More MS news articles for June 2001

Disabled Americans still confront major barriers

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/articles.asp?SMContentIndex=4&SMContentSet=0

Associated Press- June 13, 2001

WASHINGTON (AP) - Disabled Americans still lag far behind others in graduation rates, employment, home ownership and computer use, a federal report concluded Wednesday.

The barriers are especially acute for disabled students, the National Council on Disability reported. All states are out of compliance - to some degree - with a federal law guaranteeing public education to the disabled in the least restrictive setting, the council said.

A year ago, the independent government agency concluded the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act was not being enforced aggressively enough by federal agencies. The updated report said disabled Americans "still confront major barriers of discrimination and suffer the consequences of weak federal enforcement."

The council reported:

National high school graduation rates for special education students have stagnated at 27 percent for the past three years, while rates are 75 percent for students not relying on special education.

Unemployment rates for adults with disabilities have hovered at the 70 percent level the past dozen years, while rates are in single digits for those not disabled.

Home ownership rates for the disabled are in single digits, compared to 71 percent for those not disabled.

Computer use and Internet access for the disabled are far below those without disabilities.

The report noted that President Bush, during his campaign speeches, called for greatly expanded resources for the disabled, including technology assistance, high-quality education, innovative transportation programs and strong enforcement of the disabilities law.

The law prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and requires that they have access to transportation and other public accommodations.