All disabled people have the right to equality and non-discrimination (CRPD Article 5). The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was the world's first comprehensive civil rights law for disabled people—and it was won through decades of organizing, protest, and political strategy. This page tells the story of how the ADA happened. This page centers disabled people's expertise and is informed by disabled-led organizing globally.
The ADA didn't happen because lawmakers decided disabled people deserved rights. It happened because disabled people organized, protested, testified, lobbied, and refused to accept discrimination. Understanding this history shows that civil rights are won through collective action—and that ongoing vigilance is needed to protect and expand them.
This page covers:
- The movement-building that made the ADA possible (1970s–1980s)
- Drafting the bill and building the coalition
- The legislative fight (1988–1990)
- The Capitol Crawl and final passage
- What the ADA included
- Implementation battles and court challenges
- The ADA Amendments Act of 2008
- The ADA's legacy and ongoing struggles
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 included Section 504, the first federal civil rights protection for disabled people. It prohibited discrimination in programs receiving federal funding.
The 1977 sit-ins forced implementation of Section 504 regulations, proving that direct action could win victories. But Section 504 only covered federally funded programs—private businesses remained free to discriminate.
¶ State and Local Laws
Before the ADA, some states and cities passed disability rights laws:
- California, New York, and other states had anti-discrimination provisions
- Local ordinances required some accessibility
- These laws were inconsistent and often weak
Other countries provided models:
- Canada: Human rights codes included disability
- Australia: State-level anti-discrimination laws
- UK: Limited provisions (comprehensive law came later)
US activists studied these approaches while developing their own strategy.
The National Council on Disability (originally National Council on the Handicapped), a federal advisory body, played a key role:
- 1986: Published Toward Independence, recommending comprehensive civil rights law
- 1988: Published On the Threshold of Independence with draft ADA language
- Sandra Parrino, Justin Dart Jr., and others on the Council pushed for legislation
The ADA was drafted through collaboration among:
- Robert Burgdorf Jr.: Primary drafter, legal scholar
- Patrisha Wright: Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, chief lobbyist
- Justin Dart Jr.: "Father of the ADA," traveled all 50 states gathering testimony
- Evan Kemp: EEOC Commissioner, worked with the Bush administration
- Lex Frieden: Independent living leader, National Council member
- Judy Heumann: Disability rights leader
- I. King Jordan: President of Gallaudet University
- Tony Coelho: Congressman with epilepsy, key House sponsor
- Tom Harkin: Senator, key Senate sponsor (brother was Deaf)
- Ted Kennedy: Senator, civil rights champion
- Orrin Hatch: Republican Senator who supported the bill
The coalition supporting the ADA was remarkably broad:
- Independent living centers
- ADAPT activists
- National disability organizations (National Federation of the Blind, National Association of the Deaf, The Arc, etc.)
- Veterans' groups
- Parents' organizations
- Civil rights organizations
- Religious groups
- Some business allies
Opponents included:
- Business groups worried about compliance costs
- Some transit authorities opposing accessible bus requirements
- Restaurant and theater owners
- Insurance industry
- Conservatives concerned about government regulation
The ADA was first introduced in Congress in 1988:
- Senate: Tom Harkin and others introduced S. 2345
- House: Tony Coelho introduced companion bill
- Hearings gathered testimony from disabled people across the country
The bill didn't pass in 1988 but built momentum.
Justin Dart Jr. traveled to all 50 states holding public forums. He gathered thousands of stories of discrimination:
- People fired for having disabilities
- Students denied education
- People unable to enter buildings
- Medical discrimination
- Transportation barriers
This testimony provided the human evidence Congress needed.
After George H.W. Bush took office (having pledged support for the ADA during the campaign), the coalition intensified efforts:
- May 1989: New version of ADA introduced
- September 1989: Senate passed the ADA 76-8
- House: Faced more resistance; multiple committees had jurisdiction
- Negotiations over scope, enforcement, and timeline continued
Major points of contention included:
- Definition of disability: How broad? What conditions covered?
- Public accommodations: Which businesses? What modifications required?
- Transportation: Accessible buses required? Timeline?
- Enforcement: Individual lawsuits only? Damages available?
- Small business exemptions: How small? What exemptions?
- Food handling: Could employers exclude people with HIV from food service jobs? (The answer was no.)
Compromises were made, but the core civil rights framework survived.
With the House vote approaching, activists planned a dramatic action. On March 12, 1990:
- Over 1,000 disabled people marched from the White House to the Capitol
- Many protesters abandoned wheelchairs and crawled up the 83 Capitol steps
- Jennifer Keelan, 8 years old, became the iconic image as she crawled up the steps saying "I'll take all night if I have to"
- Michael Winter, ADAPT activist, led the crawl
- Police arrested over 100 protesters
The Capitol Crawl received national media coverage and put human faces on the need for accessibility. It demonstrated:
- The literal barriers disabled people faced
- The determination of the disability community
- That disabled people would not wait quietly for rights
The crawl is credited with pushing reluctant House members to support the bill.
¶ Passage and Signing
- House: Passed 377-28 on May 22, 1990
- Senate: Passed 91-6 on July 13, 1990
- Both chambers passed the conference report in July
On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA on the South Lawn of the White House. Over 3,000 people attended, including:
- Disability rights leaders
- Members of Congress
- Administration officials
- Activists who had fought for decades
Bush declared: "Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down."
Justin Dart Jr. stood near the President, wearing his trademark cowboy hat and American flag tie.
- Prohibited discrimination in hiring, firing, promotion, pay, and benefits
- Required reasonable accommodations
- Applied to employers with 15+ employees
- Phased implementation (1992 for large employers, 1994 for smaller)
¶ Title II: State and Local Government
- Required accessibility in government services and programs
- Applied to all state and local government entities
- Required accessible public transportation
- Included new construction and alteration standards
- Required accessibility in businesses open to the public
- Covered restaurants, hotels, theaters, stores, doctors' offices, etc.
- Required removal of barriers where "readily achievable"
- New construction must be accessible
- Required telephone relay services for Deaf and hard of hearing people
- Required closed captioning on federally funded public service announcements
- Prohibited retaliation against people exercising ADA rights
- Addressed relationship to other laws
- Excluded certain conditions from coverage
¶ Implementation and Court Battles
Federal agencies developed detailed regulations:
- EEOC: Employment provisions
- DOJ: Public accommodations and state/local government
- DOT: Transportation
- FCC: Telecommunications
- Access Board: Accessibility standards
The ADA faced immediate legal challenges. Some courts interpreted it narrowly:
- Sutton v. United Air Lines (1999): Supreme Court ruled that mitigating measures (like glasses) should be considered in determining disability
- Toyota v. Williams (2002): Court narrowly defined "major life activities"
- Board of Trustees v. Garrett (2001): Limited state employee suits for damages
These decisions significantly narrowed ADA protections through the 1990s and 2000s.
Some businesses and media promoted backlash narratives:
- Stories of "frivolous" lawsuits
- Complaints about compliance costs
- Attempts to weaken enforcement
- "Drive-by lawsuit" rhetoric targeting accessibility plaintiffs
Disability advocates had to fight to defend the law they had won.
Supreme Court decisions had narrowed the definition of disability so much that people with diabetes, epilepsy, cancer, and other conditions were being denied coverage. The law was being interpreted against its original purpose.
The ADA Amendments Act (signed by President George W. Bush in 2008):
- Rejected the narrow Supreme Court interpretations
- Broadened definition of "major life activities"
- Specified that mitigating measures should not be considered
- Made clear that episodic conditions and conditions in remission are covered
- Shifted focus from whether someone is disabled to whether discrimination occurred
The ADAAA restored much of the ADA's original scope.
The ADA transformed American society:
- Physical access: Ramps, elevators, accessible bathrooms became standard in new construction
- Employment: Discrimination became illegal (though enforcement remains challenging)
- Transportation: Accessible buses and transit systems expanded
- Communication: Relay services, captioning, and accommodations became available
- Attitudes: Disability rights entered mainstream consciousness
- Global influence: The ADA inspired disability rights laws worldwide
Despite the ADA:
- Employment rates for disabled people remain far below non-disabled rates
- Many buildings, especially older ones, remain inaccessible
- Web accessibility is inconsistent
- Discrimination continues in healthcare, housing, and education
- Enforcement depends largely on individual lawsuits
- Many disabled people live in poverty
Current ADA-related struggles include:
- Web accessibility: Courts split on whether websites are covered
- Service animals: Conflicts over fake service animals and legitimate needs
- Emotional support animals: Not covered, but confusion remains
- Rideshare accessibility: Uber, Lyft, and wheelchair-accessible vehicles
- Autonomous vehicles: Ensuring accessibility in new transportation technology
- COVID-19: Accessibility of testing, vaccination, and public health information
- Polio survivor, wheelchair user
- Called the "father of the ADA"
- Traveled all 50 states gathering discrimination testimony
- Republican who worked across party lines
- Continued advocacy until his death
- Polio survivor, lifelong activist
- Leader of 504 sit-ins
- Assistant Secretary of Education under Clinton
- Special Advisor on International Disability Rights under Obama
- Subject of documentary Crip Camp
- Called the "general" of the ADA campaign
- Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
- Chief lobbyist coordinating the coalition
- Continued advocacy for decades
- Congressman with epilepsy
- Chief House sponsor of the ADA
- Used personal experience to build support
- Majority Whip who helped secure votes
- Senator from Iowa
- Chief Senate sponsor
- Brother was Deaf, giving personal connection
- Gave part of his ADA floor speech in ASL
- EEOC Commissioner under Bush
- Worked inside the administration to support ADA
- Wheelchair user with neuromuscular disease
- Helped negotiate with business opposition
¶ Sources and Further Reading
- Joseph Shapiro, No Pity
- Lennard Davis, Enabling Acts: The Hidden Story of How the Americans with Disabilities Act Gave the Largest US Minority Its Rights
- Arlene Mayerson, "The History of the ADA" (law review article)
- Judy Heumann, Being Heumann
- Crip Camp (2020 documentary)
- Lives Worth Living (documentary)
- Capitol Crawl footage (various archives)
- Justin Dart papers (various collections)
- Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund archives
- National Council on Disability publications
- ADA text and regulations (ada.gov)
- EEOC guidance documents
- Department of Justice ADA resources
This page centers disabled people's expertise and is informed by disabled-led organizing globally. For questions or to suggest additions, see How to Contribute.