Disability Timeline Laws & Policies



Disability Timeline Laws & Policies

|1700 |Massachusetts colonial government bars immigration of "lame, impotent, or infirm persons, or those incapable of supporting |L&P PHY USA | |

| |themselves." | | |

|1776 |Pensions for disabled soldiers promised by Continental Congress to encourage military enlistment during Revolutionary War. Disabled |L&P PHY USA VET | |

| |veterans provided medical care by state governments and local communities. | | |

|1837 |Massachusetts requires examination of all alien passengers by port officials and exclusion of "any lunatic, idiot, maimed, aged, or |DD L&P PHY PSY USA | |

| |infirm person, incompetent in the opinion of the officer so examining, to maintain themselves." Responding to legal challenge in State| | |

| |Supreme Court, Boston's city attorney argues: "It is as much our duty to provide against the moral pestilence of pauperism as against | | |

| |infection." He claims danger must be blocked before such aliens land, while they are still on shipboard, where "we can put our hands | | |

| |upon the lunatics, idiots, aged and infirm paupers, etc." | | |

|1845 |Baltimore, Maryland, health officer, testifying on immigration before U.S. Senate committee, reports that for years he pleaded with |BLI L&P PHY USA | |

| |local authorities to stop entry of "the halt, the lame, and the blind." | | |

|1855 |Immigration agents in Germany are allegedly advising "immigrants who are deformed, crippled, or maimed, etc., against taking passage |L&P PHY USA | |

| |to New York, and advised them to go by way of Baltimore, New Orleans, or Quebec, where the laws prohibiting the landing of immigrants | | |

| |of the above cases do not apply," according to U.S. State Department report. | | |

|1864 |Union Army Disability Pension payments granted to 36,000 disabled veterans. |L&P PHY USA VET | |

|1872 |Chinese immigrants with disabilities restricted from entering U.S. under California statute requiring $1000 bond for each non-citizen |ASIA BLI DD DF L&P | |

| |"lunatic, idiot, deaf, dumb, blind, crippled, or infirm person, not members of families, seeking to enter the nation in California." |PHY USA | |

|1882 |Exclusion of "lunatics and idiots" added to U.S. immigration law. |L&P PSY USA | |

|1886 |Artificial limbs for Confederate veterans account for one-fifth of expenditures by State of Mississippi. |AMP L&P MED PHY USA | |

| | |VET | |

|1890 |Worker's Compensation programs advocated by Progressive reformers. By 1913, some such programs established in 21 U.S. states; by 1919,|L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |43 states. (1890s-1920s) | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1896 |Eugenic marriage law adopted by State of Connecticut, first such state legislation. |BIO EUG L&P USA | |

|1898 |Eugenic sterilization bill introduced Michigan state legislature, to authorize castration of all inmates of Michigan Home for the |BIO DD EUG L&P INST | |

| |Feeble Minded and Epileptic and felons convicted of third offense. |USA | |

|1900 |Marriage prohibited for alcoholics, "the insane," and people with tuberculosis by State of North Dakota. |BIO EUG L&P PHY PSY | |

| | |USA | |

|1900 |Union Army Disability Pension payments have been issued to 741,000 veterans. |L&P PHY USA VET | |

|1901 |National Fraternal Society of the Deaf founded by graduates of Michigan School for the Deaf. As only fraternal life insurance company |ACT DF L&P ORG USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |run by Deaf people, advocates during first half of 20th century for Deaf people's rights to buy insurance and get driver's licenses. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1901 |Pennsylvania sterilization law passed by legislature, but vetoed by governor. Nonetheless, Superintendent Martin Barr continues to |BIO DD EUG L&P INST | |

| |sterilize inmates of Elwyn. |USA | |

|1903 |Immigrants with epilepsy barred from United States by U.S. Congress. |EPI L&P USA | |

|1907 |Indiana compulsory sterilization law, first state law mandating sterilization of "idiots," "imbeciles," convicted criminals, and |BIO EUG INST L&P USA| |

| |rapists. Over next decade, fifteen states adopt similar laws. Over next two decades, twenty one states implement eugenic sterilization| | |

| |statutes. Some 8,500 individuals will be sterilized, 465 in Indiana State Reformatory. | | |

|1910 |Workmen's Compensation laws adopted by forty-two states. (1910-1920) |L&P PHY USA | |

|1911 |Federal commission established by Congress to investigate worker compensation and employer liability. |EMP L&P PHY USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| | | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1911 |Sterilization of certain types of "feeble-minded" adults mandated by New Jersey state legislature. |BIO DD EUG L&P USA | |

|1912 |Mental examinations of immigrants advocated before Congress by Salmon, a leader of National Committee on Mental Hygiene. |L&P PSY USA | |

|1913 |Sterilization of "mental defectives" authorized by Wisconsin State Legislature. |BIO DD EUG L&P USA | |

|1917 |Smith-Hughes Vocational Education Act adopted by U.S. Congress. |EMP L&P PHY REH USA | |

|1918 |New York State sterilization law declared unconstitutional. |BIO DD EUG L&P USA | |

|1918 |Smith-Sear Veterans Vocational Rehabilitation Act authorizes Federal Board for Vocational Education to rehabilitate disabled World War|EMP L&P PHY REH USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |I veterans. Precedes civilian vocational rehabilitation and offers more generous provisions. Spending almost $650 million, | |to the Disability Rights |

| |rehabilitates only about 10% of 329,000 veterans it enrolls. | |Movement. |

|1919 |Worker's compensation in 41 U.S. states, providing some income assistance and rehabilitation for injured workers. |EMP L&P USA | |

|1920 |Fess-Smith Civilian Vocational Rehabilitation Act passed by Congress, providing federal funding for state vocational rehabilitation |EMP L&P PHY REH USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |programs for disabled civilians. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1921 |Emergency Quota Act restricting immigration passes U.S. Congress. |L&P USA | |

|1921 |U.S. Veteran's Bureau established. |L&P PHY USA VET | |

|1922 |Veteran's Bureau opens first hospitals. |INST L&P MED PHY REH| |

| | |USA VET | |

|1924 |Virginia legislature passes sterilization law authorizing sterilization, without their consent, of individuals identified as having |BIO EUG L&P USA | |

| |mental disabilities or epilepsy. | | |

|1927 |Indiana legislature adopts a second sterilization law. |BIO EUG L&P USA | |

|1931 |Sterilization statues have been enacted in 27 U.S. states. |BIO EUG L&P USA | |

|1935 |League of the Physically Handicapped founded in New York City to oppose hiring discrimination under the Works Progress Administration,|ACT EMP L&P ORG PHY |Paul K. Longmore and David|

| |a federal work-relief program. Through protest demonstrations in Manhattan and Washington, D.C., it eventually generates 1500 jobs for|USA |Goldberger. “The League of|

| |physically handicapped workers in New York City. | |the Physically Handicapped|

| | | |and the Great Depression: |

| | | |A Case Study in the New |

| | | |Disability History.” |

| | | |Journal of American |

| | | |History 87:3 (December |

| | | |2000): 888-922, online at:|

| | | |. |

| | | | |

| | | |/journals/jah/87.3/ |

|1935 |Social Security Act, passed by U.S. Congress August 1935, includes provisions for federal financial assistance to state governments to|BLI L&P PHY REH USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |support Aid to the Blind and medical rehabilitation of physically disabled children. Also expands federal support of state vocational | |to the Disability Rights |

| |rehabilitation programs. | |Movement. |

|1936 |Randolph Sheppard Act passed by U.S. Congress, establishing federal program for blind vendors to operate stands in federal office |BLI EMP L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |building lobbies. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1938 |Sheltered workshops vastly increase in number following passage of Fair Labor Standards Act. Ostensibly job training and employment |BLI DD EMP INST L&P |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |programs for blind and visually disabled workers, sheltered workshops are actually authorized by this law to pay such workers |PHY REH USA |to the Disability Rights |

| |sub-minimum wages in substandard work environments. | |Movement. |

|1939 |Sterilizations of "feebleminded" in State of Virginia reaches 1,000. |BIO EUG INST L&P USA| |

|1939 |Social Security Act Amendments authorize federal financial aid to state vocational rehabilitation programs. |EMP L&P REH USA | |

|1943 |LaFollette-Barden Act (Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments), adds physical rehabilitation to vocational rehabilitation program |EMP L&P REH USA |Berkowitz, Disabled |

| |objectives and provides funding. Federal policies also perpetuated separate rehabilitation programs for civilians and veterans, | |Policy, 169-170. |

| |despite FDR’s efforts during World War II to introduce a unified system. | | |

|1945 |Consultant for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Speech Impaired, Boyce R. Williams, hired by federal Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. |DF L&P REH USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |For nearly four decades will plan and oversee educational and vocational programs for deaf Americans. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1945 |National Employ the Handicapped Week established as annual event by joint U.S. congressional resolution (Public Law 176) endorsed by |EMP L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |President Harry Truman. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1946 |Hill-Burton Hospital Survey and Construction Act, authorizes federal grants to states for hospital construction, including |INST L&P MED REH USA|Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |rehabilitation hospitals. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1947 |Sterilization policies in 27 U.S. states have resulted in compulsory sterilization of 6,212 Americans with disabilities. |BIO EUG L&P USA | |

|1950 |Barrier-free movement launched by disabled World War II veterans, other people with disabilities, and disability advocates. Over the |ACT L&P PHY USA VET | |

| |next two decades, this campaign, working with the National Easter Seals Society, the President’s Committee on Employment of the | | |

| |Handicapped, the Veterans Administration, and other entities, fashions national standards for “barrier-free” buildings and promotes | | |

| |their implementation in federal and state laws. | | |

|1950 |Social Security Amendments of 1950 authorizes funding for state programs of Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled (APTD). |L&P USA |Berkowitz, Disabled |

| |Provided financial assistance to impoverished people with disabilities under strict eligibility criteria. Congress, Social Security | |Policy, 70. |

| |administrators, and advocates favored this welfare program rather than a comprehensive disability and health insurance law. Departing | | |

| |from the original effort to create a complete federal social insurance program, they now adopted an incremental approach. | | |

|1952 |Presidents’ Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped, the renamed President’s Committee on National Employ the Physically|EMP L&P ORG PHY USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |Handicapped Week, made a permanent body reporting to U. S. President and Congress. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1953 |In-Home Support Services program established in Los Angeles County, California, to provide personal assistance services to adults with|IL L&P PHY USA | |

| |post-polio disabilities as an alternative to permanent costly institutionalization. | | |

|1954 |Social Security Act Amendments (P. L. 83-761) adopted by U. S. Congress. Includes provision to “freeze” retirement benefits at their |L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |pre-disability level of workers compelled by disability to leave the work force. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1954 |Vocational Rehabilitation Amendments adopted by U. S. Congress initiating new types of federal grants to establish professional |EMP L&P REH USA |Berkowitz, Disabled |

| |training programs in universities and subsidize research on rehabilitation methods, and enable counselors to attend the new programs | |Policy, 171-172. |

| |at public expense. As early as FY 1955, the program created more than 1,000 traineeships. By 1965, some forty colleges and | | |

| |universities offered graduate degrees in rehabilitation counseling; by 1980, the number approached one hundred. In time, a master’s | | |

| |degree in rehabilitation counseling became a prerequisite for entering the profession. The 1954 federally financed program raised | | |

| |rehabilitation counseling to a profession. | | |

|1956 |Social Security Amendments of 1956 establish Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Workers’ compensation, limited to |L&P USA |Berkowitz, Disabled |

| |disabilities resulting from workplace accidents and injuries, left a large gap in public provision for workers acquiring disabilities.| |Policy, 41, 79, 80. |

| |SSDI partly filled that gap by offering uniform national coverage for total disabilities, regardless of their origins. But it defined | | |

| |“disability” narrowly, paying benefits only to those who could demonstrate a complete incapacity to hold any job anywhere in the | | |

| |national economy because of a permanent physical or mental condition. Although initially proposed as a federal program, SSDI allowed | | |

| |state government agencies to make the initial determinations of eligibility. Although originally proposed as a program to cover adults| | |

| |of all ages, as adopted it covered only those fifty years of age or older. As a result, SSDI became closely associated with the | | |

| |retirement of older workers. | | |

|1958 |Social Security Amendments of 1958. U.S. Congress extends Social Security Disability Insurance benefits to dependents of workers with |L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |disabilities | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1960 |In-Home Support Services: California program pays up to $300 a month for personal-assistance services for recipients of federal Aid to|IL L&P PHY USA | |

| |the Totally Disabled. By enabling individuals with major physical disabilities to live in their own homes, it becomes a foundational | | |

| |component of the independent living movement. | | |

|1960 |Open Captioning for the Deaf pioneered by Pilgrim Imaging under the Captioned Films for the Deaf Program of the U. S. Department of |ACC DF L&P TECH USA |acob, “History of |

| |Health, Education, and Welfare. | |Technology Advances |

| | | |Inspired by Disability.” |

|1960 |Social Security Amendments of 1960. U.S. Congress removes provision limiting Social Security Disability Insurance benefits to workers |L&P USA |[Finger], “International |

| |over age 50. Makes SSDI available to workers who acquire disabilities at younger age. | |Independent Living |

| | | |Timeline.” |

|1960 |Deinstitutionalization campaign for people with developmental disabilities begins. Seeks to move individuals from large institutions |ACT DD INST L&P USA | |

| |the small group homes with community-based services. But such services never receive full or adequate funding. (1960s) | | |

|1961 |President’s Panel on Mental Retardation appointed by President John F. Kennedy to look into the situation of Americans with cognitive |DD L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |developmental disabilities and propose reforms in policies and programs affecting them. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1962 |President’s Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped renamed President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped to |DD EMP L&P PHY PSY |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |indicate its broadening attention to employment issues concerning people with cognitive and emotional disabilities. |USA |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1963 |Deinstitutionalization and community services for people with mental disabilities. President John F. Kennedy calls on Congress for |DD EDU L&P PSY REH |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |legislation to reduce, “over a number of years and by hundreds of thousands, [the number] of persons confined” to custodial |USA |to the Disability Rights |

| |institutions. He proposes the creation of ways “to retain in and return to the community the mentally ill and mentally retarded, and | |Movement. |

| |there to restore and revitalize their lives through better health programs and strengthened educational and rehabilitation services.” | | |

|1963 |Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Health Centers Construction Act passed by U. S. Congress to provide federal grants for |DD L&P PSY REH USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |building both public and private nonprofit community mental health centers. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1963 |South Carolina architectural access code: first statewide architectural access law. |ACC L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| | | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1965 |Immigration restrictions on “feeble-minded”: U.S. Congress reverses immigration policies restricting admission of families with |DD L&P USA | |

| |“feeble-minded” members. | | |

|1965 |Medicare and Medicaid programs established by Social Security Amendments of 1965. Creates federally funded health insurance for |L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |retirees and recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance (Medicare) and Americans who are poor and/or disabled (Medicaid). | |to the Disability Rights |

| |Amendments also revise SSDI definition of “disability” from “of long continued and indefinite duration” to “expected to last for not | |Movement. |

| |less than 12 months.” | | |

|1965 |Vocational Rehabilitation Amendments of 1965: Establish National Commission on Architectural Barriers to Rehabilitation of the |ACT DF L&P REH USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |Handicapped. Authorize sign language interpreters for Deaf vocational rehabilitation clients. Expand existing vocational | |to the Disability Rights |

| |rehabilitation programs. Support construction of rehabilitation centers. | |Movement. |

|1966 |President’s Committee on Mental Retardation established by President Lyndon B. Johnson. |DD L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| | | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1968 |Access to Public Buildings by Physically Handicapped Persons (California Government Code 4450-4456) mandates that all buildings, |ACC BLI L&P PHY USA | |

| |sidewalks, and other structures constructed with state, county, or municipal funds be accessible. Meanwhile, Non-Discrimination | | |

| |Against Blind (California Civil Code 54-55.1) establishes that blind, partially-sighted, and other disabled persons have right of | | |

| |equal access to streets, highways, sidewalks, public buildings, housing and rentals, and public facilities. | | |

|1968 |Architectural Barriers Act (P.L. 90-480) adopted by U. S. Congress on August 12. Requires that most buildings and facilities designed,|ACC L&P REH USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |built, altered, or leased with federal funds be accessible to people with disabilities. Justified as promoting vocational | |to the Disability Rights |

| |rehabilitation because architectural barriers are considered the greatest obstacle to employment. But this  act will come to be | |Movement. |

| |regarded as the first federal law mandating disability rights. | | |

|1968 |Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART): in authorizing construction, California legislature provides that it will be the first rapid transit |ACC L&P PHY USA | |

| |system in U.S. accessible to a wheelchair riders. | | |

|1970 |Developmental Disabilities Services and Facilities Construction Amendments adopted by U. S. Congress. Establish first legal definition|DD L&P REH USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |of developmental disabilities. Authorize grants for services and facilities to rehabilitate people with developmental disabilities. | |to the Disability Rights |

| |Authorized creation of state “Developmental Disabilities Councils.” | |Movement. |

|1970 |Urban Mass Transportation Act. U.S. Congress establishes older and handicapped Americans’ right of equal access to mass public |ACC L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |transportation systems and requires that design, construction, and operation of those facilities and services include special efforts | |to the Disability Rights |

| |to guarantee availability and accessibility. But because the law has no enforcement mechanism, it has little effect. | |Movement. |

|1971 |Berkeley, California, curb ramp program: Local disability rights activists write and lobby for curb cuts at city intersections. Plan |ACC ACT L&P PHY USA | |

| |requires “off-center” curb cuts so as not to create hazards for blind pedestrians. Municipal Public Works Department objects to | | |

| |proposal, but City Council adopts it, appropriating $30,000 annual budget. | | |

|1971 |Fair Labor Standard Act of 1938 amended to place people with disabilities other than blindness in sheltered workshops. As a result, |BLI DD EMP L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |the sheltered workshop system absorbs large numbers of people with cognitive and developmental disabilities and vastly expands. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1971 |National Center for Law and the Handicapped established at University of Notre Dame. First legal advocacy center for people with |ACT L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |disabilities in U. S. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1971 |Rapid Transit: California state law requires accessibility in all rapid transit equipment and facilities. |ACC L&P USA | |

|1971 |Wyatt v. Stickney: U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama outlaws “warehousing” people with disabilities in |ACT CRT DD INST L&P |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |institutions without rehabilitation or education. Rules that they have a constitutional right “to receive such individual treatment as|USA |to the Disability Rights |

| |(would) give them a realistic opportunity to be cured or to improve his or her mental condition.” Decision is important victory of | |Movement. |

| |deinstitutionalization movement. | | |

|1972 |Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law established in Washington, D.C. Provides legal advocacy to protect the rights of |ACT L&P ORG PSY USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |people with psychological disabilities. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1972 |Legal Action Center established to provide legal representation to people with alcohol or drug-related disabilities. Later provides |ACT AIDS L&P ORG PSY|Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |advocacy for people with HIV/AIDS. Operates in New York City and Washington, D.C. |USA |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1972 |Mills v. Board of Education: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia orders that District of Columbia may not bar children |CRT DD EDU L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |with disabilities from public schools. Rules that school boards have legal and constitutional duty to afford all children, whatever | |to the Disability Rights |

| |their form of disability, a free public education. | |Movement. |

|1972 |Pennsylvania Association of Retarded Children (PARC) v. State of Pennsylvania: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of |ACT CRT DD EDU L&P | |

| |Pennsylvania declares unconstitutional various state laws barring children with disabilities from public schools. Decision prompts |USA | |

| |activists to file many other right-to-education lawsuits. During 1970s they will look to the courts to advance disability rights. | | |

| |Advocates refer to this ruling during the congressional congressional hearings regarding Education for All Handicapped Children Act of| | |

| |1975. | | |

|1972 |President Nixon’s veto of Rehabilitation Act protested: activists attending annual meeting of President’s Committee for Employment of |ACT L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |the Handicapped demonstrate against veto. Demonastration organizers include leaders of Disabled in Action, National Paraplegia | |to the Disability Rights |

| |Foundation, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and other advocacy groups. | |Movement. |

|1972 |Social Security Amendments of 1972 create Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. U.S. Congress consolidates existing federal |L&P USA |Berkowitz, Disabled |

| |programs for people with disabilities who do not qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance. Replaces federal-state social | |Policy, 85-86. |

| |welfare programs for elderly, blind adults, and “permanently and totally disabled” adults with federal program combining all three | | |

| |groups. State benefits varied widely; new program ensures recipients a minimum income. People with disabilities rapidly become bulk of| | |

| |caseload. | | |

|1972 |Virginia state government ends sterilization program. 8300 individuals will never be compensated for being sterilized. |BIO EUG L&P USA | |

|1972 |Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority sued to compel accessible design of new subway system: Paralyzed Veterans of America, |ACC ACT L&P PHY USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |National Paraplegia Foundation, and Richard Heddinger file suit demanding incorporation of accessibility features in planning of new, | |to the Disability Rights |

| |multibillion-dollar subway system in Washington, D.C. Landmark court ruling in their favor important victory in campaign for | |Movement. |

| |accessible public mass transit. | | |

|1972 |Willowbrook State School: Parents of inmates in Staten Island, New York, institution sue New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller (New |ACT CRT DD INST L&P | |

| |York ARC v. Rockefeller) to correct abusive conditions. TV exposé by reporter Geraldo Rivera provokes public outcry. Press coverage, |USA | |

| |parent advocacy, and the lawsuit eventually result in transfer of large numbers of people with developmental disabilities from | | |

| |Willowbrook into community-based living arrangements. | | |

|1973 |Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board created by U.S. Congress in passing Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to oversee |ACC L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |enforcement of Architectural Barriers Act of 1968. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1973 |Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities organized. Will lobby for proposed legislation that will become Developmentally Disabled |ACT DD L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 1975 and Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1973 |Fair Employment Practices Act, California state law prohibiting job discrimination in both public and private sectors, amended to |EMP L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |cover persons with physical disabilities. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1973 |Federal-Aid Highway Act (P. L. 93-87) requires that federally funded mass transportation systems include accessibility features |ACC L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |accommodating elderly and handicapped passengers. Also authorizes federal funds to pay for curb cuts. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1973 |Handicapped parking stickers introduced in Washington, D.C. |ACC L&P PHY USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| | | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1973 |In-Home Support Services: Berkeley CIL lobbies not just to save but to expand personal-assistance services program. As result, IHSS |ACT IL L&P PHY USA | |

| |monthly payments increased to $450. CIL also campaigns successfully for state supplement to new federal Supplemental Security Income | | |

| |program. | | |

|1973 |Protest against President Nixon’s veto of Rehabilitation Act of 1973: On May 4 in Washington, D.C., demonstration organized by |ACT L&P USA | |

| |Disabled in Action of New York includes all-night candlelight vigil at Lincoln Memorial and other demonstrations involving hundreds of| | |

| |people with disabilities. | | |

|1973 |Vocational Rehabilitation Act: After President Nixon twice vetoed bills to reauthorize the federally supported, state-run vocational |ACT L&P REH USA |Berkowitz, Disabled |

| |rehabilitation system, Congress overrides his objections, passing the act on September 26. It establishes several important | |Policy, 178-180. |

| |innovations: (1) while maintaining the traditional emphasis on vocational rehabilitation of people with physical disabilities, it | | |

| |gives priority to those with “severe handicaps.” But it leaves the definition of that concept vague. In general, it refers to a | | |

| |disability so significant that it substantially limits an individual’s capacity to function within his or her family and community. | | |

| |Rather than providing a clear definition of “severe handicap,” the act relies on numerous specific examples, including blindness, | | |

| |cancer, deafness, mental retardation, and paraplegia. (2) The act also authorizes Client-Assistance Programs, ombudsmen within but | | |

| |independent of state rehabilitation agencies to safeguard consumers’ rights. In 1984 Congress will make these programs a requirement | | |

| |for federal funding. Disability rights advocacy groups, particularly those for clients with mental disabilities, play an important | | |

| |role in staffing client-assistance projects. (3) Title V, Section 501, mandates affirmative action in federal hiring handicapped | | |

| |persons. This section is never enforced. (4) Section 502 establishes the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. | | |

| |(5) Section 503 obligates private contractors or subcontractors receiving $2500 or more in federal funds to develop affirmative action| | |

| |plans regarding employment of people with disabilities. This provision is never enforced. (6) Section 504 prohibits discrimination | | |

| |against “otherwise qualified” handicapped individuals in federally-funded programs. It is the first legal measure barring | | |

| |discrimination against people with disabilities. The U.S. Department Of Health, Education and Welfare’s Office of Civil Rights, rather| | |

| |than its vocational rehabilitation division, is tasked with drafting the implementing regulations. This ensures that 504 will be | | |

| |promulgated as a civil rights law rather than an element of vocational rehabilitation. It also generates a new definition of | | |

| |“handicap.” Whereas the vocational rehabilitation program emphasizes employability, the 504 regulations define a handicapped person as| | |

| |an individual who has a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activities, an individual who has a record of| | |

| |such an impairment, or who is regarded as having such an impairment. The regulations and subsequent litigation give rise to a | | |

| |disability rights concepts such as “reasonable accommodation,” “reasonable modification,” and “undue burden.” These terms and concepts| | |

| |will be incorporated into the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Drafting of the 504 regulations drags on for four years. It | | |

| |becomes a focal issue and organizing tool for disability rights activism, for the first time uniting a range of disability | | |

| |constituencies and organizations in a cross-disability political alliance through the American Coalition of Citizens with | | |

| |Disabilities. | | |

|1974 |American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD), first national cross-disability political alliance. Organized by 150 |ACT L&P USA | |

| |participants at annual meeting of the President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. Will focus on promulgation of | | |

| |regulations implementing Section 504. | | |

|1974 |First Client Assistant Project (CAPs) established to advocate for state vocational rehabilitation agencies’ clients. |ACT L&P REH USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| | | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1974 |Housing and Community Development Act, Section 8: Housing and Rental Assistance Program authorizes federal financial aid to retrofit |ACT L&P USA | |

| |buildings for access and construct new accessible housing. | | |

|1975 |Blue Curb Law: California Vehicle Code amendment authorizes parking spaces marked for people with disabilities. |ACC L&P PHY USA | |

|1975 |Developmentally Disabled Assistance and Bill of Rights Act adopted by U. S. Congress. Authorizes federal funding of programs serving |ACC L&P PHY USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |people with developmental disabilities. Sets forth the rights of developmentally disabled persons in institutions, but these | |to the Disability Rights |

| |provisions prove useless because of the failure to including in the law an enforcement mechanism and due to later court rulings. | |Movement. |

|1975 |Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Pub. Law 94-142) adopted by U. S. Congress. Later renamed Individuals with Disabilities |EDU L&P USA |Full-text of the law at |

| |Education Act (IDEA). For first time, ensures right of children with disabilities to receive public school education in settings as | |

| |integrated as possible (the “least restrictive environment”) and mandates for each such child an “individualized educational program.”| |ce/specialaw.html. For |

| | | |other sources related to |

| | | |education of children with|

| | | |disabilities go |

| | | |to:

| | | |y/speced/guid/idea/idea200|

| | | |4.html. |

|1975 |Head Start program, preschool program for disadvantaged youngsters, established by U.S. Congress through Community Services Act.. |EDU L&P USA | |

| |Requires that at least 10% of those children have disabilities. | | |

|1975 |National Center for Law and the Deaf founded in Washington, DC. |ACT DF L&P USA | |

|1975 |First National Conference on Independent Living convenes in October in Berkeley, California, co-sponsored by Berkeley Center for |IL L&P ORG REH USA | |

| |Independent Living and federal Rehabilitation Services Administration. | | |

|1975 |Edward Roberts appointed Director of California Department of Rehabilitation. He oversees an establishment of nine independent living |IL L&P ORG PHY USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |centers in that state, patterned after the Center for Independent Living he co-founded in Berkeley in 1972. These centers become | |to the Disability Rights |

| |models for hundreds of independent living centers across the globe. | |Movement. |

|1975 |Western Center on Law and the Handicapped established in Los Angeles. Later renamed Western Center on Law and the Disability Rights. |ACT L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| | | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1976 |Architectural Barriers Act of 1976 (P. L. 94-541) mandates that buildings constructed with federal money include access features in |ACC L&P USA | |

| |their original design. | | |

|1976 |Disability Rights Center established in Washington, D.C. Supported by Ralph Nader’s Center for the Study of Responsive Law, it focuses|ACT L&P TECH USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |on protecting people with disabilities as consumers. For instance, the collaborates with the U. S. Department of Justice in anti-trust| |to the Disability Rights |

| |action against the dominant U. S. wheelchair manufacturer, Everest & Jennings. | |Movement. |

|1976 |Higher Education Act of 1972 Amendment adopted by U. S. Congress authorizes academic support services to university and college |EDU L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |students with disabilities. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1976 |Independent living centers in California established through funding by Departed Rehabilitation, Innovation and Expansion Grant |IL L&P USA | |

| |Program. | | |

|1976 |Section 504 of 1973 Rehabilitation Act: Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter pledges to sign implementing regulations that |ACT L&P USA | |

| |still await promulgation despite extensive review by federal agencies and years of advocacy by disability rights activists. | | |

|1976 |Westside Center for Independent Living established in Los Angeles. One of first nine California centers set up by state Department of |ACT IL L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |Rehabilitation under Ed Roberts. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1977 |Independent living: |IL L&P USA |[Finger], “International |

| |52 independent living centers operating in United States. | |Independent Living |

| |Office of Independent Living set up in U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. | |Timeline.” |

| |Second National Conference on Independent Living convenes in Houston. | | |

|1977 |Legal Services Corporation Act Amendments adopted by U. S. Congress make a low income individuals with disabilities eligible for |L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |publicly funded legal services. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1977 |Section 504 sit-ins and promulgation: Despite candidate Jimmy Carter’s promise to implement 504 forthwith, in January administration |ACT L&P USA | |

| |officials begin review of draft regulations without consulting disability rights organizations, apparently aiming to revise and weaken| | |

| |them. Activists demand that HEW Secretary Joseph Califano sign regulations unchanged. When Califano ignores their deadline, on April 5| | |

| |protesters occupy national and regional HEW offices in ten cities in coordinated cross-disability effort. Demonstrators in Denver are | | |

| |arrested, but cannot be jailed because facilities are inaccessible. In most cities protests end next day, but in San Francisco | | |

| |occupation, which initially includes 150 demonstrators, holds on until May 2, becoming longest sit-in at a federal building in U. S. | | |

| |history. Califano signs implementing regulations April 28. HEW issues them May 4. Section 504 rules define “handicap,” discriminatory | | |

| |policies and practices, and reasonable accommodations, thereby becoming enforceable civil rights law. | | |

|1977 |Transbus design: U. S. Department of Transportation issues policy that all new federally funded public buses must follow the Transbus |ACC L&P PHY USA | |

| |design in order to provide access to individuals who are older or physically disabled. | | |

|1977 |White House Conference on Handicapped Individuals: in May, 3,000 delegates representing every state review federal policies affecting |ACT L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |persons with disabilities. Fashion White House Action Plan. Call for agency to assess and coordinate federal disability policies and | |to the Disability Rights |

| |programs. Sparks grass-roots activism. | |Movement. |

|1978 |Independent living: Rehabilitation, Comprehensive Services and Developmental Disabilities Amendments of 1978 (P.L. 95-602), Title VII,|IL L&P USA |[Finger], “International |

| |authorizes first federal funding for independent living centers. Meanwhile, five regional conferences in various parts of U. S. | |Independent Living |

| |promote independent living philosophy and offer guidance for establishment of IL Centers. | |Timeline.” |

|1978 |National Council on the Handicapped, advisory body to review and recommend changes in created federal policies and programs affecting |L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |people with disabilities established by Rehabilitation, Comprehensive Services and Developmental Disabilities Amendments of 1978 (P.L.| |to the Disability Rights |

| |95-602), Title VII, in November. | |Movement. |

|1979 |Davis v. Southeastern Community College: U. S. Supreme Court’s first ruling regarding Section 504 of 1973 Rehabilitation Act upholds |CRT DF EDU L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |principle that programs receiving federal funds must make “reasonable modifications” to enable participation of otherwise qualified |WOM |to the Disability Rights |

| |handicapped persons but also significantly limits extent of such modifications. Rules that nursing school did not discriminate against| |Movement. |

| |Deaf woman’s application for admission because her hearing impairment disqualified her under the clinical training program’s physical | | |

| |requirements and 504 does not compel such programs to make substantial modifications. | | |

|1979 |Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), legal and legislative advocacy organization that will spearhead many efforts |ACT L&P ORG USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |including campaign for passage of Americans with Disabilities Act, founded in Berkeley, California. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1979 |Public Transportation: U. S. Department of Transportation issues Section 504 implementing regulations. Requires mainline public |ACC L&P USA | |

| |transportation systems to provide access for people with disabilities. | | |

|1980 |American Public Transit Authority (APTA) v. U. S. Department of Transportation: U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., upholds |ACC CRT L&P PHY USA | |

| |constitutionality of DOT’s Section 504 regulations. | | |

|1980 |Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act adopted by U. S. Congress. Authorizes U. S. Department of Justice to sue state |INST L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |governments and local authorities on behalf of institutionalized persons, including those in prisons and mental hospitals, whose | |to the Disability Rights |

| |constitutional rights are violated. | |Movement. |

|1980 |Social Security Act Amendments: U. S. Congress authorizes mandatory review of eligibility of Supplemental Security Income recipients, |L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |impoverished individuals with disabilities, on assumption that many do not truly qualify. This harsh policy will find little fraud but| |to the Disability Rights |

| |result in hundreds of thousands of terminations. Meanwhile, other amendments create the Act’s Section 1619 establishing pilot project | |Movement. |

| |to eliminate “work disincentives” and allow SS I recipients to earn money and retain at least some benefits. | | |

|1981 |Reagan Administration threatens Section 504 and Education for All Handicapped Children Act: Newly elected administration proposes |ACT EDU L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |amendments to Section 504 and education law or withdrawal of implementing regulations. Led by Patrisha Wright of the Disability Rights| |to the Disability Rights |

| |Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) and Evan Kemp, Jr., of the Disability Rights Center, disability rights activists launch grassroots | |Movement. |

| |lobbying campaign. Administration receives over 40,000 letters and postcards opposing its agenda. After three years, administration | | |

| |abandons plan. | | |

|1981 |Supplemental Security Income benefits terminated by Reagan administration, 1981-1984: Hundreds of thousands of disabled recipients |ACT L&P USA | |

| |removed from roles. Several commit suicide, though most are restored. Activists vigorously protest policies. | | |

|1982 |“Baby Doe” case: Doctors in Bloomington, Indiana, advise parents of newborn with blockage of esophagus to reject life-saving surgery |ACT BIO DD EUTH L&P |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |because infant has Down Syndrome. Activists try to intervene, but child starves to death. Disability rights and right to life |MED USA |to the Disability Rights |

| |advocates persuade Reagan Administration to issue regulations to protect disabled newborns from life-threatening medical | |Movement. |

| |discrimination. | | |

|1982 |Telecommunications for the Disabled Act passed by U. S. Congress. Requires telephone access for deaf and hard-of-hearing people in |ACC DF L&P TECH USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |important public locations, such as hospitals and police stations. Requires that by January 1985 all coin-operated public telephones | |to the Disability Rights |

| |be hearing aid-compatible. Requires that workplace and emergency telephones be hearing aid-compatible. Calls upon state governments to| |Movement. |

| |subsidize manufacture and distribution of TDDs (Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf, more commonly known as TTYs). | | |

|1983 |American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) protests inaccessible public transportation at American Public Transit |ACC ACT L&P PHY USA |. |

| |Association (APTA) convention in Denver in October. First national action of militant disability rights group founded at Atlantis | |back. |

| |Community in Denver. Campaign will use civil disobedience tactics to oppose APTA’s and many local public transit agencies’ resistance | |htm. |

| |to making a public transit systems accessible. Will continue for seven years until passage of Americans with Disabilities Act. | | |

|1983 |National Council on the Handicapped, National Policy for Persons with Disabilities, (August) calls on U. S. Congress to protect |ACT L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |Americans with disabilities from discrimination by including them in “the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other civil and voting rights | |to the Disability Rights |

| |legislation and regulations.” | |Movement. |

|1983 |Nelson v. Thornburgh: U. S. Supreme Court upholds principle of “reasonable accommodation” under Section 504. Pennsylvania Department |CRT L&P USA | |

| |of Public Welfare resisted providing and paying for optical readers or electronic devices for visually impaired Employees. Court holds| | |

| |that it fails to show costs would be “undue hardship.” | | |

|1983 |Task Force on Regulatory Relief: Chaired by Vice President George Bush, Reagan Administration intends it to reduce federal regulation |ACC ACT EDU L&P USA | |

| |of businesses, schools, and state and local governments. Aims to weaken implementing regulations for Section 504, Education for All | | |

| |Handicapped Children Act, and Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. But backs down in face of vigorous organized| | |

| |opposition from disability rights movement. Modifies regulations only affecting ATBCB. | | |

|1983 |World Institute on Disability established by Ed Roberts, Judy Heumann, and Joan Leon in Oakland, California. |ACT INT L&P PHY USA |[Finger], “International |

| | | |Independent Living |

| | | |Timeline”; Pelka, ABC-Clio|

| | | |Companion to the |

| | | |Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1984 |Baby Jane Doe case, like 1982 Bloomington Baby Doe case, involves disabled infant denied life-sustaining medical treatment because of |BIO CRT DD EUTH L&P |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |her disability. Leads to U. S. Supreme Court case Bowen v. American Hospital Association and passage by U. S. Congress of Child Abuse |MED PHY USA |to the Disability Rights |

| |Prevention and Treatment Act Amendments of 1984. | |Movement. |

|1984 |Consolidated Rail Corporation v. Darrone: Ruling for second time on Section 504, U. S. Supreme Court reverses its 1979 holding in |CRT EMP L&P USA | |

| |Davis v. Southeastern Community College. Orders that 504 bars employment discrimination and that lower courts must heed its | | |

| |implementing regulations. | | |

|1984 |Irving Independent School District v. Tatro: U. S. Supreme Court rules that Education for All Handicapped Children Act requires local |CRT EDU L&P PHY USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |school districts to have school nurse or nurse’s aide provide disabled student with intermittent catheterization. as a “related | |to the Disability Rights |

| |service.” Prohibits from denying education to disabled children because they may need such services. | |Movement. |

|1984 |Social Security Disability Reform Act adopted by U. S. Congress after hundreds of thousands of complaints about unjust termination of |ACT L&P USA |Berkowitz, Disabled |

| |disability benefits. Whereas 1980 reforms had aimed to remove people from the rolls, this act protects recipients’ rights. Limits | |Policy, 150. |

| |Social Security Administration to cutting off benefits only based on “the weight of the evidence” in a specific individual’s case. | | |

| |Requires continuance of benefits and health insurance coverage until terminated recipients exhaust their appeals. | | |

|1984 |Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act requires that federal election polling stations be physically accessible to |ACT L&P PHY USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |elderly and physically disabled voters. Also requires provision of large-print instructions and telecommunications devices for the | |to the Disability Rights |

| |Deaf. But activists discover that act’s enforcement provisions are very weak. | |Movement. |

|1985 |Mental Illness Bill of Rights Act adopted by U. S. Congress requires states to provide protection and advocacy services for people |L&P PSY USA | |

| |with psychiatric disabilities. | | |

|1986 |ADAPT activists demand U. S. Congress adopt Americans with Disabilities Act without weakening amendments. Demonstrate in Washington, |ACT L&P PHY USA | |

| |DC, March 10-16, with 75 crawling up the steps of U. S. Capitol to symbolize obstacles in Congress people with disabilities surmount. | | |

|1986 |Air Carrier Access Act adopted by U. S. Congress. Nullifies U. S. Supreme Court ruling this same year in U.S. Department of |ACC CRT L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |Transporation v. Paralyzed Veterans of America that commuter and commercial airlines not receiving federal funds were exempt from | |to the Disability Rights |

| |Section 504's nondiscrimination requirements. Law forbids airlines to reject passengers solely because they have disabilities. | |Movement. |

| |Requires all airlines to provide access for disabled passengers. Prohibits from charging disabled passengers higher fares than | | |

| |non-disabled. But weak enforcement provisions make this law largely ineffective. | | |

|1986 |Employment Opportunities for Disabled Americans Act passed by U. S. Congress. Makes SSI 1619 pilot project permanent. Seeks to |EMP L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |eliminate some work disincentives by permitting Supplemental Security Income recipients to stay eligible for some benefits, most | |to the Disability Rights |

| |important Medicaid coverage, while they earn income from employment. | |Movement. |

|1986 |National Council on the Handicapped, Toward Independence, report issued February 1 documents discrimination and recommends “a |ACT L&P PUB USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |comprehensive law requiring equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities [and] prohibiting discrimination on the basis of | |to the Disability Rights |

| |handicap.” Recommendation eventually leads to Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. | |Movement. |

|1986 |Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act passed by U. S. Congress. Created Protection and Advocacy Individuals with |ACT L&P PSY USA |. |

| |Mental Illness (PAIMI) program, agencies to protect civil rights of in-patients or residents of mental health facilities. | | |

| | | |pubs/503101. |

| | | |htm. |

|1986 |Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986 add supported employment as “legitimate rehabilitation outcome.” |DD L&P REH USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| | | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1987 |Chicago Board of Elections sued by Illinois disability-rights groups for violating federal Voting Rights for Elderly and Handicapped |ACC ACT L&P PHY USA | |

| |Act by continuing to use inaccessible polling places, November 10. | | |

|1987 |School Board of Nassau County, Fla. v. Airline: U. S. Supreme Court sets forth rights of people with contagious disease under |CRT L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title V. Rules they cannot be fired from jobs “because of prejudiced attitude or ignorance of others.” | |to the Disability Rights |

| |Major precedent not only for individuals with tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and other communicable diseases or disabilities, but for | |Movement. |

| |individuals with conditions such as cancer or epilepsy who experience discrimination because of prejudice and fear they may be | | |

| |contagious. | | |

|1988 |Americans with Disabilities Act introduced in U. S. Senate by Senator Lowell Weicker and in House of Representatives by Congress |L&P USA | |

| |member Tony Coelho, April 28-29. | | |

|1988 |Congressional Task Force on the Rights and Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities co-chaired by Justine Dart, Jr. and Elizabeth |ACT L&P PHY USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |Boggs builds grassroots support for passage of Americans with Disabilities Act. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1988 |Fair Housing Amendments Act adopted by U. S. Congress September 13. Extends provisions of Fair Housing Act of 1968 to protect people |ACC L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |with disabilities from housing discrimination. Stats minimum standards of adaptability for newly constructed multiple-dwelling | |to the Disability Rights |

| |housing. Permits disabled people to modify rental housing. Requires reasonable accommodations in rules and policies. Mandates | |Movement. |

| |accessibility in common-use areas and entryways. Allows exclusion of individuals who pose “a direct threat to the health or safety of | | |

| |another individual.” Extends non-discrimination principles previously applied to federal government and recipients of federal funds to| | |

| |entire U. S. economy. | | |

|1988 |Hearing Aid Compatibility Act passed by U. S. Congress. Requires compatability of most new telephones manufactured or imported into U.|DF L&P TECH USA | |

| |S. for use with telecoil-equipped hearing aids. Does not require retrofitting existing phones. | | |

|1988 |Honig v. Doe: U.S. Supreme Court upholds “stay put rule” under Education for All Handicapped Children Act, which bars school |CRT EDU L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |authorities from suspending, expelling, or otherwise moving disabled children from setting agreed to in child’s individualized | |to the Disability Rights |

| |education plan (IEP) without due process hearing. | |Movement. |

|1988 |National Council on the Handicapped, On the Threshold of Independence. |ACT L&P PUB USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| | | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1988 |Technology-Related Assistance Act for Individuals with Disabilities (“Tech Act”) passed by U. S. Congress. Authorizes federal |ACC L&P TECH USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |financial assistance for state projects to facilitate access to assistive technology. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1988 |Tiffany Callo, mother with cerebral palsy, unsuccessfully fights for custody of her two sons |L&P USA | |

|1988 |Veto of Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 by President Reagan overturned by U. S. Congress. Reverses U. S. Supreme Court ruling in |L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |Grove City College v. Bell and other cases limiting scope of federal civil rights laws, including Section 504. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1989 |ADAPT v. Skinner: federal appeals court strikes down as arbitrary and discriminatory federal rules limiting local public transit |ACC CRT L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |agencies to expending just 3% of their budgets on access. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1989 |American with Disabilities Act, which was introduced in U. S. Congress the year before, is reintroduced in a revised version. |ACT L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |Disability-rights advocacy groups around U. S. campaign for it. Key leaders include Patrisha Wright, nicknamed the “general,” and | |to the Disability Rights |

| |Marilyn Golden, both of DREDF, Liz Savage, Justin Dart, Jr., and Elizabeth Boggs. | |Movement. |

|1989 |Hearing Aid Compatibility Act adopted by U. S. Congress. Requires compatability of newly manufactured hearing aids with telephones, |ACC DF L&P USA | |

| |August. | | |

|1989 |Larry McAfee, ventilator-using, spinal cord injured quadriplegic battered by Georgia social welfare system which provides no support |ACT BIO EUTH IL L&P | |

| |for independent living, seeks and gets court order for physician-assisted suicide. But intervention of disability rights advocates |USA | |

| |leads him to change his mind. He testifies to Georgia State Legislature in favor of independent living program. | | |

|1989 |President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, new name for President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. |ACT EMP L&P ORG USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| | | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1990 |ADAPT, American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit, recasts its acronym as American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today to |ACT IL L&P USA |. |

| |reflect shift in focus following passage of Americans with Disabilities Act. Demanding policies supporting independent living and | | |

| |personal assistance services, ADAPT activists demonstrate at annual meeting of for-profit nursing home industry trade organization, | |back.htm; Pelka, ABC-Clio |

| |American Health Care Association, in Atlanta, October 5-10. | |Companion to the |

| | | |Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1990 |Americans with Disabilities Act signed into law by President George H. W. Bush on July 26. Prohibits discrimination services and |ACC ACT L&P USA |For full text of American |

| |employment and requires “reasonable accommodations” or “reasonable modifications” to guarantee access to people with disabilities in | |with Disabilities Act |

| |federal, state, and local government facilities and programs, most private businesses, public transportation, telecommunications, and | |(ADA) 1990 (P.L. 101-336):|

| |other public spheres of American society. | |

| | | |t. For other information |

| | | |about the law and its |

| | | |implementation: |

| | | |

| | | |da/. Pelka, ABC-Clio |

| | | |Companion to the |

| | | |Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1990 |Individuals with Disabilities; Education Act (IDEA), revised and renamed Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. |EDU L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| | | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1990 |Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resource Emergency Act passed by U. S. Congress to assist local governments to deal with growing |AIDS L&P MED USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |HIV/AIDS epidemic. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1990 |Wheelchair lifts required on public transit buses in regulations finally issued by U. S. Secretary of Transportation Samuel Skinner. |ACC L&P USA |[Dias and Chadwick], |

| | | |Disability Social History |

| | | |Project. |

|1990 |“Wheels of Justice” demonstration in Washington, D.C., calls on U. S. Congress to pass Americans with Disabilities Act. Organized by |ACT L&P USA |[Dias and Chadwick], |

| |ADAPT, hundreds of disability rights activists fill Capitol rotunda. When they refuse to disperse, Capitol police arrest them. March. | |Disability Social History |

| | | |Project; Pelka, ABC-Clio |

| | | |Companion to the |

| | | |Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1991 |ADAPT protest at Health Care Financing Administration headquarters in Washington, D.C. demands federal government designate proportion|ACT IL L&P USA | |

| |of Medicaid funds for in-home personal assistance services, April. | | |

|1992 |ADAPT nationwide protests demands federal and state financing of personal assistance services, January 15. |ACT IL L&P USA | |

|1992 |ADAPT demands American Medical Association support national personal assistance services policy in demonstration at AMA’s Chicago |ACT IL L&P USA | |

| |headquarters. May. | | |

|1992 |Americans with Disabilities Act, Title III Public Accommodations requirements that privately owned businesses serving the public |ACC L&P USA | |

| |provide access for customers with disabilities go into effect on January 26. | | |

|1992 |New York City sued for failing to provide emergency TDD services in violation of Americans with Disabilities Act. February. |ACC DF L&P USA | |

|1992 |New York City “experiment” erects inaccessible sidewalk toilets, while offering separate facilities for “the disabled.” June. |ACC L&P USA | |

|1992 |Oregon’s Medicaid rationing plan approved by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Drafted with little input from Oregon |BIO L&P USA | |

| |disability community, plan reduces support for people with disabilities that cannot be “cured.” | | |

|1993 |American Indian Disability Legislation Project created to gather information regarding Native American with disabilities. |L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| | | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1993 |Robert Williams becomes first person with a developmental disability appointed as a commissioner of the Administration on |DD L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |Developmental Disabilities. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1995 |Helen L. v. Snider: U. S Third Circuit Court of Appeals rules that Commonwealth (state government) of Pennsylvania’s policy of funding|ACT CRT IL L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |nursing home residents see but not independent living violates Americans with Disabilities Act. |WOM |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1996 |Social Security rolls purged. U. S. Congress drops over 150,000 children with disabilities, as well as adults with alcohol or drug |L&P USA |Pelka, ABC-Clio Companion |

| |dependency. | |to the Disability Rights |

| | | |Movement. |

|1996 |Telecommunications Act of 1996 passed by U.S. Congress. Requires that telecommunications services and equipment be accessible. |ACC L&P TECH USA | |

|1996 |Vacco v. Quill and Washington v. Glucksberg: U. S. Supreme Court upholds state government bans on physician-assisted suicide but |BIO CRT EUTH L&P USA| |

| |leaves issued to the states. | | |

|1997 |Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Amendments of 1997 (formerly P.L. 94-142, The Education for All Handicapped |EDU L&P USA |

| |Children's Act) passed by U.S. Congress. The amendments shift the focus to improving both learning and teaching. They make | |w_res/doc/law/index.php; |

| |Individualized Education Programs (IEP) the primary tool to enhance children’s involvement and progress in the general curriculum. | |

| |They require inclusion of children’s regular education teachers on the IEP team. They mandate inclusion of children with disabilities | |peced/guid/idea/index.html|

| |in general state and district-wide assessment programs. They address disciplinary issues more extensively. For the first time, they | |; Diane J. Lipton, Esq., |

| |include Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder as a separate disability category. | |Individuals with |

| | | |Disabilities Education Act|

| | | |Amendments of 1997 and |

| | | |Idea Regulations of 1999: |

| | | |Summary of Changes (with |

| | | |Emphasis on Ieps and |

| | | |Discipline) (Berkeley: |

| | | |Disability Rights |

| | | |Education and Defense |

| | | |Fund, 1999), online at: |

| | | |

| | | |0.html |

|1998 |Bragdon v. Abbott: U. S. Supreme Court applies antidiscrimination protections of Americans with Disability Act to asymptomatic woman |CRT L&P USA | |

| |with HIV. Declares she falls under ADA definition of disability because her condition impairs her ability to reproduce, a basic life | | |

| |function. Her dentist refused to treat her out of fear she might in fact him. | | |

|1998 |Casey Martin vs. Professional Golfers Association: U. S. federal court rules that PGA Tour’s refusal to allow disabled golfer Casey |CRT L&P SPO USA | |

| |Martin to ride golf cart during competitive play violates Americans with Disabilities Act. | | |

|1998 |Pennsylvania Department of Corrections v. Yeskey: U. S. Supreme Court rules that Americans with Disabilities Act applies to state |CRT L&P USA | |

| |prisons. | | |

|1999 |Carolyn C. Cleveland v. Policy Management Systems Corporation, et. al: U. S. Supreme Court rules that individuals receiving Social |CRT EMP L&P USA | |

| |Security disability benefits qualify as disabled under Americans with Disabilities Act and are therefore protected from discrimination| | |

| |if and when they return to work. | | |

|1999 |Lawton (Okla.) Evening Optimist Soccer League vs. Ryan Taylor: U.S. District Court judge issues emergency order directing soccer |CRT L&P SOP USA | |

| |league to allow nine-year-old boy with cerebral palsy to play. League had considered his walker safety hazard. As accommodation, it is| | |

| |padded during games. November. | | |

|1999 |Olmstead v. L.C. and E.W.: U. S. Supreme Court rules that State of Georgia violates Americans with Disabilities Act by compelling |CRT IL L&P USA | |

| |individuals with disabilities to reside in institutions without offering alternative option of community-based living arrangements. | | |

| |Orders that state must offer services in most integrated setting. | | |

|1999 |Sutton et. al. v. United Air Lines, Inc., Murphy v. United Parcel Service, Inc., and Albertsons, Inc. v. Kirkingburg: U. S. Supreme |CRT EMP L&P USA | |

| |Court rules in three employment cases that individuals whose conditions are manageable or correctable with devices or medications are | | |

| |not “disabled” under the Americans with Disabilities Act and therefore do not qualify for its protection against employment | | |

| |discrimination. | | |

|2001 |Virginia House of Delegates passes resolution expressing regret for Commonwealth’s eugenic sterilization program from 1924 to 1979. |BIO EUG L&P USA | |

Resource:

Institute on Disability University of San Francisco

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