physical therapists, PT assistants, occupational therapists, special education teachers and 504 coordinators planning a student’s routes around the building.
Format
Browser checklist with any number of saved routes. Prints one route, all routes or a blank form for the clipboard; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Related Services toolkit ($99) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Related Services space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Walk the student’s day and start a page for each ramp and staircase on it.
  2. Measure rise, run, width and handrail height; for stairs, a riser and a tread. The slope is worked out for you.
  3. Mark the ten checks as Meets, Problem or N/A.
  4. Watch the student on the route and record how they manage and the plan.
  5. Report problems to facilities or the ADA or 504 coordinator and track them to Fixed.

Check a route

What the figures mean

The figures behind the check1 inch up for every 12 along, at most60″ landingrail 34–38″riser 4–7″tread 11″ or moreThe figures behind the check1 inch up for every 12 along, at most60″ landingrail 34–38″riser 4–7″tread 11″ or more
From the 2010 ADA Standards for new construction. Older buildings and alterations can follow other rules; whether a building complies is for the school’s facilities team or ADA coordinator to decide.

A student, not a building

This checklist asks whether one student can use a route safely today and what would make it safer. The figures from the ADA Standards help you describe a problem precisely when you report it: “rises 24 inches over 240, a 1:10 slope” gets a faster answer than “the ramp is steep.”

While it is being fixed

A student who cannot use a route safely still has to get to class, the stage and the bus. Section 504 and the ADA require that programs be accessible to students with disabilities, so write down the route the student will use instead and who walks it with them until the repair is done.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Justice. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (ada.gov): 403 walking surfaces, 405 ramps, 504 stairs, 505 handrails.
  2. U.S. Access Board. Guide to the ADA Accessibility Standards, chapters on ramps and stairs and on handrails (access-board.gov).
  3. U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Protecting Students with Disabilities: Frequently Asked Questions About Section 504 (ed.gov).
  4. U.S. Department of Justice. ADA Title II Technical Assistance Manual, program accessibility in existing facilities (ada.gov).

The worked example is made up. Figures are the general ones for new construction in the 2010 ADA Standards; a building’s compliance is decided by the school’s facilities team or ADA coordinator, not by this checklist. Your checks stay on this device until you print or export them. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.