Classroom Acoustics Advocacy: The Ongoing Role of Parents

By Cheryl Johnson, H&V Headquarters

It all began with a mom.The U.S. Access Board (www.access-board.gov) is responsible for developing accessibility guidelines for the Americans with Disabilities (ADA). The Access Board was petitioned in 1997 by a mother who stated that poor classroom acoustics constituted an architectural barrier to her child’s educational opportunities. Her request has resulted in the following actions over the past twenty-some years, but we are not done yet:

1998: A classroom acoustics working group facilitated by the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) and the Access Board was brought together representing school architects; school facility planners, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, acousticians, audiologists, and advocates.

2002: The first standard for noise and reverberation levels in classrooms was established, ANSI/ASA S12.60-2002, Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements and Guidelines for Schools.

2003: The ANSI Board of Standards Review upheld the classroom acoustics standard against the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute’s (ARI) appeal to withdraw the standard. The ARI contended that the acoustics standard was not in society’s best interests. Parents wrote many letters that helped to defeat ARI’s action.

2010: The 2002 standards were revised to add acoustic standards for portable classrooms and to expand reverberation time requirements to classroom design that is readily adaptable to .3 seconds as required to address special listening needs of students; ANSI/ASA S12.60 –American National Standard Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements, and Guidelines for Schools, Part 1 Permanent Schools (2010) and Part 2 Relocatable Classroom Factors (2009).

2017: After years of persistent advocacy efforts, the classroom acoustics standards were adopted by the International Code Council (ICC) to become part of the International Building Code (IBC). The classroom acoustics standards are addressed in the ICC document, A117.1-2017 Standard for Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities, American National Standard.

2019: Standards for physical education classrooms were adopted, ANSI/ASA S12.60-2019/Part 4.

The standard is voluntary unless it is referenced by a state code, ordinance or regulation. Advocacy efforts of the Access Board, ASA and other groups resulted in some state actions to adopt the standards as well as promote codification as a component of the International Building Code (IBC), a set of building standards that are utilized in all construction across the U.S.

– 2017 Standards

Present Concerns and Limitations

Adoption of the standards at the state and local level is uncertain. When probing the status of adoption in a few states, there are many questions regarding the standard, what it means and how to apply it. Awareness about the standard is very limited.

The ANSI standards were published by the ICC without the reference to a modified reverberation time that addresses special listening needs of some students.

The standards generally apply to new construction or significant building remodels.

Use the Classroom Acoustics Standards Now

Building code adoption is not necessary to use the standards to advocate for a proper acoustical learning environment for students with special listening needs. Parents and students should use the standards as a guide to classroom accommodations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for IEP or 504 development even without building code adoption. Measurement of classroom noise and reverberation levels should be requested and when standards are exceeded, modifications to address the noise and reverberation time should be discussed and implemented. Educational audiologists and/or teachers of the deaf/hard of hearing are the team members who can assess the classroom physical environment to identify potential barriers to communication and learning and make recommendations for accommodations.

The Work Ahead: Parents Needed

Members of the Educational Audiology Association (EAA) are investigating the status of the implementation of A117.1-2017 in their states in order to determine the responsible agency, that agency’s understanding of the classroom acoustics standard, and the barriers that exist to implementation. This information will be compiled and reported to the Acoustical Society of American as well as the ICC. It is hoped that an outcome of this investigation will lead to increased education to state agencies that are in charge of building codes to promote implementation of the classroom acoustics standards. We need parent participation in this effort. Please contact Cheryl Johnson for more information at cdj1951@gmail.com.  ~

Editor’s note:  The Hands & Voices website contains links to several publications on classroom acoustics. Parent Melanie Doyle described her experience advocating for appropriate classroom acoustics for her son in this article: www.handsandvoices.org/articles/education/ed/interview.html

H&V Communicator – Fall 2020