With 3,000 disability rights advocates, members of Congress and the Administration looking on, President George Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law July 26, 1990, the largest such signing ceremony in history. Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of the ADA and will also be a day to reflect upon the achievements in the past decade.
The ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, activities of state and local governments, public accommodations, telecommunications and transportation.
President Bush described the ADA in 1990 as the “world’s first comprehensive declaration of the equality of people with disabilities, and evidence of America’s leadership internationally in the cause of human rights. With today’s signing of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, every man, woman and child with a disability can now pass through once closed doors, into a bright new era of equality, independence and freedom.”
Much of what the ADA has accomplished in the past 10 years has not been directly through legislation.
“Probably the best thing that the ADA has done is to raise the level of awareness,” Oregon ADA Program Coordinator Denise Spielman said. “People are now starting to realize that people with disabilities are people first; they deserve the same rights as everyone else.”
Although there has been an increase in awareness over the past 10 years, perhaps one of the biggest problem areas with the ADA is the lack of knowledge.
“A lot of times businessmen don’t understand that they need to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities,” Spielman said.
According to Spielman, people tend to shy away from making accommodations because they assume that it will be a big cost to make the appropriate accommodations.
“In actuality the costs are usually under $500,” Spielman said. “People also don’t realize that tax credits are available to small businesses to help defray the costs.”
The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research has established 10 regional centers across the country to provide information, training and technical assistance to employers, people with disabilities, and other entities with responsibilities under the ADA.
“These sites provide tons of material on how the laws are enforced, information telling people with disabilities what their rights are and site evaluations, which will tell agencies how they can most effectively comply with ADA regulations,” Spielman said.
As well as being seen at the national and state level, the effects of the ADA are also apparent in the Eugene community and campus areas.
“A significant amount of city funds go towards accessibility projects,” said Mary Feldman, ADA coordinator for the city of Eugene. “Two of the biggest projects have been increasing accessibility at the Hult Center and City Hall. We have also added hundreds of curved ramps around the city.”
According to Feldman, LTD and other city agencies were addressing accessibility issues even before the ADA imposed its regulations.
“What the ADA has done is brought more focus and public notice to the issues,” Feldman said. “The act is evening the playing field for people with disabilities.”
The effects of the ADA can also be seen on the University campus.
“This act has increased awareness all over the place,” said Hilary Gerdes of the University’s Disability Services. “It has also given us opportunities to examine what we are doing and what we aren’t doing for our students and visitors.”
According to Gerdes, the biggest impact of the act can be seen with museums, libraries and historical buildings.
“It has made us become more creative … figuring out how we will make a historical building accessible without changing it.”
Classroom accommodations are also being made on campus, leading to increased awareness of disabilities to faculty members.
“The ADA has created opportunities for individuals who prior to were not afforded those opportunities,” said Molly Firois, also of Disability Services. “But there still needs to be more education to the general public and the community about people with disabilities.”
For more information on campus, call Disability Services at 346-3211. For more information on projects concerning disabilities in the city of Eugene call 682-5177. For information technical assistance from one of the regional centers across the country, call toll free 1-800-949-4232.