While Boise State’s architectural and engineering services are working to improve physical infrastructure and make the campus more accessible, the university was not always easy to navigate and, in many ways, still has a way to go.
Dana Gover, who works with the Northwest ADA Center in Idaho to provide training and technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) attended Boise State in the 1980s and navigated campus using a wheelchair.
In 1979, when Gover was 18, she got into a car accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury. Gover spent eight months at Elks Rehabilitation Hospital in Boise before returning home to Eastern Oregon. The following year, she enrolled at Boise State and began utilizing a power wheelchair.
“My family purchased a lift-equipped van so I could drive and transport the electric chair and, just as importantly, to give me the ability to drive, travel, work, get to school, run errands and participate in everyday life independently just like anyone else,” Gover said.
“My wheelchair van wasn’t about transporting the chair, it was about independence,” she continued. “People often look at adaptive equipment like it’s an ‘extra’. It’s not. It’s access to the world.”
During her time at Boise State, many of the buildings were not accessible to individuals using wheelchairs.
“When I attended Boise State University in the early 1980s, accessibility was far from guaranteed,” Gover said. “Many of my classes were held in older buildings or converted houses, and it was common to arrive for class and find a set of stairs that made the class completely
inaccessible.”
Despite its shortcomings, Gover said the university is receptive to working on access issues. As the Northwest ADA Training and Assistance Consultant, Gover ensures individuals have the correct information and research regarding accessibility.
“Boise State has always been really good to work [with] on access issues. It’s a funding mechanism, but for architectural barriers, they’re really good at removing barriers,” Gover said.
Boise State alum and executive director of Living Independence Network (LINC), Jeremy Maxand, reflected on the university’s accessibility efforts.
“Boise State’s done good work,” Maxand said. “The campus is light years ahead of where it was when I first attended in the early ‘90s, but like most campuses, there’s still a ways to go. I’d love to see them bring students and staff with disabilities into the conversation more — let them help identify the barriers and the fixes.”
Maxand recommended an accessibility audit which could examine the entire campus, including housing, transportation, classrooms and online systems. The audit would identify what is functional and what needs updating.
“Small things matter too — automatic doors that actually work, accessible seating in every classroom, ramps that aren’t a mile away from the main entrance,” he said. “All those things tell students, ‘We see you, and you’re part of this community’.”
As previously reported by The Arbiter, automatic door operators were out-of-order in Brady Garage for roughly two months back in 2023. Additional buildings, including Liberal Arts and Multipurpose, had out-of-order automatic door operators for “an unknown amount of time.”
“When a building or classroom isn’t accessible, it sends a message that [students with disabilities] weren’t part of the plan. It says, ‘We built this for everyone else, and you’ll just have to figure it out.’ That’s the same message people get when a polling place isn’t accessible — it chips away at your sense of belonging. Schools should be the opposite of that. They should tell every student, ‘We expected you. We made space for you,’” he said.
The evolution of accessibility law
“Accessibility in the United States didn’t begin with the ADA — it was a slow, hard-won evolution shaped by disabled people demanding the right to move, learn, work and live without barriers,” Grover explained. “Every major milestone reflects that push toward equal participation, not charity.”
Several landmark milestones for accessibility law include the Architectural Barriers Act (1968), which stated federal buildings must be accessible, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973), when disability became a protected civil rights category and the ADA Amendments Act (2008), where Congress reaffirmed the ADA’s intent and highlighted the value of expansion versus restriction when it comes to accessibility law.
“Many people don’t understand the difference between building codes and the ADA,” Gover added. “The ADA is not a building code — it’s a civil rights law. Building codes like the IBC sometimes provide greater accessibility depending on the edition and jurisdiction, but
neither replaces the other. Both tools matter, but only one is rooted in civil rights.”
Gover said when constructing new facilities, it’s important to go beyond ADA compliance. For example, Gover highlighted when construction groups are planning to create a science classroom, instead of just making one lab table accessible, they all could be.
Future efforts
Accessibility beyond ADA compliance is something Evan Danforth, executive director for architectural and engineering services at Boise State, strives to implement when designing new buildings. Danforth said many of the current issues with buildings, such as ramp placements or spatially inaccessible bathrooms, are a result of attempts to remodel old buildings, rather than creating a new structure.
“That’s why the newer buildings don’t have those issues,” Danforth said. “Because [with] the newer buildings, we can look at the building holistically [and] make sure it works for everybody, whereas when you take an older building, ramps have very specific requirements for the rise and the run and how far they can go before they have to have a landing and so they can only fit in so many areas. Sometimes, to get them [ramps], it’s not exactly where we’d want it, but it’s the best we can do given the parameters of the building.”
One of the highest-priority architectural projects is redesigning sloped classrooms and stadium-style seating for lecture halls that are generally not usable for an individual in a wheelchair. The remodeling of those classrooms also creates a more collaborative environment for students to engage with one another.
“Being able to fix those is very rewarding. Not only does it fix it for people in a wheelchair, but it fixes it for everyone,” he said. “We’ve moved from a lecturing pedagogy to a more active learning classroom. We’re actually able to bring those classrooms up to modern educational standards, which benefits everyone.”
Danforth said he and his team are working on several bathroom renovations to expand the size of the “tight” spaces.
Albertsons Library restrooms are undergoing ADA upgrades, including rooms 120A/B and 220A/B, where they are lowering sinks and countertops and adding grab bars and/or pipe wrap in rooms: 200A/B, 210A/B, 300A/B, 400A/B. Bathrooms 220A and B were completed on Dec. 12 and the remaining work began on Dec. 22 and is set to be completed this month. Additionally, there is a focus on improving interior ramps in the Bronco Gym.
Working with experts who can provide accurate, timely information regarding ADA regulations is crucial to the planning process.
“There’s a lot to consider, and that’s why we try to do trainings and keep up on things, but, ultimately, we hire the experts to tell us, hey, what, what is the best way to solve this problem?” Damforth said.
Danforth said another area of importance is improving paths of travel, including ramps, automatic door openers and ensuring everyone has access to classrooms.
Danforth said when designing a project, the architect reviews ADA laws and International Building Code (IBC). However, these are two distinctly different sets of regulations.
Part of this planning process for Danforth is focusing on trainings to keep all current staff up to date on some of the “generalities” of ADA compliance.
“We need to know enough that we can identify problems when we see them, look for solutions and make sure that we’re asking the right questions, getting the right people involved, so that we can make sure that our projects are accessible,” he said.
Maxand explained transition plans for buildings are mandatory for government buildings and consist of several components: self-assessment, creating a list of barriers and identifying solutions.
When asked whether the university has a transition plan in place, Danforth said no current formal plans exist, but a study was conducted across campus in 2020 to identify where there were “ADA deficiencies.”
This study allowed the team to identify what should go into a future transition plan that Danforth is collaborating with Angie Zirschky, Compliance Director and ADA/504 Coordinator for University Compliance, to create. Facilities Operations and Maintenance (FOM) is currently monitoring its efforts.
Funding for updating buildings
Danforth explained that each year his department puts in a request to the state for several different architectural categories, including capital requests, alteration and deferred maintenance and accessibility projects. His team then references the study conducted across campus and identifies the highest priority project that will make the biggest impact. Unfortunately, Danforth said, they only receive funding for about one project annually.
“That’s why it’s really critical for us to say, what is the highest priority project, what’s the project that’s going to make the biggest impact for the people using campus?” Danforth said. Roughly $200,000 is allocated in annual funding from the state, according to Danforth.
Another way Boise State takes issues into account is through a page on its Department of Compliance and Ethics, which features a form to report a barrier as well as an email and phone number. But where does this information go? Danforth shared that Zirschky takes this insight and, when it is related to physical infrastructure, passes it along to him and his team.
“Just recently, we had a meeting with Angie [Zirschky] to say ‘hey, as you get those [reports], if they are involved in the physical infrastructure of the building, make sure you pass them on to us to see if there’s something we can do about it,” he said.
Gover said transition plans often exist as a “living document” and are continuously updated, but what’s important is to start.
“Some of the smaller communities have had a difficult time because of limited funding but what we always recommend is it’s never too late to start,” Gover said. “Even if you haven’t and it’s a living and breathing document — which means you don’t just put it on the shelf and forget about it.”
While the ADA requires certain features such as accessible routes, bathrooms, parking, communication and ongoing maintenance, Gover said true inclusion efforts are all-encompassing. She noted how a true commitment to accessibility goes beyond meeting regulations.
“True inclusion demands more: built environments that reflect how people actually live, move and participate. That’s the direction cities, universities and communities are increasingly taking — shifting from ‘bare minimum’ compliance to designing for dignity, independence and full participation.”
