Americans with Disabilities Act 34th Anniversary

On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law; this landmark civil rights law affirmed the inherent dignity of every person, regardless of disability. The ADA prohibits discrimination by local and state governments, provides standards for privately owned businesses and commercial facilities, stands against discrimination in the workplace, and ensures equal access to healthcare, social services, transportation, and telecommunications.

As we honor the many advocates whose efforts made the ADA a reality and continue to fight to fulfill the ADA's promise, ACL is compiling some of the many resources, events, and blogs from ACL, our disability grantees and stakeholders, and our federal partners:

From the White House:

• In his proclamation on the anniversary of the ADA, President Biden notes: "As we celebrate the anniversary of the ADA, we honor the courageous activists who worked so hard to get this historic legislation passed.  We recognize the strength of people with disabilities, who remind us every day that America is stronger when we tap into the talents of all our people.  And we renew our commitment to moving America closer to the promise of equal opportunity for all Americans."

From across HHS:

• Leaders from across HHS issued statements on the 34th anniversary of the ADA. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra writes: "I am proud of the progress we have made in addressing the health disparities of people with disabilities, expanding home and community-based services, ensuring equal access to health care and human services, and combatting discrimination across all our programs. I am deeply appreciative of the partnership that the Department has with the disability community, along with the support and leadership they have provided to help advance this important work."
• In her blog post today, Alison Barkoff discusses the countless ways that ACL and the Biden-Harris administration has worked to form partnerships across the federal government and with the disability community to ensure that disabled people have equal access to every facet American life by taking action and making unprecedented investments to increase access to the services and supports people with disabilities need to live in the community. 
• Illustrating the Impact of the ADA: The principles of integration and inclusion enumerated in the ADA are at the heart of everything we do at ACL. They are embedded in our culture and reflected in our staff, which includes many people with a wide variety of disabilities – more than a quarter of ACL employees, in fact. Their personal experiences inform their work and help ensure that our programs meet the needs of the people they serve. As part of our celebration of the anniversary of the ADA, we asked Ed Ahern, a team leader in ACL’s Office of Independent Living Programs who uses a wheelchair, to share his story.  (Coming later today!).
• The CDC affirms its commitment to disability inclusion: "With more than 1 in 4 people in the United States having a disability, people with disabilities are part of every community. Building a public health infrastructure—including data, communications, and policies—that better identifies and includes people with disabilities is essential to achieving health equity."

From our partners 

• Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Taryn Williams writes: “The ADA has spurred significant progress across America, especially when it comes to accessibility of the built environment. When it comes to the workplace, however, progress has been slower and a gap in employment persists between people with disabilities and those without. As is often said, employment is the unfinished business of the ADA. I believe we have a moral imperative to finish it.”

Learn more about the ADA

• The ADA Basics:  This overview from the ACL-funded ADA National Network summarizes the law, and the ADA Publications and Fact Sheets page on their website includes a wide variety of resources to help people with disabilities understand their rights under the ADA, as well as resources to help businesses, employers, health care providers and others ensure that people with disabilities have the equal access guaranteed by the ADA. Their ADA Anniversary Toolkit  includes sample social media posts, graphics, educational resources, and more.
• ADA History and Impact: To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the ADA, ACL and HHS' Office for Civil Rights created a website to celebrate the ADA by telling the story of how the ADA came to be, showcase some of the progress we have made as a country toward achieving its promise, and illustrate a little bit of the work being done by ACL and OCR, as well as other partners within HHS and across government. The site also shines a spotlight on the impact of the ADA by letting people with disabilities tell you a little bit about their lives. (The site was updated and expanded in July 2021 for the 31st anniversary of the ADA.)

• Paving the Way for the ADA: In 1986, the National Council on the Handicapped (known today as the National Council on Disability) released "Toward Independence: An Assessment of Federal Laws and Programs Affecting Persons with Disabilities - With Legislative Recommendations." The groundbreaking report to the president and Congress included these recommendations:

  • Congress should enact a comprehensive law requiting equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities, with broad coverage and setting clear, consistent, and enforceable standards prohibiting discrimination on the basis of handicap.
  • Such a statute should be packaged as a single comprehensive bill, perhaps under such a title as "The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1986." The recommendations which follow spell out more specifically the components which such a bill should contain in order to create a comprehensive and effective equal opportunity law for individuals with disabilities.