Accessibility Resources
Responsibility to be Accessible
In addition to annual funding from the State of Mississippi Legislature, the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) receives federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
As a recipient of this funding, MAC has a responsibility to be accessible in terms of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.
When MAC grantees are a sub-recipient of this funding or their grant is part of a cash match, this responsibility flows down to those grantees.
A MAC contract with this responsibility will include Section 9, with reference to the NEA’s General Terms and Conditions for Partnership Agreements: Appendix A: National Policy and Other Legal Requirements, Statutes, and Regulations that Govern Your Award (pp. 34-37). Appendix A includes (but is not limited to) Section 504 and ADA. Please read through it carefully and know that by signing a MAC grant contract (that references Appendix A), your organization agrees to follow Federal Section 504 regulations. For further context on how this applies to MAC grantees, see the above “General Terms and Conditions … Section 24. Flow-through of National Policy and Other Legal Requirements to Subrecipients” (pp. 32-33).
The following accessibility resources can help MAC & its grantees better understand these responsibilities:
For an introduction to ADA Concepts, MAC partnered with the Southeast ADA Center for a 3-part Webinar Series: ADA and Arts Patrons with Disabilities. The following trainings are free for MAC affiliates & the larger public:
To understand ADA & Section 504 in an arts context, reference Design for Accessibility, A Cultural Administrator’s Handbook.
To evaluate your organization’s accessibility, The NEA provides a Section 504 Self-Evaluation Workbook. This Workbook (or something similar) should be completed every 3 years.
Another evaluation resource is The Arts & Culture Accessibility Self-Assessment. This online tool includes customized reports and Accessibility Plan guidance, all for free.
If you have questions, please contact Victoria Meek, Accessibility Coordinator – phone: 601-359-6030; email: vmeek@arts.ms.gov.