Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

July 2013 — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn addressed the FCC in commemoration of the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  In her address, Clyburn highlighted that the ADA has had a profound impact for over 50 million Americans and “has opened the doors of opportunity to education, employment, and entertainment, as well as communication, community and civic action and access.”  Clyburn continues by addressing the impact of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), “the ‘sister’ to the ADA.” Furthe

March 2013 — The U.S. Department of Justice reached cooperative settlement agreements with the cities of Englewood and Arapahoe, Colorado Sheriff’s Offices under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Complaints were filed with the Justice Department in regard to officers of the Sheriff’s Offices not providing qualified sign language interpreters and additional assistive resources and services to victims, arrestees, and witnesses that were deaf or hard of hearing. Under the settlements, $35,000 will be paid to the plaintiffs by both the city of Englewood and Arapahoe County.

March 2013 — In March, U.S. Senator Tom Harkins (D-Iowa) introduced two bills to Congress that would expand the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to provide closed captioning on movies shown in movie theaters and on all airplanes. The purpose of the bills is to improve the accessibility of movies to individuals with disabilities. The Cinema Act [S.555.IS] would require that all movie theaters with two or more theaters or screening rooms showing copyrighted motion pictures provide captioning and video description.

December 4, 2012— The Senate vote of 61-38 on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was five votes short of the required two-thirds majority.  Senators that oppose the treaty, such as Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), argue that it could “infringe on U.S. sovereignty” and inhibit parents from homeschooling their children with disabilities. Supporters of the treaty, including Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kansas), argue that ratification of the treaty would not change U.S.

December 3, 2012 — In a Presidential Proclamation, President Barack Obama announced December 3, 2012 as International Day of Persons with Disabilities. President Obama discussed the continuing efforts to ensure that individuals with disabilities have equal access to education, medical care, and finding work within the United States by upholding the basic promises outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. It was recognized that the rights of individuals with disabilities must also be ensured outside the U.S. borders and be recognized worldwide.