Rehabilitation Act

The Rehabilitation Act (Public Law 93-112) was adopted in 1973.  The date is significant.  In the USA, the 1970's were a time of civil rights activity.  Numerous groups espoused the rights of women, minority groups, and people with a disability.  Congress passed several new federal laws that specifically protected the civil rights of these groups.  In addition, the evidence of past discrimination was so overwhelming that almost every law adopted during that time period had additional anti-discrimination provisions.

The Rehabilitation Act was the first major piece of legislation that helped to protect the rights of people with a disability. The major purpose of the Rehabilitation Act was to prevent discrimination in a wide variety of public settings, including employment, transportation, and education.  In the final analysis, Congress limited the scope of the law to programs that received federal financial assistance. 

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states that: "No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in section 706 (8) of this title, shall, solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency of by the United States Postal Service."

Sport programs were not the focus of the Rehabilitation Act; however, the sport programs that are conducted by agencies that receive federal financial assistance are affected. Examples of programs that must be accessible include physical education academic programs at colleges and universities, intramural and interscholastic sports programs, and counseling/advising services. In general, building accessibility is not required, but program accessibility is required.

Additional information about Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is available from the U.S. Department of Labor.