A LIFETIME OF SERVICE
Ensuring Disabled Americans Can Live Productive Lives
A sponsor of landmark legislation including the Civil Rights Commission Act Amendments and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Senator Kennedy worked his entire career to secure a higher quality of life for men and women with disabilities.
In 1978, Senator Kennedy cosponsored the Civil Rights Commission Act Amendments of 1978, which expanded the jurisdiction of the Civil Rights Commission to protect people from discrimination on the basis of disability. Two years later, Kennedy cosponsored the Civil Rights for Institutionalized Persons Act, which enforced the rights of people in government institutions such as the elderly, the disabled, the mental ill, and the incarcerated under the Constitution. This law grew out of increased awareness of the unhealthy and inhumane living conditions and treatment of many people within government institutions, such as the case of the Willowbrook State School for the Mentally Retarded, which came to the forefront in 1972. Beyond assuring humane living conditions and basic rights to such individuals, the law details its protection of the religious practice of the institutionalized.
Senator Kennedy cosponsored legislation in 1984 requiring polling stations to provide physical accessibility for disabled and elderly people on federal election days. If this is not possible, polling places are required to provide alternative voting methods so that individuals in such a situation are able to cast a ballot. The law also holds that polling places must make registration and voting aids available for the elderly and people with disabilities. In 1986, Kennedy was an original cosponsor of the Air Carrier Access Act. This law required that facilities and services be provided to people with disabilities traveling by air. Accessibility requirements applied not only to the aircrafts but also to airports and terminals.
In 1988, Kennedy introduced the Fair Housing Act Amendments to extend the Fair Housing Act of 1968 to include people with disabilities and families with children. By expanding the law, the FHAA prohibited discrimination towards people with disabilities in the sale or rental of housing and in the terms, facilities and services provided. It also sets certain guidelines for remodeling and necessary modifications to a residence for both the landlord and the tenant.
On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted into law. Introduced by Senator Kennedy and Senator Harkin, the ADA prohibited discrimination by a covered entity (employer, employment agency, labor organization, etc) against any qualified individual with a disability in job application procedures, hiring or discharge, compensation, advancement, training, etc. The law declared that no qualified individual with a disability shall be excluded from the participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination by a public entity, and also required accessible rail transportation and telephone services for persons with speech or hearing impairments.
Said Harkin, "I was thrilled when I arrived in the Senate to learn that Senator Kennedy 'one of the top leaders in the Senate' shared the same passion. With his help, we were able to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act and began to see real change. The law literally opened doors for people with disabilities, allowing them access to new employment opportunities, access to new places and access to fuller lives. But more importantly, the law began to change how those with disabilities were seen by others. Senator Kennedy has always dedicated his life to helping those who are too often ignored and this is no exception."
In response the alarming level and increase in the victimization and violence against people with disabilities, Congress passed the Crime Victims and Disabilities Awareness Act of 1998. Kennedy cosponsored the bill, which directed the Attorney General to conduct a study on the issue and to include specific details regarding the crimes against people with disabilities and to include them in the National Crime Victimization Survey, an annual publication. In 2004, Kennedy was an original cosponsor of the Assistive Technology Act, which supported states in an effort to sustain and strengthen the capacity to meet the assistive technology needs of individuals. In addition, it would focus funding on investments in technology that could benefit those living with disabilities. Millions of Americans experience severe disabilities that affect their ability to see, hear, communicate, walk, or perform other basic life functions. This should not preclude any individual from enjoying full integration in the economic, political, social, and educational activities embedded in American life.
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment
Senator Kennedy was a strong supporter of the Rehabilitation, Comprehensive Services and Developmental Disabilities Amendments of 1978. These amendments included a number of very important steps in disabilities legislation. It established a functional definition of developmental disability, created the National Council on the Handicapped and the National Institute of Handicapped Research, set a funding minimum for protection and advocacy services and authorized a grant for independent living services and opportunities for people with disabilities.
In 1982, Kennedy was one of the main cosponsors of the Job Training Partnership Act, which was designed to break down some of the barriers facing "economically disadvantaged" individuals and among them people with disabilities. Kennedy made sure to include provisions stating that people could not be excluded from the training program and the advantages it provides based on a disability or other classification. Four years later, Kennedy and Senator Quayle introduced amendments to the Act that afforded people with disabilities special consideration in the awarding of discretionary grants within this training program through the provisions of these amendments.
In 1986, Kennedy cosponsored the Employment Opportunities for Disabled Americans Act, which made work incentives for disabled individuals a permanent fixture of the Social Security Act. People working despite severe disabilities became eligible for special status to receive SSI benefits and Medicaid coverage. This special status was valid unless the impairment went away or their earnings exceeded an amount that zeroed out their cash benefits.
In 1999, Kennedy was the primary sponsor with Senator Jeffords of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act. The law and its "ticket to work and self-sufficiency" program expanded employment opportunities for people with disabilities through providing disabled Social Security beneficiaries greater support and more options. It also allowed for working people with disabilities to receive benefits from Medicaid and/or Medicare.
Assistive Technology
Senator Kennedy was an original cosponsor of legislation that provided funding to all 50 states in order to raise awareness about the potential of assistive technology to significantly improve the lives of people of all ages with disabilities. It also aimed to facilitate a coordinated effort amongst state agencies to provide and encourage the use of assistive technology for individuals with disabilities. Senator Kennedy cosponsored reauthorizations of the Act in 1994, 1998, and 2004.
Education
Senator Kennedy was an original cosponsor of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, which later became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The law served to amend the Education of the Handicapped Act and to guarantee a free and appropriate public education to children with disabilities, regardless of their severity, in all states.
Kennedy was an original cosponsor of the Handicapped Children's Protection Act of 1986, which overturned a Supreme Court decision and allowed courts to award sensible attorneys fees to parents of children with disabilities winning in due process proceedings and other court actions under part B of the Education Act. That same year, Kennedy cosponsored amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act, establishing a new grant program aimed at developing an early intervention system benefiting infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. It also sought to provide and promote preschool programs for children ages 3 to 5 with disabilities.
In 1990, Kennedy was an original cosponsor of a bill that changed the name of the Education of the Handicapped Act to IDEA, changed the term from handicapped to disability, and added two categories to the amendment: autism and traumatic brain injury. It also reauthorized the programs under the previous act to provide improved support to students with disabilities particularly in the terms of computer access and assistive technology. In 1997, Kennedy was an original cosponsor of amendments that consolidated the original 9 subchapters of IDEA into 4 subchapters. Among the other changes were the inclusion of special education in state and district-wide assessments, the promotion of mediation as an option to disputes between teachers and parents of children with disabilities, a provision that special education students be disciplined in the same way as other students, the continuation of services to adult inmates with disabilities who were eligible for IDEA prior to their incarceration, and the requirement of charter schools to meet the needs of children with disabilities and to receive IDEA funds from district schools.
In 2004, Kennedy was the sponsor and lead negotiator of the reauthorization of the IDEA, with a new focus on promoting better alignment of special education with general education and having school districts be accountable for the educational outcome of all students, including students with all ranges of disabilities.
Health Care
In 1982, Kennedy was an original cosponsor of legislation that allowed for states to cover home health care services for particular children with disabilities under their Medicaid plans. This was intended to allow parents "respite" or rest periods with a trained professional helping to care for their child's needs.
In 1991, Kennedy sponsored legislation to reorganize the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration. Specifically, it separated the previously combined treatment and research branches of the department, which improved the capacity to effectively address both the prevention and treatment of substance abuse and mental health.
In 2006, Kennedy won a 5-year-long battle to pass the bipartisan Family Opportunity Act. The law provides states the option of allowing families of disabled children to purchase health coverage through Medicaid. The bill passed as an amendment to the budget reconciliation bill.
In 2008, after more than 10 years of effort, Senator Kennedy championed historic legislation to reform the inequities in the way mental health and substance use disorders are treated by the insurance industry. This legislation, co-sponsored by Senator Domenici, assured individuals living with mental health and substance abuse issues that there mental health benefit would be treated equally with the medical-surgical benefit regarding treatment limitations and financial requirements. This means that co-pays, out of pocket expenses, and deductibles cannot be treated differently than they way medical-surgical is treated. This legislation assured equity for 113 million Americans.
In July of 2009, Senator Kennedy succeeded in having the CLASS Act be included in the text of the Affordable Health Choices Act that was passed out of the HELP Committee. This bill aims to provide the elderly and disabled with a daily cash benefit that allows them to purchase the services and supports they need to remain in and be productive member of one's community.
Developmental Disabilities
In 1975, Senator Kennedy cosponsored legislation to create a "bill of rights" for people with developmental disabilities. The bill also provided funding for services for people with this type of disability, supplemented funding for affiliated university facilities and created state-based systems of protection and advocacy groups in all 50 states. Kennedy was an original cosponsor of the reauthorization in 1987, which updated the language of the 1975 law. It also gave greater independence to the State Planning Councils, fortified the authority of the state-based protection and advocacy systems in investigations into abuse and neglect, and established separate line items for funding and training in university affiliated programs.
