General prohibitions against discrimination.

§ 4.121 General prohibitions against discrimination. (a) No qualified disabled person, shall, on the basis of disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subject to discrimination under any program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance. (b)(1) A recipient, in providing any aid, benefit, or service, may not, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, on the basis of disability: (i) Deny a qualified disabled person the opportunity to participate in or benefit from the aid, benefit, or service; (ii) Afford a qualified disabled person an opportunity to participate in or benefit from the aid, benefit, or service that is not equal to that afforded others; (iii) Provide a qualified disabled person with an aid, benefit, or service that is not as effective in affording equal opportunity to obtain the same result, to gain the same benefit, or to reach the same level of achievement as that provided to others; (iv) Provide different or separate aid, benefits, or services to disabled persons or to any class of disabled persons than is provided to others unless such action is necessary to provide qualified disabled persons with aid, benefits, or services that are as effective as those provided to others; (v) Aid or perpetuate discrimination against a qualified disabled person by providing significant assistance to any agency, organization, or person that discriminates on the basis of disability in providing any aid, benefit, or service to beneficiaries of the recipient's program or activity; (vi) Deny a qualified disabled person the opportunity to participate as a member of planning or advisory boards; or (vii) Otherwise limit a qualified disabled person in the enjoyment of any right, privilege, advantage, or opportunity enjoyed by others receiving the aid, benefit, or service. (2) A recipient may not deny a qualified disabled person the opportunity to participate in aid, benefits, or services that are not separate or different, despite the existence of permissibly separate or different aid, benefits, or services. (3) A recipient may not directly or through contractual or other arrangements, utilize criteria or methods of administration: (i) That have the effect of subjecting qualified disabled persons to discrimination on the basis of disability, (ii) That have the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing accomplishment of the objectives of the recipient's program or activity with respect to disabled persons, or (iii) That perpetuate the discrimination of another recipient if both recipients are subject to common administrative control or are agencies of the same State. (4) A recipient may not, in determining the site or location of a facility, make selections: (i) That have the effect of excluding disabled persons from, denying them the benefits of, or otherwise subjecting them to discrimination under any program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance or (ii) That have the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing the accomplishment of the objectives of the program or activity with respect to disabled persons. (c) The exclusion of nondisabled persons from aid, benefits, or services limited by Federal statute or Executive Order to disabled persons or the exclusion of a specific class of disabled persons from aid, benefits, or services limited by Federal statute or Executive Order to a different class of disabled persons is not prohibited by this subpart. (d) Recipients shall administer programs or activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified disabled persons. (e) Recipients shall take appropriate steps to ensure that communications with their applicants, employees, and beneficiaries are available to persons with impaired vision and hearing. [45 FR 14535, Mar. 6, 1980, as amended at 68 FR 51345, Aug. 26, 2003]