From The Access Board
Progress Toward A New Standard on Classroom Acoustics
for Children with Disabilities
December 2001
The quality of acoustics is an important consideration in the design of
classrooms. Research indicates that high levels of background noise, much of
it from heating and cooling systems, adversely affect learning environments,
particularly for young children, who require optimal conditions for hearing
and comprehension. Poor acoustics can pose a barrier to any child with a
hearing loss. At particular risk are children with mild to moderate hearing
loss as well as those who have cochlear implants or who use hearing aids and
assistive listening devices since these assistive technologies amplify both
wanted and unwanted sound, including reverberation and background noise.
Children with temporary hearing loss, who may comprise up to 15% of the
school age population according to the Center for Disease control, are also
significantly affected, as are children with speech impairments or learning
disabilities.
For the past several years, the Board has worked with the private sector in
the development of classroom acoustic standards as an alternative to
rulemaking of its own. In 1999, the Board partnered with the Acoustical
Society of America (ASA) and the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) on the development of a new standard for acoustics in classrooms that
takes into account children who are hard of hearing. ASA had previously
established a special working group for this purpose. The Board helped
sponsor the work of this group and expanded its membership through the
addition of representatives from disability groups, school systems,
designers, and government agencies. At the Boardıs urging, ASA committed to
a two-year time frame for the completion of standards. The working group has
now completed work on the standards, which set specific criteria for maximum
background noise (35 decibels) and reverberation (0.6 to 0.7 seconds for
unoccupied classrooms). These and other specifications are consistent with
long-standing recommendations for good practice in acoustical design. The
working group has submitted the new criteria for adoption as an ANSI
standard. ANSI standards, by themselves, are voluntary, unless referenced by
a code, statute, or regulation. School systems can require compliance with
the new specifications in their construction documents for new schools.
The Board believes that these standards should be incorporated into the
acoustical requirements of the model building codes and is working toward
this goal. In November, the Board submitted a proposal to the International
Code Council (ICC) for the incorporation of key provisions of the new
standards into the next edition of the International Building Code (section
1210). The IBC is a cooperative effort on the part of national model code
organizations to bring uniformity to building codes. Ultimately, if adopted,
the classroom acoustical requirements would become mandatory as part of the
building code in those states and jurisdictions that use the IBC or its
member codes. As a result, the requirements would be enforced locally
through the building codes. The ICC will hold hearings on proposed code
changes this April in Pittsburgh.
The Board's activity on this issue was inspired by a petition from the
parent of a child with a hearing loss who requested that the ADA
Accessibility Guidelines be amended to include new provisions for acoustical
accessibility in schools for children who are hard of hearing. Several
acoustics professionals, parents of children with hearing impairments,
individuals who are hard of hearing, and a consortium of organizations
representing them also urged the Board to consider research and rulemaking
on the acoustical performance of buildings and facilities, in particular
school classrooms and related student facilities. In June of 1998 the Board
published a Request for Information (RFI) to gather public input on this
issue . The Board sought comment on a variety of issues in the notice and
indicated that it would determine a course of action after evaluating
responses to the notice. Alternatives included research, rulemaking, and
technical assistance on acoustical issues. Approximately 100 comments were
received in response to the RFI. The preponderance of the comments were from
parents of children with hearing impairments and from professionals in
acoustics and audiology. The information received was summarized in a
follow-up notice published in November 1999.
For more information, contact Lois Thibault, the Board's Coordinator of
Research; phone: (202) 272-5434, x132 (V), (202) 272-5449 (TTY).
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Resources on Acoustics
The ASA has prepared a helpful bulletin, "Classroom Acoustics: A Resource
for Creating Environments with Desirable Listening Conditions," which
provides a general overview of the problems and solutions concerning
classroom acoustics. This 16-page guide, which is available from ASA,
offers a supplemental resource for architects, educators, and school
planners for use in new construction or renovation of existing learning
spaces. Two workshops on classroom acoustics (Los Angeles, 1997 and New
York City, 1999) presented by the acoustics coalition resulted in published
proceedings available from the ASA (New York, NY). ASA has also developed an
acoustics checklist for classroom construction.
There are a number of journals and magazines that have published research on
classroom acoustics and children with disabilities:
- The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
(AG Bell) offers a new monograph, "Classroom Acoustics: Understanding
Barriers to Learning," printed in The Volta Review, vol. 101, no. 5.
Further information about AG Bell can be found at www.agbell.org.
- Also available on the AG Bell website is an article, "Classroom
Acoustics," by Carl C. Crandell, Ph.D., Joseph J. Smaldino, Ph.D., and Karen
Anderson, Ed.S.
- Copies of the 6-page ASHA (Rockville, MD) position paper, 37 [Suppl.
14], includes a comprehensive bibliography.
- The Summer 1998 issue of Educational Audiology Review contains a wealth
of information on classroom acoustics issues, and includes a useful
bibliography.
- EAA (Tampa, FL) also can provide copies of "The Sound of Learning", a
4-page brief on classroom acoustics published in the October 1997 issue of
The American School Board Journal.
- Guidance for design professionals on classroom acoustics was published
by the Council of Educational Facility Planners, International (CEFPI ),
'Teaching in the Dark', by John Erdreich, PhD, in Brief on Educational
Facility Issues (July 1999), available on the CEFPI website.
- Volume 13, Number Two (Second Quarter 1999) of Contact Magazine, a
publication of the Cochlear Implant Club International, Inc. (Washington,
DC), contains an article entitled "Modifications to Mainstream Classrooms
for Children with Cochlear Implants," by architect Franklin M.V. Pepi, AIA.
- The paper on the location of absorptive materials to control
reverberation, "Optimizing Classroom Acoustics Using Computer Model
Studies," by Rebecca Reich and John Bradley of the Canadian National
Research Council, was published in Canadian Acoustics/Acoustique Canadienne,
26(4), 1998.
Textbooks
Acoustics, Charles M. Salter Associates, William Stout Publishers, San
Francisco 1999; ISBN 0-9651144-6-5.
Acoustics and Noise Control Handbook for Architects and Builders, Leland K.
Irvine and Roy L. Richards, Krieger Publishing Co., Malabar, FL.
Acoustics and Sound Systems in Schools, Frederick S. Berg, Singular
Publishing Group, San Diego, 1993.
Architectural Acoustics, Madan Mehta, Jim Johnson, and Jorge Rocafort,
Prentice-Hall, New York, 1998.
Classroom Acoustics, T. Finitzo-Hieber, in Auditory Disorders in School
Children, Thieme-Stratton, New York (1988, second edition).
Concepts in Architectural Acoustics, M. David Egan, McGraw-Hill, New York,
1998.
Deaf Architects and Blind Acousticians? A Guide to the Principles of Sound
Design, R.E. Apfel, 1998; ISBN 0-9663331-0-1.
Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings, "Acoustics," Stein,
Reynolds, and McGuiness, New York, 1996.
"Acoustical Guidelines for Building Design," E. Wetherill, in Encyclopedia
of Acoustics, Wiley, New York, 1997.
"Noise Control in U.S. Building Codes," Greg Tocci, in Handbook of
Acoustics, Wiley & Sons.
"Room Acoustics," C. Crandell and J. Smaldino, in Assistive Devices for the
Hearing-Impaired, Allyn & Baon, Needham Heights, MA, 1994.
Training
Acoustics coursework is available on-line and in presentations sponsored
through the professional organizations that represent architects, interior
designers, and engineers. Manufacturers of acoustical materials develop and
sponsor seminars on acoustical issues and publish guides and manuals for
design professionals. A curriculum and visual aids for a tutorial on
classroom acoustics is being developed by the University of Kansas under the
aegis of the Acoustics Coalition.
Links
- Acoustical Society of America
- Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- American Academy of Audiology
- Classroom Acoustics
- Classroom Acoustics Listserv
- General Accounting Office Reports on School Facilities
- National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
- Northern Virginia Resource Center - Classroom Acoustics
- Quiet Classrooms Noise Pollution Clearinghouse
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