Higher Education and Disability Discrimination: A Fifty Year Retrospective

Abstract

This article tracks the judicial, statutory, and regulatory developments affecting students with disabilities from 1960 to 2010. It reviews the evolution of legal issues from the 1973 Rehabilitation Act and the 1975 special education law. It highlights cases that framed the requirements for who is disabled, what it means to be otherwise qualified, and what reasonable accommodations must be provided. It notes emerging issues including documentation of disabilities, students with psychological impairments, the impact of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (and the 2008 amendments), emotional support animals, access to technology, programs abroad and field placements, and the relationship of professional education programs to the professional licensing process.

Keywords: higher education, disability discrimination, disabilities, special education, Rehabilitation Act, ADA

JEL Classification: K10, K40