On July 26, 2019, the United States will mark the 29th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the primary civil rights law protecting the rights of disabled Americans and one of the most comprehensive pieces of disability non-discrimination law in the world. AFB celebrates the tremendous progress our society has made toward equity in the past 29 years, but we also recognize that many barriers still remain.
On June 22, 1999, the Supreme Court ruled in Olmstead v. L.C. that unjustified segregation of people with disabilities constitutes discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Often hailed by the disability rights community as the most important civil rights decision for people with disabilities in US history, the Olmstead decision flung open the doors of institutions and gave previously segregated people the right to live in their communities.