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Laws & Related Regulations | Congressional Hearings | Judicial | Executive

Laws & Related Regulations

• The Assistive Technology Act of 1998 as amended
  Public Law 108-364 amends the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 to support programs of grants to States to address the assistive technology needs of individuals with disabilities, and for other purposes.
  PDF version      RTF version
• State Grants Program for Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals With Disabilities; Final Rule (March 1996)
  Text version      PDF version
• Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 as Amended in 1994
• Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 ("Tech Act")
• Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) (with amendments issued through May 2001)
  This Act, first issued in 1986, prohibits discrimination in air transportation by domestic and foreign air carriers against qualified individuals with physical or mental impairments. It applies only to air carriers that provide regularly scheduled services for hire to the public. Requirements address a wide range of issues including boarding assistance and certain accessibility features in newly built aircraft and new or altered airport facilities. The amendments issued through May 2001 include those on lifts for aircraft with 31 or more seats. The Federal Aviation Administration offers a guide to the Air Carrier Access Rules: New Horizons: Information for the Air Traveler with a Disability.
• Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
  The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. It also applies to the United States Congress.
• Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG)
  This U.S. Access Board document contains scoping and technical requirements for accessibility to buildings and facilities by individuals with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. These scoping and technical requirements are to be applied during the design, construction, and alteration of buildings and facilities covered by titles II and III of the ADA to the extent required by regulations issued by Federal agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Transportation, under the ADA.
• Developmental Disabilities Act (2000)
  This legislation reauthorizes programs that support people with developmental disabilities and helps them achieve their maximum potential through increased self-determination, independence, productivity, and integration in all facets of life. The Act also adds new authority to provide services and activities for families of individuals with developmental disabilities and the dedicated workers who assist them.
• Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975)
  In 1975, Congress enacted and President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, one of the most important civil rights laws ever written. The basic premise of this federal law, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), is that all children with disabilities have a federally protected civil right to have available to them a free appropriate public education that meets their education and related services needs in the least restrictive environment.
• Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) (January 2002)
  This law prepares teachers to use educational and assistive technology. ESEA was originally authorized in 1965 for five years and had been reauthorized every five years since. Called the "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2001, the enactment of this legislation is accompanied by the largest dollar increase ever in federal education aid.
  
  • Fact Sheet
  • Summary of the Act
    This summary was prepared by the Children’s Defense Fund.
  
  
• Fair Housing Act Amendments (FHAA) of 1988
  The Fair Housing Act, as amended in 1988, prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, and national origin. Its coverage includes private housing, housing that receives Federal financial assistance, and State and local government housing. It is unlawful to discriminate in any aspect of selling or renting housing or to deny a dwelling to a buyer or renter because of the disability of that individual, an individual associated with the buyer or renter, or an individual who intends to live in the residence.
• Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines (FHAG) (1991)
  To address the how-to’s in making reasonable accommodations outlined in the Fair Housing Act Amendments (FHAA), HUD published the FHAG on March 6, 1991 and the law became effective for multifamily residences begun or occupied for the first time after March 13, 1991. Questions and Answers about the Guidelines are available online.
• Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) Act of 1988
  This Act defines a telephone as hearing-aid compatible if it provides internal means for effective use with hearing aids and meets established technical standards for hearing aid compatibility. In 2001, the Federal Communications Commission sought comments on whether public mobile service telephones should be required to be hearing-aid compatible in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The Commission is reexamining their exemption pursuant to direction of the HAC Act of 1988, of public mobile service phones from the hearing aid compatibility requirements of that Act.
• IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) (1975)
  In 1975, Congress enacted and President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, one of the most important civil rights laws ever written. The basic premise of this federal law, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), is that all children with disabilities have a federally protected civil right to have available to them a free appropriate public education that meets their education and related services needs in the least restrictive environment.
  
  • IDEA Amendments (1997)
    The following links are news briefs from the National Information Center on Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY).
    • Text Version
    • PDF Version
    • IDEA Regulations of 1997
  
  
• No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
• Rehabilitation Act of 1973
  The Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by federal agencies, in programs receiving federal financial assistance, in federal employment, and in the employment practices of federal contractors. The standards for determining employment discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act are the same as those used in Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1998 (2001)
  This law applies to all federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use such technology. Federal agencies must ensure that this technology is accessible to employees and members of the public with disabilities to the extent it does not pose an "undue burden." The law directs the U.S. Access Board to develop access standards to become part of the federal government's procurement regulations. On August 7, 1998, the Workforce Investment Act included reauthorization of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
• Telecommunications Act of 1996
  The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is the first major overhaul of telecommunications law in almost 62 years. The goal of this new law is to let anyone enter any communications business and compete in any market against any other. It will affect telephone service—local and long distance, cable programming and other video services, broadcast services, and services provided to schools.
  
  • Text Version
    
  • PDF Version
    
  • Summary of the law
  
  
• Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act
  Access to telecommunications service, telecommunications equipment, and customer premises equipment by persons with disabilities.
• Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990
  Section 3 states that new televisions with at least a 13-inch screen must have the built-in capacity to display captioned TV transmissions. Section 4 states that imported televisions with at least a 13-inch screen must have caption decoding capacity.
• Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS)
  This U.S. Access Board document presents uniform standards for the design, construction and alteration of buildings so that persons with disabilities will have ready access to and use of them in accordance with the Architectural Barriers Act, 42 U.S.C. 4151-4157. The document embodies an agreement to minimize the differences between the standards previously used by four agencies (the General Services Administration, the departments of Housing and Urban Development and Defense, and the United States Postal Service) that are authorized to issue standards under the Architectural Barriers Act, and between those standards and the access standards recommended for facilities that are not federally funded or constructed.
• Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998
  On August 7, 1998, President Clinton signed into law the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). The purpose of WIA is to create a national workforce preparation and employment system that meets the needs of job seekers and those seeking to advance their careers, as well as the employment needs of the nation's employers. The goal is to create an integrated workforce investment system that improves the quality of the U.S. workforce, sustains economic growth and productivity, and reduces dependency on welfare.
  • Summary of law
  • Full Text of law
    • Text version
    • PDF version
  
  
• Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (TWWIIA)
  The provisions of this law (P.L. 106-170) are to increase beneficiary choice in obtaining rehabilitation and vocational services, remove barriers that require people with disabilities to choose between health care coverage and work, and assure that more Americans with disabilities have the opportunity to participate in the workforce and lessen their dependence on public benefits. On December 28, 2001, the Social Security Administration (SSA) published final regulations implementing the "Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program" (the Ticket to Work program) authorized by the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999. The Ticket to Work program provides Social Security disability beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries with disabilities with expanded access to employment services, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services.
  • Fact Sheet
  • Summary
  • Final Regulations
  • Fulltext of Law
    
    • Text Version
    • PDF Version

Congressional Hearings

• Assistive Technology Act, House Subcommittee on 21^st Century Competitiveness Oversight Hearing (March 21, 2002)
• ADA and the Internet, House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution Oversight Hearing (February 9, 1999)

Judicial

• Supreme Court Rulings
  • Olmstead v. L. C. (1999)
    Issued in July 1999, this decision clearly challenges federal, state, and local governments to develop more opportunities for individuals with disabilities through more accessible systems of cost-effective community-based services. The Olmstead decision interpreted Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its implementing regulation, requiring States to administer their services, programs, and activities "in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with disabilities."

Executive

• Office of the President
  • A New Era: Revitalizing Special Education for Children and their Families (July 2002)
    Word version       PDF version
    President Bush charged an appointed President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education (PCESE) to study issues related to federal, state, and local special education programs in order to improve the educational performance of students with disabilities. The Commission held 13 open hearings and meetings across the country. At those meetings and hearings, the members heard from 109 expert witnesses and more than 175 parents, teachers, students with disabilities, and members of the public. Hundreds of other individuals provided the Commission with letters, written statements, and research. The Commission's effort represents the most expansive review of special education in the 27-year history of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Commission submitted this report to The White House on July 1 as required by the Executive Order.
  • New Freedom Initiative
    The "New Freedom Initiative" is composed of the following key components: (1) increasing access to assistive and universally designed technologies, (2) expanding educational opportunities for Americans with disabilities, (3) integrating Americans with disabilities into the workforce, and (4) promoting full access to community life.
• Executive Orders
  • Community-Based Alternatives for Individuals with Disabilities (Executive Order 13217), June 18, 2001
    As part of his New Freedom Initiative, President George W. Bush’s Order calls upon the federal government to assist states and localities to swiftly implement the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Olmstead v. L. C.

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