Presented by Region VII FTA

1. Region VII State Meeting
Civil Rights Update
June 24, 2015
NATP Managers Workshop
Lexington, Nebraska

2. 2
FTA and the Office of Civil Rights (TCR) has
put an increased emphasis on assuring
compliance with all civil rights regulations
Having all required civil rights programs (Title VI, EEO,
and DBE Program and Goal) on file and concurred
upon are pre-requisites to funding.
Increased emphasis means:
– programs are submitted in TEAM by the grantee
– reviews are more in-depth
– reviews are followed-up with a letter from TCR
indicating review determination, and any corrections

3. 3
Program Determinations
–Concur
–In Review
–Expired/Expiration

4. 4
Recipient Classifications
• Direct Recipient - this term applies to recipients
that receive funds from FTA and spends those
funds
• Primary Recipient – this is a term used in the
regulation and it applies to recipients that pass
funds through to subrecipients
The State is considered the Primary Recipient
when it passes FTA funds to an organization,
or a Subrecipient

5. 5
The Office of Civil Rights (TCR) pulls information from TEAM to send
emails, letters and other correspondence to grantees.
 Under the “Recipient” tab, make sure all necessary
individuals are listed and their contact information is
correct: Name, Title, Address, Email, Telephone…
 Send Rebecca the contact information for individuals
responsible for civil rights matters in your organization as
they may not be listed in TEAM.

6. 6
When updating contact information, complete the
“Contact For” section at the bottom of the “Recipient”
tab.
Check the applicable boxes next to the area the
person is responsible for, so when we are looking for a
contact for a particular program or area, we can see
what areas that contact is involved with.
Contact For:
 CEO  Grants  MPO
 EEO  DBE  Title VI
 504  Echo  General FTA
Issues

7. 7
Another Great Way to Get
Information and Stay Current
Sign-up to receive email notifications when TCR (The
Office of Civil Rights) adds information to the webpage.
Look for a red icon at the top of the page to get you
started.
Sign up for email updates on this topic.
You can choose what information you would like to
receive notifications about

8. 8
DBE applies to FTA recipients receiving planning, capital and/or
operating assistance who will award contracts exceeding $250,000 in
FTA funds in a Federal fiscal year (excluding vehicle purchase and
internal expenses, i.e. planning).
There are THREE components to the DBE Requirement; the DBE
Program is different from the DBE Goal grantees submit every
three years.
 The DBE Goal anticipates contracts with FTA funds and the
availability of DBEs to perform work on FTA-assisted contracts.
 The DBE PROGRAM describes how the agency implements the
program or carries out its DBE efforts.
 DBE Reports provide information on how the money received is
actually spent. MUST be filed in TEAM each June and December

9. 9
 Really look at your projected spending and do not overlook
contracting opportunities.
 If you did not meet your goal, conduct an honest Shortfall
Analysis. This is your opportunity to analyze your Goal,
determine why you didn’t meet it and what you can do to
improve. Was it because a faulty goal setting method was
used? Was a change in the market?
 Increase your participation by starting with improved RN
efforts.
- Hold meet and greets, implement mentoring programs, review your SBE
Program and really implement it.
 Increase enforcement of Contract Goals.

10. 10
Several changes: TWO important changes to the DBE
Goal requirement
1. Publication and Consultation
Publication is deemphasized. Recipients must at least publish their
goal on their website, but whether to publish the goal in other avenues
is at the recipient’s discretion.
Consultation is being given more emphasis. Recipients must make an
concentrated effort to reach out to all interested parties and gain their
feedback. (Passive or slight efforts such as blast emails without follow-
up will not satisfy this requirement.)
 This is the time of year to be conducting consultations and FTA is
looking closely to see that this requirement is met.

11. 11
Changes to TWO aspects of the DBE Goal requirement
2. Goal Adjustment
Recipients are NOT required to adjust their goal (never
have been). But if you adjust the goal, submission must
now really explain well why you chose to adjust the goal.
 The emphasis has shifted to explaining why you CHOSE to adjust
and what factors you considered. (Before we expected a
comprehensive explanation about why you did not adjust the goal.)
 Recipients MUST consider all factors and goal adjustment
whether or not a goal adjustment is actually done.
Include a statement in the goal submission about
adjustment considerations so it is clear that this
requirement was not overlooked.

12. 12
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM (EEO)
Does it apply to you?
 FTA recipients with 50 or more transit-related employees
AND
 (1) received $1 million or more in capital or operating
assistance
~ Or ~
 (2) received $250,000 or more in planning assistance
during the previous fiscal year

13. 13
PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN
“No Person in the U.S. shall, on the grounds of Race, Color,
national origin be excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any
program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance”
• 42 U.S.C § 2000d, et seq

14. 14
Circular News
4702.1B (Effective October 1, 2012)
TCR does NOT oversee this

15. EJ and Title VI
• EJ
– Executive Order
– Applies to Federal
agencies
– Recipients
facilitate FTA
compliance with
E.O.
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• Title VI
– Statute
– Applies to ALL FTA
recipients
– FTA oversees
recipients’
compliance with
Title VI regulations

16. 16
Environmental Justice
• EJ is separated from Title VI circular to
reduce confusion
• FTA developed EJ guidance in circular
number 4703.1 “Environmental Justice
Policy Guidance for Federal Transit
Administration Recipients”
• EJ is not handled by the Office of Civil
Rights. The Office of Planning and
Environment (TPE) is responsible for EJ
matters.

17. 17
• Applies to all FTA Recipients
• Every 3 years – The Office of Civil Rights has developed
a submission schedule similar to the DBE submission
schedule.
• Submit your Program at least 60 calendar days prior to
expiration date.
• All recipients must have Title VI Program approved by
the recipient’s governing entity and MUST submit
documentation of review and approval actions.
– For State DOTs, the appropriate governing entity is the State’s
Secretary of Transportation or equivalent.

18. 18
Contractors who operate service for FTA grantees
do NOT submit Title VI Programs. They must
comply with the grantee’s Title VI program.
 For example: A company contracted to provide
paratransit service for Transit Agency A must
implement the Title VI Program of Transit
Agency A.

19. 19
Each subrecipient must develop and implement
its own Program.
• Even if the organization does not get any funding
directly from FTA but gets FTA funding from the State
– the organization still must have its own Title VI
Program.
• The Subrecipient submits its Program to the State on
a schedule established by the State.

20. 20
The State is responsible providing technical
assistance, review and concurrence and oversight
of the subrecipient’s Program.
 If the Subrecipient is out of civil rights compliance –
the State is out of compliance.
 The State may assist with the preparation of the
Program but the subrecipient Program must be a
separate Program.
 The subrecipient may use some elements of the
primary recipient’s Title VI Program.

21. 21
• Provides grantees with guidance on the
relationship between Title VI Program
requirements and DOT’s Title VI
regulation
• Explains what grantees must include in
their Title VI programs
• Includes in-depth appendices to provide
examples to grantees (Includes graphs,
sample forms, and flow charts)

22. 22
Organization of Title VI Circular
• Chapter 1: Introduction and Background
• Chapter II: Program Overview
• Chapter III: General Requirements and Guidelines
• Chapter IV: Requirements and Guidelines for Fixed Route
Transit Providers
• Chapter V: Requirements for States
• Chapter VI: Requirements for MPOs
• Chapter VII: Effectuating Compliance with DOT Title VI
Regulations
• Chapter VIII: Compliance Reviews
• Chapter IX: Complaints
• Appendices

23. 23
Requirements for ALL Recipients
Eight elements contained in every Title VI Program:
 Notice of Rights under Title VI
 How to File a Complaint, copy of complaint form
 List of Title VI investigations, complaints or lawsuits
 Public Participation Plan
 LEP Plan
 Racial Breakdown of Non-elected Advisory Councils
 Narrative Describing Subrecipient Monitoring
 Board of Directors resolution or meeting minutes
demonstrating the board approved the Title VI Program

24. Promoting Inclusive
Public Participation among LEP and Minority
Populations
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25. 25
The Public Participation Plan
• Must contain:
– Proactive Strategies,
– Procedures, and
– Desired Outcomes
• Suggested Participation Plan strategies and
examples
• Meetings at convenient times and accessible
locations
• Utilizing different meeting sizes and formats
• Alternative advertising platforms
• Varying community interaction

26. 26
LEP
Must be prepared to meet any language
need that arises.
Title VI States
“No person in the United States shall, on the
grounds of race, color, or national origin, be
excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination
under any program or activity receiving
Federal Financial assistance”.

27. 27
LEP Assessment
Four Factor Analysis
1. The number or proportion of LEP persons eligible
to be served or likely to be encountered by the
program or recipient.
2. The frequency with which LEP persons come into
contact with the program.
3. The nature and importance of the program,
activity, or service provided by the program to
people’s lives
4. The resources available to the recipient for LEP
outreach, as well as the costs associated with that
outreach

28. 28
Developing a LEP Plan
Recipients have considerable flexibility in developing a LEP
Plan but at a minimum, a LEP Plan shall:
1.Include the results of the Four Factor Analysis, including
a description of the LEP population(s) served;
2.Describe how the recipient provides language assistance
services by language;
3.Describe how the recipient provides notice to LEP
persons about the availability of language assistance;
4.Describe how the recipient monitors, evaluates and
updates the language access plan; and
5.Describe how the recipient trains employees to provide
timely and reasonable language assistance to LEP
populations.
Need Assistance? www.LEP.gov

29. 29
Minority Representation on
Planning and Advisory Bodies
If you have: transit-related, non-elected planning
boards, advisory councils, committees, or similar
groups and the membership is selected by the
recipient
Then
 You must provide a table depicting the racial
breakdown of the membership of those
committees, and a description of efforts made to
encourage the participation of minorities on such
committees

30. 30
Monitoring Subrecipients
• Primary recipients must monitor subrecipients
• Non-compliant subrecipient means primary
recipient is also non-compliant
• Primary recipients should assist subrecipients
• Primary recipients shall:
– Document process for ensuring all subrecipients
are complying with the general and specific
requirements .
– Collect and review subrecipient’s Title VI Program
– At FTA’s request, the primary recipient shall request
that subrecipients who provide transportation
services verify that their level and quality of service
is equitably provided.

31. Requirement to Collect and Report
Demographic Data
• Must prepare data regarding demographic and service
profile maps and charts and customer demographic and
travel patterns
• Demographic and Service Profile Maps and Charts.
– Base map of service area that overlays with geographic
data
– Demographic map
• Demographic Ridership and Travel Patterns Such As:
– Race - National Origin
– Color - English Proficiency
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32. Minority threshold
of 37% determined
by total service
area population

33. Requirements for States
• State shall include:
– General requirements outlined in Chapter III
– Any applicable transit provider requirements
– Signed by State Secretary of Transportation
– Demographic profile
– Demographic maps
– Analysis of disparate impacts
– Statewide transportation planning process
– Pass-through procedures
– Procedures to assist subrecipients
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34. Planning
• All States must conduct planning activities
• Collect Title VI programs from MPOs if they
“pass through” planning funds to the MPO
• Collection and storage of subrecipients
Programs is a decision for the state
• Self Certification
34

35. Requirements for Program
Administration under 5310
• Document FTA funds passed-through
without regard to race, color, or national
origin
• States prepare/maintain but not report
unless requested by FTA:
– Record of funding request
– Description of competitive selection process
– Agency’s selection Criteria
35

36. Appendices are meant to provide practical
guidance and include checklists, examples,
tables… for FTA recipients to consult when
preparing their Title VI program
 Use them and encourage others to do
the same 
 Check out our civil rights training page on
the website
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37. 37
Americans with Disabilities Act
Proposed ADA Circular
FTA C 4710.1

38. 38
Proposed ADA Circular
• FTA is proposing the phased development of a
new ADA Circular FTA C 4710.1
• It is being developed by chapter (about 12
chapters total)
• There is a draft of the Circular on the FTA ADA
home page “Proposed ADA Circular Chapter”
• Watch for opportunities to submit comments on
the current proposed chapter and ideas for
issues to cover in future chapters

39. DOT issued an ADA Final Rule March 15, 2015
“Reasonable Modification”
This is not a new rule but is intended to fill clarify or fill a gap
in the regulations, particularly as it pertains to paratransit.
 “Undue hardship” and “Safety” are terms of art and key
considerations under this Final Rule.
39

40. Transit agencies must provide reasonable accommodations
by making changes to policies, practices, and procedures if:
• needed by an individual with a disability to enable him or
her to participate in the recipient’s program or activity,
• unless providing such accommodations are an undue
financial and administrative burden or constitute a
fundamental alteration of the program or activity.
40

41. For example: If the agency policy is curb-to-curb assistance
but the sidewalk is slick and it is not an undo hardship for the
driver to get off the bus and help the passenger get on the
bus, then the driver must do that.
- It won’t cause a system disruption for the driver to
help the passenger and it is safer for the passenger who is
a fall risk.
 Personal care service is NOT a reasonable
accommodation. Passengers must still have their own
Personal Care Attendant when needed.
41

42. Regional Civil Rights Officers will NOT be reviewing
every grantee’s Reasonable Modification Policy.
- Policies will be looked at during oversight reviews and on a
case-by case basis in the interim.
 Remember FTA Office of Civil Rights offers a lot of
technical assistance materials to help you. Familiarize
yourself with them and use them.
42

43. Other rules and regulations to remember
The following rules are not new. They generate frequent
questions so they are included here as a reminder.
43

44. 44
The definition of “wheelchair” has been
refined
The reference to “three- or four-wheeled devices”
has been changed to “three- or more wheeled
devices”
This change was made in light of advances in
wheelchair design, with many power wheelchairs
now having more than four wheels; these should
not be excluded from the definition of
“wheelchair” solely on the basis of having a larger
Mobility Device Size and Type

45. 45
 The rule provides that transit operators must
carry a wheelchair and occupant if the lift
and vehicle can physically accommodate
them, unless doing so is inconsistent with
legitimate safety requirements
 “Legitimate safety requirements” includes such
circumstances as a wheelchair of such size that it
would block an aisle, would be too large to fully
enter a railcar, would block the vestibule, or would
interfere with the safe evacuation of passengers in
an emergency
Mobility Device Size and Type

46. 46
 Consistent with the rule before this revision, a
transit provider cannot impose a limitation on the
transportation of wheelchairs and other mobility
aids based on the inability of the securement
system to secure the device to the satisfaction of
the transportation provider.
 It would be inconsistent with the rule to deny
service to people who use wheelchairs just
because particular devices may be problematic
from a securement point of view.
Mobility Device Size and Type

47. 47
 Requirement: carry devices that fit on the lift
and vehicle, even if the devices exceed 30” x 48”
footprint or weigh more than 600 pounds
 No requirement to carry devices that do not fit
on the lift or vehicle
 No requirement to retrofit vehicles
 No requirement to procure vehicles or lifts that
exceed the ADA requirements – see e.g., 49
CFR part 38, specifically 38.23(b) and (d).
Mobility Device Size and Type

48. 48
Service Animals
• The new DOJ rule (published September
15, 2010) defines some terms, such as
service animal, differently than the DOT
rule.
Transit agencies should not change their
service animal policy on the basis of the
DOJ rule, since the DOT rule applies to
transit agencies.

49. 49
Emotional Support Animals
• Per the regulation at 49 CFR 37.167(d), a
service animal is “trained to work or
perform tasks for an individual with a
disability”
• If an animal’s only function is to provide
emotional support or comfort, that animal
would not fall under the regulatory
definition of a service animal.

50. 50
• Traditional Paratransit - where you have separate fixed route and
paratransit vehicles operating alongside one another.
• “Comingling” - under this approach the fixed route bus goes off route
ONLY to pick up a paratransit rider. This is ONLY possible if the person is
paratransit eligible. ALL traditional paratransit rules and requirements in
Subpart F of Part 37 apply. For example: the service area, response times,
fares, hours and days of service and all the other paratransit requirements
apply.
• Demand Responsive – a system that permits user-initiated variations from
routes and/or schedules. Under this type of system the transit system must
provide “equivalent service” to all passengers. These requirements are
found in 37.171.
 This area is very confusing and determining the type of service being
offered is difficult. So it can be difficult to know what rules apply and if the
current service is being implemented properly. TCR has developed a
checklist.

51. 51
Questions or concerns about ADA or Paratransit
Home Page >> Civil Rights >> Americans with Disabilities Act >> ADA Technical Assistance
 FTA ADA Assistance Line 1-888-446-4511
 Email the FTA ADA Team through FTA’s Contact Us tool on our
website
 SURF the Civil Rights ADA Webpage, particularly the dredf
“Topic Guides on ADA Transportation”

52. 52
 NTI TRAINING: DBE
July 21 -23 Ames, IA
NTI TRAINING: Title VI and Public Transit
Nov 9-10 Arlington Heights, IL

53. 53
Kevin Osborn
Region VII Civil Rights Officer, Lakewood, CO
Office of Civil Rights, Federal Transit
Administration
12300 West Dakota Ave.
Lakewood, CO 80228
Direct: 720-963-3341 | Kevin.Osborn@dot.gov