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By Audience: Civil Society

U.S. Air Carrier Access Act

The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (ACAA) prohibits discrimination in air transportation by domestic and foreign air carriers against qualified individuals with physical or mental impairments. It applies only to air carriers that provide regularly scheduled services for hire to the public. The ACAA establishes standards concerning a wide range of issues including boarding… Continue reading U.S. Air Carrier Access Act

U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), formerly called the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975, requires public schools to make available to all eligible children with disabilities a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment appropriate to the child’s education needs. Under the law, State and local education agencies are… Continue reading U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law that critically extended Section 504’s disability nondiscrimination mandate to the private sector. The ADA reaches such entities as private employers (with 15 or more employees), retailers, service establishments, transportation companies, and telecommunication companies, regardless of whether they receive federal financial assistance. The law is… Continue reading Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

National U.S. Disability Laws

The laws included on the RightsNow! website are primarily rights-oriented laws that prohibit many different kinds of entities, such as individuals, state and municipal governments, private employers and businesses, and service organizations, from discriminating on the basis of disability. However, we include some explanation and links related to the ongoing federal benefits and support laws that pertain… Continue reading National U.S. Disability Laws

Building Accessible Environments in Developing Countries

Handicap International’s first technical manual in the series How to Build an Accessible Environment in Developing Countries focuses on accessibility standards. The series uses Cambodia as the specific development context but has transferable lessons for building accessible environments in other developing countries. According to Handicap International “an accessible environment must allow for free and safe movement, function… Continue reading Building Accessible Environments in Developing Countries

Putting Physical Access Legislation into Practice

Planning accessible meetings, conferences and workshops is very important for including all members of the community, including people with different types of disabilities. These two resources can assist with planning accessible events. 1. The Marae Accessibility Toolkit is targeted at the development of maraes (meeting grounds of the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand) but is relevant for any government and civil… Continue reading Putting Physical Access Legislation into Practice

Promoting Inclusive Teacher Education

This publication set is a series of five guides for anyone who wants to advocate for improvements in pre-service teacher training towards more disability inclusive education. The guides discuss challenges and barriers to inclusive education in different areas of teacher education. They outline ideas for advocates to consider and adapt for effective advocacy towards more… Continue reading Promoting Inclusive Teacher Education