School District That Provides Wheelchair Access to Football Games Need Not Upgrade Pre-ADA Bleachers to Make Them Accessible

In Daubert v. Lindsay Unified School District, published July 25, 2014, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment granted to a school district in a case alleging that the district was violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The bleachers at a high school football field were constructed in 1971, and were not wheelchair accessible.  The district designated three areas in which persons in wheelchairs could watch games, and permitted wheelchairs in other areas.  Spectators in wheelchairs regularly attended games with companions, and enjoyed unobstructed views.  The plaintiff complained that the wheelchair-accessible areas violated the ADA, because they did not compare in quality and convenience with the bleachers, and did not enable him to sit with other fans.  The appellate court concluded that the bleachers were preexisting facilities under the ADA, and therefore the district did not have to upgrade them to wheelchair accessibility to comply with the Act.  The court rejected the argument that the social experience of sitting in the bleachers was a "program" to which the district was required to provide equal access.  The high school football games were the public program; the bleachers were part of the facility where the program took place.  The district provided program access to the football games for wheelchair-bound spectators.  It therefore complied with the ADA.