From Associated Press on CBS, Chronicle of Higher Education:

The House passed and sent to the White House Wednesday legislation aimed at assuring that the protections of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act are maintained.

President Bush said through a spokeswoman that he “looks forward” to signing the measure.

The bill had been approved last week in the Senate. It is intended to reverse judicial rulings that have narrowed the broad scope of protection of the ADA, and represents a compromise between disability rights groups and business interests.

See previous post here.

UPDATE: Congress passes bill with protections for disabled, by Robert Pear in the New York Times. An excerpt:

Bills passed with overwhelming support are often insignificant or noncontroversial, but that was not true for this bill. “This is one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation of our time,” said Representative Jim Langevin, Democrat of Rhode Island, who uses a wheelchair.

Reuters/New York Times:

The Senate Thursday passed a major civil rights bill that would expand protections against discrimination for people with disabilities. The measure has been promoted by a broad coalition of disability rights and business groups in the wake of a series of Supreme Court decisions that have severely narrowed the law’s definition of disability.

The legislation would expand the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. It was passed on a voice vote without dissent, and is substantially similar to a bill that passed the House in June on a vote of 402-17. Minor differences between the two bills are expected to be resolved quickly.

“This is the most important piece of disability legislation since the enactment of the A.D.A. in 1990, and we are close enough to the finish line that we can see over,” said Andrew Imparato, the American Association of People with Disabilities president.

The 1990 law was designed to give people with disabilities an equal crack at employment, public services and accommodations, but a series of Supreme Court decisions beginning in the late 1990s narrowed the definition of disability. As a result, people who have a chronic disease but manage their illness well aren’t considered disabled and therefore aren’t covered by the law — even if an employer fires or refuses to hire them because of their condition.

Earlier posts here and here.

‘Parents of Special-Needs Children Divided Over Palin’s Promise to Help’ — New York Times

Some parents of children with disabilities are enthusiastic over Gov. Palin’s pledge of support, but advocacy on behalf of the disability community has not been “a centerpiece of Ms. Palin’s 20-months in office or any of her campaigns for office.”

“I never heard Governor Palin say as governor, ‘You have an advocate in Juneau,’ ” said Sonja Kerr, a lawyer specializing in disability law in Anchorage.

A spokeswoman for Palin would not elaborate on her decision to give disability issues prominent placement in her acceptance speech.

John McCain has voted against increasing federal special education funding, and also opposes legislation that would help states move people with disabilities from institutions into community living arrangements. Both Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain are among sponsors of pending legislation to update and strengthen the Americans with Disabities Act.

Ms. Palin’s effort to rally parents of children with disabilities has also prompted reaction among those who fear that her idea of advocacy might really mean preventing abortions of fetuses with Down syndrome, rather than lobbying for the early medical and developmental assistance that is so crucial to their children’s well-being.

(New York Times photo of Nancy Iannone and daugher Gabriella. Nancy is a contributor to the book Gifts, and comments regularly on these pages.)

~~~~~~~~~

Candidacy is a chance to shed light — Beverly Beckham, in the Boston Globe, writes another in an occasional series of columns offering glimpses of her lively and inquisitive granddaughter. She describes five-year-old Lucy as she runs, bounces and skips through her life, and sits on the floor reading “book after book.” Lucy has Down syndrome. Beckham says it would be valuable if Palin’s candidacy …

… illuminated the facts about DS. Because without public education, her 4 1/2-month-old baby boy may see his whole life defined by what he can’t do instead of by what he can do. He will be pigeonholed and pitied and underestimated. And he will make people turn to their own offspring with a sigh and a whispered prayer of thanksgiving, “There but for the grace of God, go I.”

Unless the world learns better.

(more…)

From MarketWatch:

Vital Signs columnist Kristen Gerencher says a broad coalition of disability rights and business groups has come together behind a measure to revise the ADA in the wake of  a series of Supreme Court decisions that severely narrowed the law’s definition of disability. The ironic effect of those decisions, Gerencher says, is that the people who most need protections under the ADA often can’t get them.

An excerpt:

That means many people who suffer from a chronic disease but manage their illness well aren’t considered disabled and therefore aren’t covered by the law — even if an employer fires or refuses to hire them because of their disease.

The courts’ decisions have resulted in a Catch-22 for people with a range of disabilities, including diabetes, cancer, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy and mental illness, said Jennifer Mathis, deputy legal director for the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington.

“You can be disabled enough to be fired but not disabled enough to sue,” she said.

From the Chronicle of Higher Education, Iowapolitics.com

The Senate version of the ADA Amendments Act, sponsored by Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), has been introduced with 63 co-sponsors.

The bill is similar to a bipartisan measure that passed the House by a 402-17 margin last month. Supporters say it is designed to clarify the intent of the original ADA and ensure that Americans with disabilities are protected from discrimination.

The measures have received public endorsements from both disability advocacy groups and organizations representing business interests. Disability advocates said they were hopeful the Senate would vote on the bill by September.

From the San Francisco Chronicle, AP/KPIX-TV San Francisco, Reuters:

The California Court of Appeal ruled yesterday that the Mervyns department store chain must find ways to make all merchandise accessible to consumers with disabilities.

The impact of the ruling on Mervyns is not clear because the the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday.

In a 2002 lawsuit, advocates had claimed that Mervyns denied access to people with mobility impairments by placing merchandise displays too close together. A lower court had found that making changes to existing stores would be too costly, and said modifications should be made only at the company’s new stores.

Mervyns maintained that the cost of changing store layouts could cause financial hardships and store closures.

• State office that serves people with disabilities has accessibility problems –  Austin [TX] American Statesman (accessibility)
• Group celebrates ADA anniversary with lawsuits — KXAN-TV, NBC affiliate in Austin, TX (ADA)
• Disabled vets’ courage on display at Wheelchair Games – Baltimore Sun (wheelchair)
• For-profit college settles with Justice Department over ADA compliance — Chronicle of Higher Education (ADA)
  
• Dyslexic student’s exams battle — BBC News (dyslexia)
  
• Group helps families cope with fetal alcohol syndrome — Tucson Citizen (fetal alcohol syndrome)
• Glasgow artist Peter Howson talks about why he is using his skills to draw attention to disability — [Edinburgh] Scotsman; Peter Howson: My murderous rage — [London] Times (Asperger’s)
• Conjoined twin separated from sister dies — AP/Boston Globe (disability news)
  
• U.S. facing possible hearing loss epidemic — Reuters (hearing loss)
  
• I couldn’t say the word ‘blind’ — [UK] Guardian (vision impairment)
• Universal design adds to housing value — Detroit News (accessibility)