Bill Text: VA HB2137 | 2019 | Regular Session | Chaptered


Bill Title: Persons who are deaf or hard of hearing; replaces certain terminology.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-03-08 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0288) [HB2137 Detail]

Download: Virginia-2019-HB2137-Chaptered.html

CHAPTER 288
An Act to amend and reenact §§3.2-6528, 8.01-384.1, 19.2-152.4:3, 22.1-213, 22.1-214, 22.1-217.01, 22.1-319, 32.1-64.1, 32.1-64.2, 36-99.5, 46.2-342, 51.5-44, 51.5-45, and 54.1-2600 of the Code of Virginia, relating to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing; terminology.
[H 2137]
Approved March 8, 2019

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§3.2-6528, 8.01-384.1, 19.2-152.4:3, 22.1-213, 22.1-214, 22.1-217.01, 22.1-319, 32.1-64.1, 32.1-64.2, 36-99.5, 46.2-342, 51.5-44, 51.5-45, and 54.1-2600 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§3.2-6528. Amount of license tax.

The governing body of each county or city shall impose by ordinance a license tax on the ownership of dogs within its jurisdiction. The governing body of any locality that has adopted an ordinance pursuant to subsection B of §3.2-6524 shall impose by ordinance a license tax on the ownership of cats within its jurisdiction. The governing body may establish different rates of taxation for ownership of female dogs, male dogs, spayed or neutered dogs, female cats, male cats, and spayed or neutered cats. The tax for each dog or cat shall not be more than $10 for each year or $50 for a lifetime license issued pursuant to subsection B of §3.2-6530. If the dog or cat has been spayed, the tax shall not exceed the tax provided for a male dog or cat. Any ordinance may provide for an annual license tax for kennels of 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 dogs or cats not to exceed $50 for any one such block of kennels.

No license tax shall be levied on any dog that is trained and serves as (i) a guide dog for a blind person, that is trained and serves as (ii) a hearing dog for a person who is deaf or hearing-impaired person hard of hearing, or that is trained and serves as (iii) a service dog for a mobility-impaired or otherwise disabled person.

As used in this section, "hearing dog," "mobility-impaired person," "otherwise disabled person," and "service dog" have the same meanings as assigned in §51.5-40.1.

§8.01-384.1. Interpreters for deaf in civil proceedings.

In any civil proceeding in which a speech-impaired or hearing-impaired person or a person who is deaf or hard of hearing is a party or witness, the court may appoint a qualified interpreter to assist such person in the proceeding. The court shall appoint an interpreter for any speech-impaired or hearing-impaired person or person who is deaf or hard of hearing who requests this assistance.

Interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing in these proceedings shall be procured through the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing.

Any person who is eligible for an interpreter pursuant to this section may waive the use of an interpreter appointed by the court for all or a portion of the proceedings. A person who waives his right to an interpreter may provide his own interpreter at his own expense without regard to whether the interpreter is qualified under this section.

The compensation of interpreters appointed pursuant to this section shall be fixed by the court and paid from the general fund of the state treasury or may, in the discretion of the court, be assessed as a part of the cost of the proceedings.

The provisions of this section shall apply in both circuit courts and district courts.

§19.2-152.4:3. Duties and responsibilities of local pretrial services officers.

A. Each local pretrial services officer, for the jurisdictions served, shall:

1. Investigate and interview defendants arrested on state and local warrants and who are detained in jails located in jurisdictions served by the agency while awaiting a hearing before any court that is considering or reconsidering bail, at initial appearance, advisement or arraignment, or at other subsequent hearings;

2. Present a pretrial investigation report with recommendations to assist courts in discharging their duties related to granting or reconsidering bail;

3. Supervise and assist all defendants residing within the jurisdictions served and placed on pretrial supervision by any judicial officer within the jurisdictions to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of bail;

4. Conduct random drug and alcohol tests on any defendant under supervision for whom a judicial officer has ordered testing or who has been required to refrain from excessive use of alcohol or use of any illegal drug or controlled substance or other defendant-specific condition of bail related to alcohol or substance abuse;

5. Seek a capias from any judicial officer pursuant to § 19.2-152.4:1 for any defendant placed under supervision or the custody of the agency who fails to comply with the conditions of bail or supervision, when continued liberty or noncompliance presents a risk of flight, a risk to public safety or risk to the defendant;

6. Seek an order to show cause why the defendant should not be required to appear before the court in those cases requiring a subsequent hearing before the court;

7. Provide defendant-based information to assist any law-enforcement officer with the return to custody of defendants placed on supervision for which a capias has been sought; and

8. Keep such records and make such reports as required by the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services.

B. Each local pretrial services officer, for the jurisdictions served, may provide the following optional services, as appropriate and when available resources permit:

1. Conduct, subject to court approval, drug and alcohol screenings, or tests at investigation pursuant to subsection B of §19.2-123 or following release to supervision, and conduct or facilitate the preparation of screenings or assessments or both pursuant to state approved protocols;

2. Facilitate placement of defendants in a substance abuse education or treatment program or services or other education or treatment service when ordered as a condition of bail;

3. Sign for the custody of any defendant investigated by a pretrial services officer, and released by a court to pretrial supervision as the sole term and condition of bail or when combined with an unsecured bond;

4. Provide defendant information and investigation services for those who are detained in jails located in jurisdictions served by the agency and are awaiting an initial bail hearing before a magistrate;

5. Supervise defendants placed by any judicial officer on home electronic monitoring as a condition of bail and supervision;

6. Prepare, for defendants investigated, the financial statement-eligibility determination form for indigent defense services; and

7. Subject to approved procedures and if so requested by the court, coordinate for defendants investigated, services for court-appointed counsel and for interpreters for foreign-language speaking and hearing-impaired deaf or hard of hearing defendants.

§22.1-213. Definitions.

As used in this article:

"Children with disabilities" means those persons (i) who are age two to 21, inclusive, having reached the age of two by the date specified in §22.1-254,; (ii) who have intellectual disability or serious emotional disturbance, or are physically disabled, speech impaired, hearing impaired deaf or hard of hearing, visually impaired, or multiple disabled, or are otherwise health impaired, including those who have autism spectrum disorder or a specific learning disability, or are otherwise disabled as defined by the Board of Education; and (iii) who because of such impairments need special education.

"Related services" means transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a disabled child to benefit from special education, including speech pathology and audiology, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, early identification and assessment of disabilities in children, counseling services, and medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes. The term "Related services" also includes school health services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.

"Special education" means specially designed instruction at no cost to the parent, to meet the unique needs of a disabled child, including classroom instruction, home instruction, instruction provided in hospitals and institutions, instruction in physical education, and instruction in career and technical education.

"Specific learning disability" means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. The term "Specific learning disability" does not include children who have learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor handicaps, of intellectual disability, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

§22.1-214. Board to prepare special education program for children with disabilities.

A. The Board of Education shall prepare and supervise the implementation by each school division of a program of special education designed to educate and train children with disabilities between the ages defined in §22.1-213 and may prepare and place in operation such program for such individuals of other ages. The program developed by the Board of Education shall be designed to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free and appropriate education, including specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of such children. The program shall require (i) that the hearing of each disabled child be tested prior to placement in a special education program and (ii) that a complete audiological assessment, including tests which that will assess inner and middle ear functioning, be performed on each child who is hearing impaired deaf or hard of hearing or who fails the test required in clause (i). The school boards of the several school divisions, the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired, the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, the Department of Health, and other state and local agencies which that can or may be able to assist in providing educational and related services shall assist and cooperate with the Board of Education in the development of such program.

B. The Board of Education shall prescribe procedures to afford due process to children with disabilities and their parents or guardians and to school divisions in resolving disputes as to program placements, individualized education programs, tuition eligibility and other matters as defined in state or federal statutes or regulations. These procedures shall encourage the use of mediation as an informal means of resolving such disputes. Mediation shall not, however, be used to deny or delay the due process rights of parents or guardians. The procedures shall require that all testimony be given under oath or affirmation administered by the hearing officer.

C. The Board of Education may provide for final decisions to be made by a hearing officer. The parents and the school division shall have the right to be represented by legal counsel or other representative before such hearing officer without being in violation of the provisions of § 54.1-3904.

D. Any party aggrieved by the findings and decision made pursuant to the procedures prescribed pursuant to subsections B and C may, within 180 days of such findings and decision, bring a civil action in the circuit court for the jurisdiction in which the school division is located. In any such action, the court shall receive the records of the administrative proceedings, shall hear additional evidence at the request of a party, and basing its decision on the preponderance of the evidence, shall grant such relief as the court determines appropriate.

D1. In any action brought pursuant to subsection D, the court, in its discretion, may award reasonable attorney fees as part of the costs (i) to a prevailing party who is the parent of a child with a disability; (ii) to a prevailing party who is the Board of Education or a local school division against the attorney of a parent who files a complaint or a subsequent cause of action that is frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation, or against the attorney of a parent who continued to litigate after the litigation clearly became frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation; or (iii) to a prevailing party who is the Board of Education or a local school division against the attorney of a parent, or against the parent, if the parent's complaint or subsequent cause of action was presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, to cause unnecessary delay, or to needlessly increase the cause of litigation.

Attorney fees may not be awarded relating to any meeting of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Team unless such meeting is convened as a result of an administrative proceeding or judicial action, or, at the discretion of the State, for a mediation described in subsection B.

E. Whenever the Board of Education, in its discretion, determines that a school division fails to establish and maintain programs of free and appropriate public education which that comply with regulations established by the Board, the Board may withhold all special education moneys from the school division and may use the payments which that would have been available to such school division to provide special education, directly or by contract, to eligible children with disabilities in such manner as the Board considers appropriate.

F. The Board of Education shall supervise educational programs for children with disabilities by other public agencies and shall ensure that the identification, evaluation, and placement of children with disabilities and youth in education programs by other public agencies, as appropriate, are consistent with the provisions of the Board of Education's special education regulations.

G. The Board of Education shall prescribe regulations to provide a range of assessment procedures for the evaluation of children with disabilities. These regulations shall include provision for parents to participate, if they so request, in the consideration of the assessment components to be used. However, such regulations shall not require any local school board to exceed the requirements of federal law or regulations for the identification and evaluation of children with disabilities.

§22.1-217.01. Information on educational and other services for students identified as deaf or hard of hearing or visually impaired.

The Department of Education shall annually prepare and distribute to local school boards packets of information describing the educational and other services available through the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, and the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired to students who are identified as hearing impaired deaf or hard of hearing or visually impaired. Local school boards shall annually post this information on the school division's website and inform the parents of those students who are identified as hearing impaired deaf or hard of hearing or visually impaired of its availability. School boards shall ensure that packets of such information are available in an accessible format for review by parents who do not have Internet access.

§22.1-319. Definitions.

As used in this chapter unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Board" means the Virginia Board of Education.

"Department" means the Department of Education.

"Person" means any individual, group of individuals, partnership, association, business trust, corporation, or other business entity.

"School for students with disabilities" or "school" or "schools" means a privately owned and operated preschool, school, or educational organization, no matter how titled, maintained or conducting classes for the purpose of offering instruction, for a consideration, profit, or tuition, to persons determined to have autism, deaf-blindness, a developmental delay, a hearing impairment loss including deafness, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, an orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, an emotional disturbance, a severe disability, a specific learning disability, a speech or language impairment, a traumatic brain injury, or a visual impairment including blindness.

"Superintendent" means the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Article 6.1.
Virginia Hearing Impairment Loss Identification and Monitoring System.

§32.1-64.1. Virginia Hearing Loss Identification and Monitoring System.

A. In order to identify hearing loss at the earliest possible age among newborns and to provide early intervention for all infants so identified as having hearing impairment loss, the Commissioner shall establish and maintain the Virginia Hearing Impairment Loss Identification and Monitoring System. This system shall be for the purpose of identifying and monitoring infants with hearing impairment loss to ensure that such infants receive appropriate early intervention through treatment, therapy, training, and education.

B. The Virginia Hearing Impairment Loss Identification and Monitoring System shall be initiated in all hospitals with neonatal intensive care services, in all hospitals in the Commonwealth having newborn nurseries, and in other birthing places or centers in the Commonwealth.

C. In all hospitals with neonatal intensive care services, the chief medical officer of such hospitals or his designee shall identify infants at risk of hearing impairment loss using criteria established by the Board. Beginning on July 1, 1999, all infants shall be given a hearing screening test, regardless of whether or not the infant is at risk of hearing impairment loss, by the chief medical officer or his designee using methodology approved by the Board. The test shall take place before the infant is discharged from the hospital to the care of the parent or guardian, or as the Board may by regulation provide.

In all other hospitals and other birthing places or centers, the chief medical officer or his designee or the attending practitioner shall identify infants at risk of hearing impairment loss using criteria established by the Board.

D. Beginning on July 1, 2000, the Board shall provide by regulation for the giving of hearing screening tests for all infants born in all hospitals. The Board's regulations shall establish when the testing shall be offered and performed and procedures for reporting.

An infant whose hearing screening indicates the need for a diagnostic audiological examination shall be offered such examination at a center approved by the Board of Health. As a condition of such approval, such centers shall maintain suitable audiological support and medical and educational referral practices.

E. The Commissioner shall appoint an advisory committee to assist in the design, implementation, and revision of this identification and monitoring system. The advisory committee shall meet at least four times per year. A chairman shall be elected annually by the advisory committee. The Department of Health shall provide support services to the advisory committee. The advisory committee shall consist of representatives from relevant groups including, but not limited to, the health insurance industry; physicians, including at least one pediatrician or family practitioner, one otolaryngologist, and one neonatologist; nurses representing newborn nurseries; audiologists; hearing aid dealers and fitters; teachers of the deaf and hard-of-hearing hard of hearing; parents of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing hard of hearing; adults who are deaf or hard-of-hearing hard of hearing; hospital administrators; and personnel of appropriate state agencies, including the Department of Medical Assistance Services, the Department of Education, and the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing. The Department of Education, the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services shall cooperate with the Commissioner and the Board in implementing this system.

F. With the assistance of the advisory committee, the Board shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement this identification and monitoring system. These rules and regulations shall include criteria, including current screening methodology, for the identification of infants (i) with hearing impairment loss and (ii) at risk of hearing impairment loss and shall include the scope of the information to be reported, reporting forms, screening protocols, appropriate mechanisms for follow-up, relationships between the identification and monitoring system and other state agency programs or activities, and mechanisms for review and evaluation of the activities of the system. The identification and monitoring system shall collect the name, address, sex, race, and any other information determined to be pertinent by the Board, for infants who are screened pursuant to this section.

G. In addition, the Board's regulations shall provide that any person making a determination that an infant (i) is at risk for hearing impairment loss, (ii) has failed to pass a hearing screening, or (iii) was not successfully tested shall notify the parent or guardian of the infant, the infant's primary care practitioner, and the Commissioner. The Board may provide guidelines for the notification process.

H. No testing required to be performed or offered by this section shall be performed if the parents of the infant object to the test based on their bona fide religious convictions.

§32.1-64.2. Confidentiality of records; publication; Commissioner required to contact parents, physicians, and relevant local early intervention program.

The Commissioner and all other persons to whom data is submitted pursuant to §32.1-64.1 shall keep such information confidential. No publication of research or statistical data shall be made that identifies any infant with hearing impairment loss or risk of hearing impairment loss. The Commissioner shall contact the parents of children identified with hearing impairment loss or at risk of hearing impairment loss, their physicians, and the relevant local early intervention program to provide them with information about available public and private health care and educational resources, including any hearing impairment loss clinics.

The Commissioner may authorize linkages between secure electronic data systems maintained by the Department of Health containing newborn hearing screening records and the Virginia Immunization Information System (VIIS) operated pursuant to §32.1-46.01. The Commissioner may authorize health care providers authorized to view VIIS to view newborn hearing screening records of individuals to whom the providers are providing health care services. The records may be made available until the child reaches seven years of age, after which the records shall not be made available through a linkage to VIIS. Such linkages shall be subject to all applicable state and federal privacy laws and regulations.

§36-99.5. Smoke alarms for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Smoke alarms for persons who are deaf or hearing impaired hard of hearing shall be installed only in conformance with the provisions of the current Building Code and maintained in accordance with the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (§27-94 et seq.) and subdivision C 6 of §36-105, Part III of the Building Code. Such alarms shall be provided by the landlord or proprietor, upon request by a tenant of a rental unit or a person living with such tenant who is deaf or hearing impaired hard of hearing as referenced by the Virginia Fair Housing Law (§36-96.1 et seq.), or upon request by an occupant of any of the following occupancies, regardless of when constructed:

1. All dormitory buildings arranged for the shelter and sleeping accommodations of more than 20 individuals;

2. All boarding and lodging houses arranged for shelter and sleeping accommodations of more than five individuals; or

3. All residential rental dwelling units.

A tenant shall be responsible for the maintenance and operation of the smoke alarm in the tenant's unit in accordance with §55-225.4 or 55-248.16, as applicable.

A hotel or motel shall have available no fewer than one such smoke alarm for each 70 units or portion thereof, except that this requirement shall not apply to any hotel or motel with fewer than 35 units. The proprietor of the hotel or motel shall post in a conspicuous place at the registration desk or counter a permanent sign stating the availability of smoke alarms for persons who are deaf or hearing impaired hard of hearing. Visual alarms shall be provided for all meeting rooms for which an advance request has been made.

The proprietor or landlord may require a refundable deposit for a smoke alarm, not to exceed the original cost or replacement cost, whichever is greater, of such smoke alarm. Rental fees shall not be increased as compensation for this requirement.

A landlord of a rental unit shall provide a reasonable accommodation to a person who is deaf or hearing impaired hard of hearing who requests installation of a smoke alarm that is appropriate for persons who are deaf or hearing impaired hard of hearing if such accommodation is appropriate in accordance with the Virginia Fair Housing Law (§36-96.1 et seq.).

§46.2-342. What license to contain; organ donor information; Uniform Donor Document.

A. Every license issued under this chapter shall bear:

1. For licenses issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2003, a license number which shall be assigned by the Department to the licensee and shall not be the same as the licensee's social security number;

2. A photograph of the licensee;

3. The licensee's full name, year, month, and date of birth;

4. The licensee's address, subject to the provisions of subsection B;

5. A brief description of the licensee for the purpose of identification;

6. A space for the signature of the licensee; and

7. Any other information deemed necessary by the Commissioner for the administration of this title.

No abbreviated names or nicknames shall be shown on any license.

B. At the option of the licensee, the address shown on the license may be either the post office box, business, or residence address of the licensee, provided such address is located in Virginia. However, regardless of which address is shown on the license, the licensee shall supply the Department with his residence address, which shall be an address in Virginia. This residence address shall be maintained in the Department's records. Whenever the licensee's address shown either on his license or in the Department's records changes, he shall notify the Department of such change as required by §46.2-324.

C. The Department may contract with the United States Postal Service or an authorized agent to use the National Change of Address System for the purpose of obtaining current address information for a person whose name appears in customer records maintained by the Department. If the Department receives information from the National Change of Address System indicating that a person whose name appears in a Department record has submitted a permanent change of address to the Postal Service, the Department may then update its records with the mailing address obtained from the National Change of Address System.

D. The license shall be made of a material and in a form to be determined by the Commissioner.

E. Licenses issued to persons less than 21 years old shall be immediately and readily distinguishable from those issued to persons 21 years old or older. Distinguishing characteristics shall include unique design elements of the document and descriptors within the photograph area to identify persons who are at least 15 years old but less than 21 years old. These descriptors shall include the month, day, and year when the person will become 21 years old.

F. The Department shall establish a method by which an applicant for a driver's license or an identification card may indicate his consent to make an anatomical gift for transplantation, therapy, research, and education pursuant to §32.1-291.5, and shall cooperate with the Virginia Transplant Council to ensure that such method is designed to encourage organ, tissue, and eye donation with a minimum of effort on the part of the donor and the Department.

G. If an applicant indicates his consent to be a donor pursuant to subsection F, the Department may make a notation of this designation on his license or card and shall make a notation of this designation in his driver record. The notation shall remain on the individual's license or card until he revokes his consent to make an anatomical gift by requesting removal of the notation from his license or card or otherwise in accordance with §32.1-291.6. Inclusion of a notation indicating consent to making an organ donation on an applicant's license or card pursuant to this subsection shall be sufficient legal authority for removal, following death, of the subject's organs or tissues without additional authority from the donor or his family or estate, in accordance with the provisions of §32.1-291.8.

H. A minor may make a donor designation pursuant to subsection F without the consent of a parent or legal guardian as authorized by the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (§32.1-291.1 et seq.).

I. The Department shall provide a method by which an applicant conducting a Department of Motor Vehicles transaction using electronic means may make a voluntary contribution to the Virginia Donor Registry and Public Awareness Fund (Fund) established pursuant to §32.1-297.1. The Department shall inform the applicant of the existence of the Fund and also that contributing to the Fund is voluntary.

J. The Department shall collect all moneys contributed pursuant to subsection I and transmit the moneys on a regular basis to the Virginia Transplant Council, which shall credit the contributions to the Fund.

K. When requested by the applicant, and upon presentation of a signed statement by a licensed physician confirming the applicant's condition, the Department shall indicate on the applicant's driver's license that the applicant (i) is an insulin-dependent diabetic, (ii) is deaf or hard of hearing or speech impaired, or (iii) has an intellectual disability, as defined in § 37.2-100, or autism spectrum disorder, as defined in §38.2-3418.17.

L. In the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct, the Department and its employees shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability in connection with the making of or failure to make a notation of donor designation on any license or card or in any person's driver record.

M. The Department shall, in coordination with the Virginia Transplant Council, prepare an organ donor information brochure describing the organ donor program and providing instructions for completion of the uniform donor document information describing the bone marrow donation program and instructions for registration in the National Bone Marrow Registry. The Department shall include a copy of such brochure with every driver's license renewal notice or application mailed to licensed drivers in Virginia.

§51.5-44. Rights of persons with disabilities in public places and places of public accommodation.

A. A person with a disability has the same rights as other persons to the full and free use of the streets, highways, sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, public facilities, and other public places. For purposes of this section, a "person with a disability" means a person whose disability is unrelated to his ability to utilize and benefit from a place of public accommodation or public service.

B. A person with a disability is entitled to full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of all common carriers, airplanes, motor vehicles, railroad trains, motor buses, streetcars, subways, boats or any other public conveyances or modes of transportation, restaurants, hotels, lodging places, places of public accommodation, amusement or resort, public entities including schools, and other places to which the general public is invited subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons.

C. Each town, city, or county, individually or through transportation district commissions, shall ensure that persons with disabilities have access to the public transportation within its jurisdiction by either (i) use of the same transportation facilities or carriers available to the general public, (ii) provision of paratransit or special transportation services for persons with disabilities, or (iii) both. All persons with disabilities in the jurisdiction's service area who, by reason of their disabilities, are unable to use the service for the general public shall be eligible to use such paratransit or special transportation service. No fee that exceeds the fee charged to the general public shall be charged a person with a disability for the use of the same transportation facilities or carriers available to the general public. Paratransit or special transportation service for persons with disabilities may charge fees to such persons comparable to the fees charged to the general public for similar service in the jurisdiction service area, taking into account especially the type, length, and time of trip. Any variance between special service and regular service fares shall be justifiable in terms of actual differences between the two kinds of service provided.

D. Nothing in this title shall be construed to require retrofitting of any public transit equipment or to require the retrofitting, renovation, or alteration of buildings or places to a degree more stringent than that required by the applicable building code in effect at the time the building permit for such building or place is issued.

E. Every totally or partially blind person shall have the right to be accompanied by a dog in harness trained as a guide dog, every deaf or hearing-impaired person who is deaf or hard of hearing shall have the right to be accompanied by a dog trained as a hearing dog on a blaze orange leash, and every mobility-impaired or otherwise disabled person shall have the right to be accompanied by a dog, trained as a service dog, in a harness, backpack, or vest identifying the dog as a trained service dog, in any of the places listed in subsection B without being required to pay an extra charge for the dog, provided that he shall be liable for any damage done to the premises or facilities by such dog. The provisions of this section shall apply to persons accompanied by a dog that is in training, at least six months of age, and is (i) in harness, provided such person is an experienced trainer of guide dogs or is conducting continuing training of a guide dog; (ii) on a blaze orange leash, provided such person is an experienced trainer of hearing dogs or is conducting continuing training of a hearing dog; (iii) in a harness, backpack, or vest identifying the dog as a trained service dog, provided such person is an experienced trainer of service dogs or is conducting continuing training of a service dog; (iv) wearing a jacket identifying the recognized guide, hearing, or service dog organization, provided such person is an experienced trainer of the organization identified on the jacket; or (v) the person is part of a three-unit service dog team and is conducting continuing training of a service dog.

§51.5-45. Right of persons with disabilities to housing accommodations.

A. All persons with disabilities unrelated to their ability to acquire, rent, or maintain property shall be entitled to full and equal opportunity to acquire, as other members of the general public, any housing accommodations offered for sale, rent, lease, or compensation, subject to the conditions and limitations established by law and applying alike to all persons. "Housing accommodations" for the purpose of this section means any real property, or portion thereof, which is used or occupied or is intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied, as the home, residence, or sleeping place of one or more human beings, but does not include any single family residence the occupant or owner of which rents, leases, or furnishes for compensation not more than one room therein.

B. Every visually impaired person who has a guide dog, every hearing-impaired person who is deaf or hard of hearing and has a hearing dog, and every mobility-impaired or otherwise disabled person with a service dog shall be entitled to full and equal access with such dog to all housing accommodations provided for in this section. He shall not be required to pay extra compensation for such dog but shall be liable for any damage done to the premises by such dog.

C. Nothing in this section shall require any person offering for sale, renting, leasing, or providing for compensation real property to modify that real property or provide a higher degree of care for a person with a disability than for a person who is not disabled, except as provided in § 36-99.5, nor shall anything in this section require any person who is selling, renting, leasing, or providing for compensation real property to sell, rent, lease, or provide such property to any person who would constitute a direct threat to the property or safety of others.

§54.1-2600. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Audiologist" means any person who engages in the practice of audiology.

"Board" means the Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology.

"Practice of audiology" means the practice of conducting measurement, testing and evaluation relating to hearing and vestibular systems, including audiologic and electrophysiological measures, and conducting programs of identification, hearing conservation, habilitation, and rehabilitation for the purpose of identifying disorders of the hearing and vestibular systems and modifying communicative disorders related to hearing loss, including but not limited to vestibular evaluation, limited cerumen management, electrophysiological audiometry and cochlear implants. Any person offering services to the public under any descriptive name or title which would indicate that audiology services are being offered shall be deemed to be practicing audiology.

"Practice of speech-language pathology" means the practice of facilitating development and maintenance of human communication through programs of screening, identifying, assessing and interpreting, diagnosing, habilitating and rehabilitating speech-language disorders, including but not limited to:

1. Providing alternative communication systems and instruction and training in the use thereof;

2. Providing aural habilitation, rehabilitation and counseling services to hearing-impaired individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families;

3. Enhancing speech-language proficiency and communication effectiveness; and

4. Providing audiologic screening.

Any person offering services to the public under any descriptive name or title which would indicate that professional speech-language pathology services are being offered shall be deemed to be practicing speech-language pathology.

"Speech-language disorders" means disorders in fluency, speech articulation, voice, receptive and expressive language (syntax, morphology, semantics, pragmatics), swallowing disorders, and cognitive communication functioning.

"Speech-language pathologist" means any person who engages in the practice of speech-language pathology.

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