United States Definitions
The Americans with Disabilities Act
The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life. These areas include jobs, schools, transportation, and public and private places open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those based on race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion.
It is important to remember that in the context of the ADA, “Disability” is a legal term rather than a medical one. Because it has a legal definition, the ADA’s definition of disability differs from how we define disability under other laws, such as Social Security Disability-related benefits.
The ADA defines a person with a disability as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
The IDEA is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities. It also ensures special education and related services to those children. The IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to more than 7.5 million (as of school year 2018-19) eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.
In the law, Congress states: Disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to participate in or contribute to society. Improving educational results for children with disabilities is an essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.
The IDEA defines a child with a Disability as having a specific medical or developmental diagnosis (such as intellectual Disability, a hearing impairment, a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment, a serious emotional disturbance, an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, a specific learning Disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities), as well as learning difficulties as a result of that Disability, and needing special education to make progress in school.
The Americans with Disabilities Act
The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life. These areas include jobs, schools, transportation, and public and private places open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those based on race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion.
It is important to remember that in the context of the ADA, “Disability” is a legal term rather than a medical one. Because it has a legal definition, the ADA’s definition of disability differs from how we define disability under other laws, such as Social Security Disability-related benefits.
The ADA defines a person with a disability as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
The IDEA is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities. It also ensures special education and related services to those children. The IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to more than 7.5 million (as of school year 2018-19) eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.
In the law, Congress states: Disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to participate in or contribute to society. Improving educational results for children with disabilities is an essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.
The IDEA defines a child with a Disability as having a specific medical or developmental diagnosis (such as intellectual Disability, a hearing impairment, a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment, a serious emotional disturbance, an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, a specific learning Disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities), as well as learning difficulties as a result of that Disability, and needing special education to make progress in school.