The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) became a federal law on July 26th of that year. The ADA was signed into law by George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States (U.S.). This law is essentially one of the most all-inclusive pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history.
After the ADA became law, it began to pave the way toward ensuring equal rights for people with all kinds of mental and physical disabilities. However, the honorable proponents of the ADA did not stop at simply preventing discrimination. As time went on, numerous revisions of the ADA were created to address other important issues, particularly those affecting the physically impaired.
In September of 2010, revisions of Titles II and III of the ADA were published in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Justice. The new regulations articulated enforceable building accessibility standards called the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. The new standards set mandatory scoping and technical guidelines for State government buildings, local government buildings, and commercial business properties as well. The new ADA standards stated that by law all newly renovated, built, or structurally changed buildings must be readily accessible and usable by all people who are physically impaired.
In addition to the Americans with Disabilities Act, revisions to the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) were also made. These ABA revisions were made to be in lockstep with the ADA revisions of recent history.
Effective advocacy of people with disabilities must continue to go on. For more information on how to assist our organization’s dedication to this cause contact us today and help us be the change you wish to see in the world!