CHAPTER 121. PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES - Texas Statutes

HUMAN RESOURCES CODE

TITLE 8. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

CHAPTER 121. PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

Sec. 121.001. STATE POLICY. The policy of the state is to

encourage and enable persons with disabilities to participate

fully in the social and economic life of the state, to achieve

maximum personal independence, to become gainfully employed, and

to otherwise fully enjoy and use all public facilities available

within the state.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2425, ch. 842, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.

Sept. 1, 1979. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 649, Sec. 2,

eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 121.0014. VISION STATEMENT. (a) The Health and Human

Services Commission, each health and human services agency, and

each state agency that administers a workforce development

program shall adopt the following statement of vision:

The State of Texas shall ensure that all Texans with disabilities

have the opportunity and support necessary to work in

individualized, competitive employment in the community and to

have choices about their work and careers.

(b) In this section, "health and human services agency" means an

agency listed by Section 19, Article 4413(502), Revised Statutes.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 655, Sec. 6.02(a), eff. Sept.

1, 1995.

Sec. 121.0015. INTERAGENCY WORK GROUP. (a) An interagency work

group is created to implement the action plan adopted at the 1994

Supported Employment Summit.

(b) The work group is composed of a representative of the:

(1) Texas Education Agency, appointed by the commissioner of

education;

(2) Texas Commission for the Blind, appointed by the

commissioner of that agency;

(3) Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation,

appointed by the commissioner of mental health and mental

retardation;

(4) Texas Rehabilitation Commission, appointed by the

commissioner of that agency; and

(5) Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, appointed

by the executive director of that agency.

(c) A member of the work group serves at the will of the

appointing agency.

(d) The work group shall elect a presiding officer and any other

necessary officers.

(e) The work group shall meet at the call of the presiding

officer.

(f) The appointing agency is responsible for the expenses of a

member's service on the work group. A member of the work group

receives no additional compensation for serving on the work

group.

(g) The comptroller shall monitor the work group and the

implementation of the action plan.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 655, Sec. 6.02(a), eff. Sept.

1, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 6.66,

eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 121.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Assistance animal" means an animal that is specially

trained or equipped to help a person with a disability and that:

(A) is used by a person with a disability who has satisfactorily

completed a specific course of training in the use of the animal;

and

(B) has been trained by an organization generally recognized by

agencies involved in the rehabilitation of persons with

disabilities as reputable and competent to provide animals with

training of this type.

(2) "Harass" means any conduct that:

(A) is directed at an assistance animal that impedes or

interferes with, or is intended to impede or interfere with, the

animal's performance of its duties; or

(B) places a person with a disability who is using an assistance

animal, or a trainer who is training an assistance animal, in

danger of injury.

(3) "Housing accommodations" means all or part of real property

that is used or occupied or is intended, arranged, or designed to

be used or occupied as the home, residence, or sleeping place of

one or more human beings, except a single-family residence whose

occupants rent, lease, or furnish for compensation only one room.

(4) "Person with a disability" means a person who has a mental

or physical disability, including mental retardation, hearing

impairment, deafness, speech impairment, visual impairment, or

any health impairment that requires special ambulatory devices or

services.

(5) "Public facilities" includes a street, highway, sidewalk,

walkway, common carrier, airplane, motor vehicle, railroad train,

motor bus, streetcar, boat, or any other public conveyance or

mode of transportation; a hotel, motel, or other place of

lodging; a public building maintained by any unit or subdivision

of government; a building to which the general public is invited;

a college dormitory or other educational facility; a restaurant

or other place where food is offered for sale to the public; and

any other place of public accommodation, amusement, convenience,

or resort to which the general public or any classification of

persons from the general public is regularly, normally, or

customarily invited.

(6) "White cane" means a cane or walking stick that is metallic

or white in color, or white tipped with a contrasting color, and

that is carried by a blind person to assist the blind person in

traveling from place to place.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2425, ch. 842, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.

Sept. 1, 1979. Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 3310, ch. 865,

Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 31, 1981; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 278, Sec.

1, eff. June 5, 1985; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 890, Sec. 1, eff.

Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 649, Sec. 3, eff. Sept.

1, 1997.

Sec. 121.003. DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. (a) Persons with

disabilities have the same right as the able-bodied to the full

use and enjoyment of any public facility in the state.

(b) No common carrier, airplane, railroad train, motor bus,

streetcar, boat, or other public conveyance or mode of

transportation operating within the state may refuse to accept as

a passenger a person with a disability solely because of the

person's disability, nor may a person with a disability be

required to pay an additional fare because of his or her use of

an assistance animal, wheelchair, crutches, or other device used

to assist a person with a disability in travel.

(c) No person with a disability may be denied admittance to any

public facility in the state because of the person's disability.

No person with a disability may be denied the use of a white

cane, assistance animal, wheelchair, crutches, or other device of

assistance.

(d) The discrimination prohibited by this section includes a

refusal to allow a person with a disability to use or be admitted

to any public facility, a ruse or subterfuge calculated to

prevent or discourage a person with a disability from using or

being admitted to a public facility, and a failure to:

(1) comply with Article 9102, Revised Statutes;

(2) make reasonable accommodations in policies, practices, and

procedures; or

(3) provide auxiliary aids and services necessary to allow the

full use and enjoyment of the public facility.

(e) Regulations relating to the use of public facilities by any

designated class of persons from the general public may not

prohibit the use of particular public facilities by persons with

disabilities who, except for their disabilities or use of

assistance animals or other devices for assistance in travel,

would fall within the designated class.

(f) It is the policy of the state that persons with disabilities

be employed by the state, by political subdivisions of the state,

in the public schools, and in all other employment supported in

whole or in part by public funds on the same terms and conditions

as persons without disabilities, unless it is shown that there is

no reasonable accommodation that would enable a person with a

disability to perform the essential elements of a job.

(g) Persons with disabilities shall be entitled to full and

equal access, as other members of the general public, to all

housing accommodations offered for rent, lease, or compensation

in this state, subject to the conditions and limitations

established by law and applicable alike to all persons.

(h) A person with a total or partial disability who has or

obtains an assistance animal is entitled to full and equal access

to all housing accommodations provided for in this section, and

may not be required to pay extra compensation for the animal but

is liable for damages done to the premises by the animal.

(i) An assistance animal in training shall not be denied

admittance to any public facility when accompanied by an approved

trainer who is an agent of an organization generally recognized

by agencies involved in the rehabilitation of persons who are

disabled as reputable and competent to provide training for

assistance animals, and/or their handlers.

(j) A person may not assault, harass, interfere with, kill, or

injure in any way, or attempt to assault, harass, interfere with,

kill, or injure in any way, an assistance animal.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2426, ch. 842, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.

Sept. 1, 1979. Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 3310, ch. 865,

Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 31, 1981; Acts 1983, 68th Leg., 1st C.S., p.

57, ch. 7, Sec. 10.03(c), eff. Sept. 23, 1983; Acts 1985, 69th

Leg., ch. 278, Sec. 2, eff. June 5, 1985; Acts 1989, 71st Leg.,

ch. 249, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch.

890, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 649,

Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 261, Sec.

1, eff. May 22, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 710, Sec. 1, eff.

Sept. 1, 2003.

Sec. 121.004. PENALTIES FOR AND DAMAGES RESULTING FROM

DISCRIMINATION. (a) A person, firm, association, corporation,

or other organization, or the agent of a person, firm,

association, corporation, or other organization who violates a

provision of Section 121.003 commits an offense. An offense under

this subsection is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less

than $300 or more than $1,000.

(b) In addition to the penalty provided in Subsection (a) of

this section, a person, firm, association, corporation, or other

organization, or the agent of a person, firm, association,

corporation, or other organization, who violates the provisions

of Section 121.003 of this chapter is deemed to have deprived a

person with a disability of his or her civil liberties. The

person with a disability deprived of his or her civil liberties

may maintain a cause of action for damages in a court of

competent jurisdiction, and there is a conclusive presumption of

damages in the amount of at least $100 to the person with a

disability.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2427, ch. 842, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.

Sept. 1, 1979. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 890, Sec. 3,

eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 649, Sec. 5, eff.

Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 121.005. RESPONSIBILITIES OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.

(a) A person with a disability who uses an assistance animal for

assistance in travel is liable for any damages done to the

premises or facilities by the animal.

(b) A person with a disability who uses an assistance animal for

assistance in travel or auditory awareness shall keep the animal

properly harnessed or leashed, and a person who is injured by the

animal because of the failure of a person with a disability to

properly harness or leash the animal is entitled to maintain a

cause of action for damages in a court of competent jurisdiction

under the same law applicable to other causes brought for the

redress of injuries caused by animals.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2427, ch. 842, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.

Sept. 1, 1979. Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 3310, ch. 865,

Sec. 3, eff. Aug. 31, 1981; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 278, Sec.

3, eff. June 5, 1985; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 649, Sec. 6, eff.

Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 121.006. PENALTIES FOR IMPROPER USE OF ASSISTANCE ANIMALS.

(a) A person who uses an assistance animal with a harness or

leash of the type commonly used by persons with disabilities who

use trained animals, in order to represent that his or her animal

is a specially trained assistance animal when training of the

type described in Section 121.002(1)(B) of this chapter has not

in fact been provided, is guilty of a misdemeanor and on

conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than $200.

(b) A person who habitually abuses or neglects to feed or

otherwise neglects to properly care for his or her assistance

animal is subject to seizure of the animal under Subchapter B,

Chapter 821, Health and Safety Code.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2427, ch. 842, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.

Sept. 1, 1979. Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 3311, ch. 865,

Sec. 4, eff. Aug. 31, 1981; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 278, Sec.

4, eff. June 5, 1985; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 649, Sec. 7, eff.

Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 121.008. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO PERSONS

WITH DISABILITIES. (a) To ensure maximum public awareness of

the policies set forth in this chapter, the governor may issue a

proclamation each year taking suitable public notice of October

15 as White Cane Safety Day. The proclamation must contain

appropriate comment about the significance of various devices

used by persons with disabilities to assist them in traveling,

and must call to the attention of the public the provisions of

this chapter and of other laws relating to the safety and

well-being of this state's citizens with disabilities.

(b) State agencies regularly mailing forms or information to

significant numbers of public facilities operating within the

state shall cooperate with state agencies responsible for the

rehabilitation of persons with disabilities by sending

information about this chapter to those to whom regular mailings

are sent. The information, which must be sent only on the request

of state agencies responsible for the rehabilitation of persons

with disabilities and not more than once each year, may be

included in regular mailings or sent separately. If sent

separately, the cost of mailing is borne by the state

rehabilitation agency or agencies requesting the mailing and,

regardless of whether sent separately or as part of a regular

mailing, the cost of preparing information about this chapter is

borne by the state rehabilitation agency or agencies requesting

distribution of this information.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2428, ch. 842, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.

Sept. 1, 1979. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 649, Sec. 9,

eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 121.009. CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER. The provisions of this

chapter must be construed in a manner compatible with other state

laws relating to persons with disabilities.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2428, ch. 842, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.

Sept. 1, 1979. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 649, Sec. 10,

eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 121.010. TESTING ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES. (a) A test

that evaluates an adult with a disability for a job position in

business, government, or industry, or a test to determine that

person's educational level, must measure individual abilities and

not specific disabilities.

(b) If an examiner knows that an adult examinee has a

disability, the examiner may use an alternate form of testing.

The alternate form of testing may assess the aptitude of the

examinee by using that person's primary learning mode.

(c) The examiner may use as an alternate form of testing any

procedure or adaption that will help ensure the best performance

possible by an adult with a disability, including oral or visual

administration of the test, oral or manual response to the test,

the use of readers, tape recorders, interpreters, large print, or

braille text, the removal of time constraints, and multiple

testing sessions.

(d) An examiner shall select and administer a test to an

examinee who has a disability that impairs sensory, manual, or

speaking skills so that the test accurately reflects the factor

the test is intended to measure and does not reflect the

examinee's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills.

(e) An examiner may not use a test that has a disproportionate,

adverse effect on an adult with a disability or a class of adults

with disabilities unless:

(1) the test has been validated as a predictor of success in the

program or activity for which the adult with a disability is

applying; and

(2) alternate tests or alternative forms of testing that have a

less disproportionate, adverse effect do not exist or are not

available.

Added by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 2482, ch. 645, Sec. 1, eff.

Aug. 31, 1981. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 649, Sec. 11,

eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 121.011. ACCESSIBILITY OF EXAMINATION OR COURSE OFFERED BY

PRIVATE ENTITY. (a) A private entity that offers an examination

or a course related to applications, certification,

credentialing, or licensing for secondary or postsecondary

education, a profession, or a trade shall:

(1) offer the examination or course in a place and manner that

is accessible to persons with disabilities or make alternative

accessible arrangements for persons with disabilities;

(2) offer the examination or course to persons with

disabilities:

(A) as often as the entity offers the examination or course to

persons without disabilities;

(B) at a location that is as convenient as the location at which

the entity offers the examination or course to persons without

disabilities; and

(C) at a time that is as appropriate as the time when the entity

offers the examination or course to persons without disabilities;

and

(3) make auxiliary test guides and other resources available in

alternative formats.

(b) A private entity that offers an examination or a course

described by Subsection (a) may require persons with disabilities

to provide reasonable documentation of their disabilities and

reasonable advance notice of any necessary modifications or aids.

The deadline for advance notice may not be earlier than the

application deadline for the examination or course. The entity

may not refuse a request for modifications or aids from a person

with a disability on the grounds that the person, because of the

person's disability, would not meet other requirements of the

profession or occupation for which the course or examination is

given.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 649, Sec. 12, eff. Sept. 1,

1997.