Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 61

Children Act in 1975, which required
school systems to provide free, inclusive K-12 environments for all children
with disabilities. In 1990, this act was
amended and renamed the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
These amendments strengthened
the original bill mandating that each
student's needs be addressed through
an individualized education plan (IEP).
Despite the failure of many schools to
fully implement the provisions of this
act, the act has significantly improved
the education of children with disabilities and has been a significant factor
in the large increase in numbers of
individuals with all types of disabilities
attending college since its passage.

erwise qualified" disabled individuals
in federally funded programs. Because
of the potential cost associated with
implementation of this act, it took four
years to get it funded by Congress. The
work of coalitions of disability activists and other supporters of civil rights
was instrumental in this effort. The
increased numbers of students with
disabilities who enrolled in colleges
and universities after implementation
of Section 504 led to the establishment
and expansion of disability resource
offices. In particular, students with
nonapparent disabilities who required
classroom learning accommodations
began attending college along with
students with mobility disabilities.

Passage of Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was perhaps
the most significant factor in increasing access to college and university
campuses in the United States for
students with all types of disabilities. It
outlawed discrimination against "oth-

A similar coalition of disability
rights and other civil rights activists,
led by Patrisha Wright, Justin and
Yoshiko Dart, and Evan Kemp, Jr.,
later worked to secure the passage
of a more comprehensive law to end
discrimination against people with

disabilities in all areas of life, including employment. These efforts led
to passage of the Americans with
Disabilities Act in 1990. Like Section
504, the ADA had a significant impact
on increasing the numbers of students
with disabilities attending college as
well as the employment of individuals
with disabilities in staff, faculty, and
administrative positions, which they
rarely were given the opportunity to
apply for previously. Unfortunately, a
conservative Supreme Court narrowly
interpreted the meaning of many of
the vague phrases of the ADA, such as
"disability," "reasonable accommodations," and "undue burden." Again
with the support of a broad coalition
of disability and civil rights activists,
along with war veterans and nonprofit
organizations, the Americans with
Disabilities Act Amendments Act
(ADAAA) was introduced to clarify the
original intent of Congress in passing the ADA. Congress passed the

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UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA
Frankie Minor, Director of Residential Life

July + august 2017

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Talking Stick - July/August 2017

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