Advocacy For Equal Facilities

Advocacy For Equal Facilities (AEF)is a special interest group founded by students at the Dayton Regional STEM School that aims to pass legislation in the Ohio State Congress that supplements the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in requiring adult changing stations for high traffic public restrooms. This type of legislation is required for thousands of Ohioans who are unable to fully enjoy life because there are no adult changing stations in public areas.

An adult changing station is a family restroom with an adult-sized changing table. (There is more about this here.) These accommodations are necessary for people with disabilities requiring an aid to change them when using restroom facilities. Without these facilities, anyone with this kind of disability cannot leave their home and retain dignity when in need of a restroom. AEF seeks to solve these problems with our proposed legislation and give restrooms for the rest of us. AEF was prompted to create this bill after Mrs. Jennifer Helton, an intervention specialist at the Dayton Regional STEM School, brought her son into the 11th grade government class at the beginning of the second semester. (Her son's name is Matthew; hence, Matthew's Bill.) 13-year-old Matthew was born with a disability that prevented him from learning and using his muscles in the same way that an able-bodied individual can. Because of this, he must use a wheelchair, and he is unable to use the restroom similarly to able-bodied individuals. Matthew must be changed, and unfortunately, there are currently no legalized accommodations for him and others like him. This prompted the idea of legalizing regulations on adult changing tables.

Matthew’s Bill began as a class project, but it has grown into so much more. It began with a group of 11th grade students just trying to help a teacher, but now, we have grown into our own organization. AEF seeks to pass our legislation into law, and legalize proper accommodations under the ADA.