TENNESSEE v. LANE
Opinion of the Court
services accessible to persons with disabilities, and it does
not require States to compromise their essential eligibility
criteria for public programs. It requires only "reasonable
modifications" that would not fundamentally alter the nature
of the service provided, and only when the individual seeking
modification is otherwise eligible for the service. Ibid. As
Title II's implementing regulations make clear, the reasonable modification requirement can be satisfied in a number
of ways. In the case of facilities built or altered after 1992,
the regulations require compliance with specific architectural accessibility standards. 28 CFR § 35.151 (2003). But
in the case of older facilities, for which structural change is
likely to be more difficult, a public entity may comply with
Title II y adopting a variety of less costly measures, including relocating services to alternative, accessible sites and
assigning aides to assist persons with disabilities in accessing services. § 35.150(b)(1). Only if these measures are
ineffective in achieving accessibility is the public entity
required to make reasonable structural changes. Ibid.
And in no event is the entity required to undertake measures that would impose an undue financial or administrative burden, threaten historic preservation interests, or effect a fundamental alteration in the nature of the service.
§§ 35.150(a)(2), (a)(3).
This duty to accommodate is perfectly consistent with the
well-established due process principle that, "within the limits of practicability, a State must afford to all individuals a
meaningful opportunity to be heard" in its courts. Boddie,
401 U. S., at 379 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).2° Our cases have recognized a number of affirmative
obligations that flow from this principle: the duty to waive
10 Because this case implicates the right of access to the courts, we need
not consider whether Title II's duty to accommodate exceeds what the
Constitution requires in the class of cases that implicate only Cleburne's
prohibition on irrational discrimination. See Garrett, 531 U. S., at 372.