Reading Lofts in Elementary School Classrooms

[Tom Hill]

I have been contacted by the school district over the use of reading lofts in elementary classrooms.

These don’t meet mezzanine definitions, have stairs too narrow, rise and run incorrect, handrails, and guards inadequate…

Additional Thoughts?

 

[RLGA]

Are you talking about actual elevated spaces of a height that allow utilization of the spaces underneath the lofts, or just a raised areas to define the reading areas?

 

[Coug Dad]

Welcome and thanks for your first post. How are they accomodating accessibility?

 

[brudgers]

Furnishings

 

[Tom Hill]

raised areas to define the reading areas

 

[Yikes]

Agreed, furnishings. Or think of it like playground equipment.

 

[Tom Hill]

and so far they haven't addess the manner for accomodating accessibility

 

[steveray]

How big, how high? With CD on accesssibility......and so on...

 

[brudgers]

and so far they haven't addess the manner for accomodating accessibility

What sort of accessibility is required by the code for furnishings?

 

[Yikes]

I asked around our firm about this. We recently did an elevated carpeted reading loft in a public elementary school library. It was a 2-tiered loft, and was reviewed by the school district, their CASP inspector and California DSA Access Compliance plan checker.

The accessibility solution was that at the lowest tier, they had us create a removable 30" x 48" corner section (a carpeted box) so that a child in a wheelchair could roll into that void and still feel like they were part of the reading group. There was no requirement for wheelchair access onto the lower tier or upper tier.

 

[peach]

There may some some provisions when "equivalent" provisions are made on the lower level... look for that to change in a couple of years. If it's technically feasible to add a ramp now, I'd do it... "that whole equal protection under the law" stuff...