2007 Year in Review Global Commitment - IAAPA
2007 Year in Review Global Commitment - IAAPA
2007 Year in Review Global Commitment - IAAPA
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<strong>IAAPA</strong> Department<br />
Activities<br />
GOVERNMENT<br />
RELATIONS AND<br />
SAFETY SERVICES<br />
crucial August family travel season, as well on the<br />
ability of most facilities to reta<strong>in</strong> high school-aged<br />
employees.<br />
Work<strong>in</strong>g with the Coalition for a Traditional School<br />
Calendar, <strong>IAAPA</strong>’s government relations department<br />
made further progress this year <strong>in</strong> sav<strong>in</strong>g more of June,<br />
July, and August for families’ travel plans rather than<br />
school schedules.<br />
In early June, Missouri passed a law limit<strong>in</strong>g its<br />
school start date to no earlier than 10 days before Labor<br />
Day <strong>in</strong> early September. This achievement came on the<br />
heels of Florida, South Carol<strong>in</strong>a, and Texas beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g<br />
their first normal summers <strong>in</strong> some time, follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
passage of similar measures <strong>in</strong> 2006.<br />
Ten states have laws sett<strong>in</strong>g school start dates and<br />
the coalition is manag<strong>in</strong>g legislative efforts to do the<br />
same <strong>in</strong> n<strong>in</strong>e other states, with two more groups now<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g organized <strong>in</strong> Ohio and Indiana.<br />
State coalitions <strong>in</strong> Alabama, Tennessee, and<br />
Kentucky are team<strong>in</strong>g up with local officials to <strong>in</strong>troduce<br />
new bills <strong>in</strong> January 2008, while a current proposal<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>ues to w<strong>in</strong>d its way through the Pennsylvania<br />
legislature.<br />
In light of these and other efforts, the issue of later<br />
school start dates has received positive press <strong>in</strong> USA<br />
Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Today Show, NBC<br />
Nightly News, The Wash<strong>in</strong>gton Post, and The New York<br />
Times, as well as hundreds of state and local<br />
newspapers. Support has also been forthcom<strong>in</strong>g from<br />
the Association of Independent Camps and the<br />
American Camp<strong>in</strong>g Association.<br />
Dedicated to Provid<strong>in</strong>g Safe Access for All<br />
The task of address<strong>in</strong>g accessibility issues for m<strong>in</strong>iature<br />
golf facilities cont<strong>in</strong>ued to be a focus of the government<br />
relations department dur<strong>in</strong>g the past year.<br />
<strong>IAAPA</strong>’s Family Enterta<strong>in</strong>ment Center Committee<br />
worked with association staff <strong>in</strong> prepar<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
comprehensive file of all relevant material <strong>in</strong> this area<br />
and submitted it to the U.S. Access Board for the latter’s<br />
use <strong>in</strong> revis<strong>in</strong>g its Frequently Asked Questions guidance<br />
document and its implementation rule. This step is a<br />
crucial one, as the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)<br />
<strong>in</strong>tends to utilize the Access Board’s rule as a model <strong>in</strong><br />
draft<strong>in</strong>g its own enforcement rule. A copy of the file was<br />
also furnished directly to DOJ.<br />
Dur<strong>in</strong>g the comment period for the proposed DOJ<br />
rule, <strong>IAAPA</strong> will work with its members to use this<br />
exist<strong>in</strong>g material, along with any additional required<br />
data, to fully <strong>in</strong>form the department of the numerous<br />
issues <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> provid<strong>in</strong>g access to m<strong>in</strong>iature golf.<br />
In late August <strong>IAAPA</strong> participated <strong>in</strong> the North<br />
American Sp<strong>in</strong>al Cord Injury Conference and Disability<br />
Expo <strong>in</strong> Orlando to conduct a study on ride accessibility.<br />
Association members built mock-ups of ride vehicle<br />
seats that would be found on a suspended coaster and<br />
a log flume. Attendees were <strong>in</strong>vited to transfer from<br />
wheelchairs to ride seats set at various heights to<br />
determ<strong>in</strong>e if the requirements <strong>in</strong> the current access<br />
regulations are too str<strong>in</strong>gent.<br />
More than 50 people participated <strong>in</strong> this study, and<br />
the results will be analyzed for possible future use <strong>in</strong><br />
revis<strong>in</strong>g accessibility rules regard<strong>in</strong>g the design of ride<br />
transfer devices.