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Administrative Plan 7/1/2025 Page 16-18 <br />Ensuring Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities and LEP Individuals <br />As with in-person informal hearings, the platform for conducting remote informal hearings must <br />be accessible to persons with disabilities and the informal hearings must be conducted in <br />accordance with Section 504 and accessibility requirements. This includes ensuring any <br />information, websites, emails, digital notifications, and other virtual platforms are accessible for <br />persons with vision, hearing, and other disabilities. Further, providing effective communication <br />in a digital context may require the use of individualized auxiliary aids or services, such as audio <br />description, captioning, sign language and other types of interpreters, keyboard accessibility, <br />accessible documents, screen reader support, and transcripts. Auxiliary aids or services must be <br />provided in accessible formats, in a timely manner, and in such a way to protect the privacy and <br />independence of the individual. PHAs may never request or require that individuals with <br />disabilities provide their own auxiliary aids or services, including for remote informal hearings. <br />PHAs are required to make reasonable accommodations in policies, practices, and procedures to <br />ensure persons with disabilities have a full and equal opportunity to participate in and benefit <br />from all aspects of the informal hearing process. See Chapter 2 for a more detailed discussion of <br />reasonable accommodation requirements. <br />If no method of conducting a remote informal hearing is available that appropriately <br />accommodates an individual’s disability, the PHA may not hold against the individual their <br />inability to participate in the remote informal hearing, and the PHA should consider whether <br />postponing the remote hearing to a later date is appropriate or whether there is a suitable <br />alternative. <br />Due to the individualized nature of disability, the appropriate auxiliary aid or service necessary, <br />or reasonable accommodation will depend on the specific circumstances and requirements. <br />As with in-person reviews, Limited English Proficiency (LEP) requirements also apply to remote <br />informal hearings, including the use of interpretation services and document translation. See <br />Chapter 2 for a more thorough discussion of accessibility and LEP requirements, all of which <br />apply in the context of remote informal hearings. <br />EXHIBIT 1