In the event of an emergency, the ability to access an emergency system directly -- often accessible by dialing 911 -- can mean the difference between life and death. Unfortunately, most of these systems nationwide remain inaccessible to hearing impaired and speech impaired individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) to communicate by telephone. . . . As part of its prohibition against discrimination in local and state programs and services, Title II will require local governments to ensure that these telephone emergency number systems are equipped with technology that will give hearing impaired and speech impaired individuals a direct line to these emergency services. While initially this will mean installation of a TDD or compatible ASCII or Baudot computer modems by programs operating these services, future technological advances -- such as speech to text services – may offer other means of affording direct and equally effective access for these individuals.