Mara’s workplace runs a daycare so employees can bring their children to work. Mara’s daughter has a severe allergy, so Mara requested that the daycare kitchen avoid certain allergens for her meals. The daycare let Mara know they had a vegan meal option available that would not contain any of the allergens that would affect her daughter’s disability, but that the meal plan would cost an additional $2,000 annually.

Wanting to learn more about her daughters’ rights under the ADA, Mara contacted her regional ADA Center. The ADA Specialist let Mara know that Title III of the ADA covers public accommodations, including daycare settings. If a service is required under the ADA, a daycare setting cannot impose a surcharge on the person with a disability (or in this case, the parent of a child with a disability). Mara was able to write a letter to the management of the daycare and use the information provided by the regional ADA Center to advocate for her daughter’s rights. The daycare granted the reasonable accommodation request and modified the meal options for her daughter without an additional charge.