The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 was introduced to protect people with disabilities from discrimination in employment, transportation and public space, ensuring equal opportunities for everyone. All public facilities and government buildings must adhere to the guidelines enforced by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Public schools are just one type of facility that must comply with the ADA guidelines.

Fauquier High School (FHS) hosts many students with physical disabilities who require additional infrastructure to traverse the campus. Elevators, stair lifts and automatic doors are just a few pieces of equipment found around FHS. While their purpose is to aid students who rely on them, the elevators are commonly misused by students and staff who can use the stairways instead. Disciplinary action for students who do not possess an elevator pass is expected, but insufficient surveillance of the areas surrounding the elevators causes the policy to be weakly enforced.

The elevator systems in the main building have often been plagued with difficulties, resulting in them being out of order and needing repair. Those difficulties leave some students who rely on them unable to get to class.

Freshman Lily Kuebbeler, who relies on the elevators to traverse campus, says that she is frustrated with the frequent repairs that cause her to use more effort to travel up the stairs to get to class. However, that is not the only area of FHS that causes her difficulty. She noted she had increased difficulty traveling in places like the Annex, where there is a lack of accessible infrastructure for students, increasing the time and effort it takes her to travel around the campus.

While FHS has many accessible technologies, they are often misused and, as a result, frequently need repair, leaving students who rely on them without an easy means of traversing the campus.