Unfinished Business: Making Employment of People with Disabilities a National Priority.

摘要

The advances made over the past thirty-five years for people with disabilities have been monumental. In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142), now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), paved the way for all children with disabilities to receive a free, appropriate, public education. Fifteen years later, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provided broad-based civil rights protections for millions of American citizens with disabilities. Together, these two laws form the foundation of a national policy that provides people with disabilities a free and appropriate public education and the freedom to participate in all aspects of American life, the right to be treated equally, and the opportunity to make choices and experience the kinds of independence and autonomy that other Americans take for granted. The ADA and IDEA have removed many of the barriers that historically have made it difficult for millions of Americans with disabilities to have success in the labor market.