Visit the Child Care Law Center (www.childcarelaw.org) for valuable information about how the Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws apply to child care and recreation programs
Click HereLegislation that Supports Inclusion
The following list provides a brief description of the U.S. federal laws that affect the way programs for youth, particularly those programs that receive federal support, should be designed and implemented. Leaders of youth programs of all kinds should become familiar with these laws as they will help you make a legal case for inclusion of youth with disabilities within all of your organization’s programs.
1964 -- Civil Rights Act, although broad in its definition of protected classes (i.e., prohibiteddiscrimination on the basis of race, religion, and national origin), didnot protect people with disabilities. Disability would not be linked tothe mainstream of civil rights law that flowed from the Civil Rights Actof 1964 until Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was enacted.
1968 -- The Architectural Barriers Act requires all buildings constructed, altered, or financed by the federal government after 1969 to be accessible and usable by persons with physical disabilities.
1973 -- The Rehabilitation Act is most widely known for Section 504, which prohibits discriminationagainst otherwise qualified persons with disabilities in any program oractivity receiving federal funds and in executive agencies and the U.S.postal service. The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 are includedin title IV of The Workforce Investment Act of 1998. The Workforce InvestmentAct also includes a newly revised Section 508, which imposes strictrequirements for any electronic and information technology developed,maintained, procured, or used by federal agencies.
1975 -- Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142) was the first federal mandate to guarantee a free, appropriate public education to each child with a disability in every state and locality across the country. The four purposes of the law articulated a compelling national mission to improve access to education for children with disabilities. Changes implicit in the law included efforts to improve how children with disabilities were identified and educated, to evaluate the success of these efforts, and to provide due process protections for children and families. In addition, the law authorized financial incentives to enable states and localities to comply with Public Law 94-142. (This landmark law is currently enacted as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended in 1997.)
1988 -- The CivilRights Restoration Act amends the Rehabilitation Act's definitionof an individual with a disability and defines coverage of Section 504as broad (e.g., extending to an entire university) rather than narrow(e.g., extending to just one department of the university) whenfederal funds are involved.
1990 -- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the broadest piece of civil rights legislation ever passed, and that at the time it was passed there were 46 million Americans with disabilities and today there are well over 50 million. It guarantees the civil rights of people with disabilities by prohibiting the discrimination against anyone who has a mental or physical disability in the area of employment, public services, transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunications.
1990 -- Individuals withDisabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the renamed PL 94-142 andreauthorize programs under the Education of the Handicapped Act toimprove support services to students with disabilities, especiallyin the areas of transition (to adult life beyond high school) andassistive technology. Nearly 6 million children and youth receivespecial education and related services to meet their individualneeds. Other accomplishments directly attributable to IDEA includeeducating more children in their neighborhood schools, rather thanin separate schools and institutions, and contributing toimprovements in the rate of high school graduation, post-secondaryschool enrollment, and post-school employment for youth withdisabilities who have benefited from IDEA. IDEA has also supportedthe preparation of students for vocational success through new andimproved transition programs.
1994 -- Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act reauthorized the 1988 "Tech Act," which was established to develop consumer-driven, statewide service delivery systems that increase access to assistive technology devices and services to individuals of all ages with disabilities. The 1994 amendments emphasize advocacy, systems changes activities, and consumer involvement. The Assistive Technology Act of 1998 was passed reaffirming that technology remains a valuable tool to improve the lives of Americans with disabilities. It also affirms the federal role of promoting access to assistive technology devices and services for individuals with disabilities. The purpose of the law is to support capacity building and advocacy activities designed to assist states in maintaining permanent, comprehensive statewide programs of technology-related assistance.
1997 -- Amendments to IDEA articulatechanges to the 1990 law that fall into several areas that arecritically important to the special education process. These include:participation of children and youth with disabilities in State anddistrict-wide assessment (testing) programs; the way in whichevaluations are conducted; parent participation in eligibility andplacement decisions; development and review of the IndividualizedEducation Program (IEP), including increased emphasis uponparticipation of children and youth with disabilities in thegeneral education classroom and in the general curriculum, withappropriate aids and services; the addition of transition planningfor students from high school to adult living; voluntary mediationas a means of resolving parent-school controversies; anddiscipline of children with disabilities.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (P.L.108-446) amends the 1997 law. The new law preserves the basic structure and civil rights guarantees of IDEA but also makes significant changes to the law. See a summary of changes published the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities.
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Visit the Child Care Law Center (www.childcarelaw.org) for valuable information about how the Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws apply to child care and recreation programs.