Legislative

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.

March 2013 — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights entered into an agreement [OCR Compliance Review No. 11-11-6002] with the South Carolina Technical College System (SCTCS) that requires the websites of the SCTCS and its 16-member colleges be accessible to all individuals, specifically those with visual disabilities.

February 201 3— U.S. Representative George Miller (CA), the ranking Democrat in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, introduced a new education bill: The Transforming Education through Technology Act [H.R. 521]. The bill proposes that Congress fund educational grants to be distributed to states and districts totaling $500 million. The funds would support technology to improve the college-and-career readiness, achievement and engagement of all students, including those with disabilities.

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.