Fwd: Accessible Society E-Letter 9/30/2003

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In a message dated 09/30/2003 11:03:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time, info@... writes:

ON OUR FRONT PAGE TODAY:

"Government websites still have access problems, says report"

http://www.accessiblesociety.org/ ----------------------------------------------------------------

Section 504, 30 years old, still protects rights Thirty years ago last Friday, Pres. Nixon signed the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. Although it was basically a benefits law, the very last sentence of that Act, Section 504, was different.It read, "No otherwise qualified handicapped individual, shall, solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."Historians of the law say that it was added as almost an afterthought; inserted by a Congressional staffer who thought the law, in the 1970s civil rights era, ought to have a nondiscrimination component.

It was the first federal law that forbade discrimination against people with disabilities. But it pertained only to programs getting "federal financial assistance." Its regulations were finalized four years later and only after a lawsuit. Yet those regulations would become the basis for drafting the broader federal bill that became the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Most people today think of the ADA when they think of civil rights protections for people with disabilities. Yet Section 504 is still being used successfully to guarantee nondiscriminatory treatment. It is often used in post-secondary educational settings, to force colleges and universities, virtually all of whom receive federal funds, to provide access and accommodation. An overview of how Sect 504 can protect the rights of students with disabilities in post-secondary education can be found at http://www.pacer.org/pride/504.htm

Earlier this year, the National Council on Disability issued a report on federal enforcement of Section 504 in the Departments of Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, State and Justice. "While the Federal Government has consistently asserted its strong support for the civil rights of people with disabilities," said NCD Chair Lex Frieden, "the federal agencies charged with enforcement and policy development under Section 504 have, to varying degrees, lacked any coherent and unifying national leadership, coordination, accountability, and funding." Read the report at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/section504.html

Cherry, a law student at the time, filed the lawsuit that became known as Cherry v. s and forced the issuance of Section 504 regulations in 1977. Read Cherry's article about how he came to file the lawsuit at http://www.raggededgemagazine.com/extra/cherry504-0903.html

****************Please visit the website of The Center for An Accessible Society at http://www.accessiblesociety.org, with more links to topics.To stop getting this e-mail letter, send an email to "info@..." with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

The Center for An Accessible Society is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research to focus public attention on disability and independent living issues. The Center is a project of Exploding Myths, Inc. a media enterprise company.

ON OUR FRONT PAGE TODAY:

" Government websites still have access problems, says

report "

http://www.accessiblesociety.org/

----------------------------------------------------------------

Section 504, 30 years old, still protects

rights

Thirty years ago last Friday, Pres. Nixon signed the 1973

Rehabilitation Act. Although it was basically a benefits law,

the very last sentence of that Act, Section 504, was different.

It read, " No otherwise qualified handicapped individual,

shall, solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded from the

participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to

discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal

financial assistance. "

Historians of the law say that it was added as almost an afterthought;

inserted by a Congressional staffer who thought the law, in the 1970s

civil rights era, ought to have a nondiscrimination component.

It was the first federal law that forbade discrimination against

people with disabilities. But it pertained only to programs getting

" federal financial assistance. " Its regulations were

finalized four years later and only after a lawsuit. Yet those

regulations would become the basis for drafting the broader federal

bill that became the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Most people today think of the ADA when they think of civil

rights protections for people with disabilities. Yet Section 504 is

still being used successfully to guarantee nondiscriminatory

treatment. It is often used in post-secondary educational settings, to

force colleges and universities, virtually all of whom receive federal

funds, to provide access and accommodation. An overview of how

Sect 504 can protect the rights of students with disabilities in

post-secondary education can be found at

http://www.pacer.org/pride/504.htm

Earlier this year, the National Council on Disability issued a

report on federal enforcement of Section 504 in the Departments of

Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, State and Justice.

" While the Federal Government has consistently asserted its

strong support for the civil rights of people with disabilities, "

said NCD Chair Lex Frieden, " the federal agencies charged with

enforcement and policy development under Section 504 have, to varying

degrees, lacked any coherent and unifying national leadership,

coordination, accountability, and funding. " Read the report

at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/section504.html

Cherry, a law student at the time, filed the lawsuit that

became known as Cherry v. s and forced the issuance of Section

504 regulations in 1977. Read Cherry's article about how he came to

file the lawsuit at

http://www.raggededgemagazine.com/extra/cherry504-0903.html

****************

Please visit the website of The Center for An Accessible Society at

http://www.accessiblesociety.org, with more links to topics.

To stop getting this e-mail letter, send an email to

" info@... " with the word

" unsubscribe " in the subject line.

The Center for An Accessible Society is funded by the National

Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research to focus public

attention on disability and independent living issues. The Center is a

project of Exploding Myths, Inc. a media enterprise company.