Accommodations in the United States: How We Can Learn from Our Past

Protestors ascend the steps of the U.S. Capitol during the now-iconic Capitol Crawl protest on March 12, 1990. Photo by Tom Olin.

In our first blog in this series, we provided an overview for parents navigating the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. In this blog we will continue our conversation about accommodations, focusing on the different legislation in the USA supporting accommodations and how the disabilities rights movement fought for their passage.

The 1970s saw a large shift in societal views towards disabilities. Until that point, eugenics was the basis of the understanding of disability at the time. Eugenicists sought a genetically better man, which they believed could be achieved through selective breeding. They aimed to increase “desirable” traits and eliminate “undesirable” ones, including disabilities.  

Around the same time that eugenics was losing popularity, deinstitutionalization was also occurring. The majority of disabled people were living in mental institutions across the United States, where they were being treated inhumanely. Residents were held mainly against their will, with no chance of leaving. The low staff-to-resident ratio meant that residents often wouldn’t be cleaned or taken to the bathroom, and mealtimes were limited to three minutes. These and other conditions were revealed to the public for the first time in 1972, when reporter Geraldo Rivera entered the Willowbrook Mental Institute with the help of two insiders. His investigation inside was released a month later as Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace on ABC news. The documentary quickly garnered attention and led to organized protest and many talks, ultimately leading to the shutting down of mental institutions across America. 

With the dismantling of institutions, the lack of support for people with disabilities started to become apparent. In response, the Rehabilitation Act was introduced in May 1973, and notably included section 504, which prohibited discriminating against people with disabilities in any federal or federally funded programs. However, the act was not initially passed, as President Richard Nixon vetoed the act two times over worries about cost. The civil rights organization Disabled in Action protested one of these vetoes by organizing a sit-in on Madison Avenue to stop traffic. This effort was led by the disabled activist Judith E. Heumann and together there were about 80 protestors. Demonstrations were also held in Washington D.C.. As a result of these protests, the Rehabilitation Act was passed in September 1973.  However, the vague language in the bill meant there was no way to determine what qualified as disability or discrimination, thus limiting the ability to enforce the new law. After demands from the public, a court mandated The United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) to rewrite section 504. By 1977, with no progress seen, demonstrations were organized nationwide, and people with disabilities and their supporters filled regional HEW headquarters, many of which were not accessible to people with disabilities. People of all ages struggled into the building, some climbing out of their wheelchairs to pull themselves up the stairs of the building. The protesters then refused to leave until Section 504 was rewritten. The most successful demonstration was in San Francisco. Once again led by Judith Heumann, protestors here  spent 25 days in the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, San Francisco offices. This was only possible because of the cooperation of many different communities. For example, the Black Panther Party provided the protesters with a hot meal every day during the entire protest. Ironically, one reason that the protests were so effective and lasted as long as they did was because the buildings were so inaccessible that removing the demonstrators was of great difficulty. Largely due to these demonstrations, a new version of Section 504 was signed into law.

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) was passed in 1975. This bill guaranteed free and appropriate public education for all children with disabilities. This was a continuation of making the public sectors more accessible to people with disabilities.

The American with Disabilities Act (ADA), though it wasn’t introduced until 1989, is the next stop on our tour. The ADA was written to finally and fully eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities in all public and private sectors. The EAHCA was also being rewritten at this time, and the updated version awaited signing. The bill was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), using more person-centered language, and expanded on the disabilities that are covered under the act as well as the support given. After being written, the two bills were stalled for months. After the growing frustration of being pushed to the side, the disability rights community gathered again and organized the Capitol Crawl. The protests that got the legislation passed were inspired by the 504 sit-in and kept much of the momentum built from the movement. A large group of people with disabilities gathered in front of the Capitol Building and started crawling up the stairs, however their abilities let them. All the while they chanted for the IDEA and ADA to be passed. One notable demonstration from this protest was Jennifer Keelan, an 8 year old girl with cerebral palsy who climbed the stairs, saying “I’ll take all night if I have to.” The great collective efforts of protestors later led to the passing of the ADA and IDEA in 1990.

In 2008, the ADA was amended to expand on who qualifies as having a disability to  ensure more people are protected. It was a further shift toward a person-centered approach, where the emphasis is on the person, not the disability. 

In early October of this year, the Trump administration announced the removal of almost all employees at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), except for a few top officials. OSERS, a program in the Department of Education, is in charge of reviewing and approving IEP plans crafted by the states. With these broad layoffs, state governments will now have a much larger role in ensuring special education for disabled students. A major concern here is that most states– 31 of them– have been recorded by the OSERS as not meeting the requirements to educate disabled children. The 7.5 million children with disabilities in America will now have a harder time accessing equal and accessible education. 

The current landscape of disability rights in America reflects a history of incredible progress, championed by individuals with disabilities themselves, as well as present-day challenges posed by recent government layoffs. By learning from our history we can retain hope that those who stand to benefit from the protections instituted in law will continue to receive the support they deserve, and will refuse to stand down when those rights are threatened.