The Americans with Disabilities Act Turned 36 This Year: How Governments Can Support People with Disabilities

AI disclosure: N/A

Introduction

The thirty-sixth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) occurred on July 26, 2026. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the bill, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. Complying with the ADA is required by law, but government agencies  should go beyond legal obligation to further support and protect the disability community.

Honoring the recent 36th anniversary of the ADA, this article describes 36 ways that governments at all levels in the United States (local, state, and federal) can help people with disabilities, and potentially other individuals, to benefit from a more accessible environment. It also highlights real-world examples of many of these methods in action. Real-world examples are important because they show that such programs exist and can encourage governments, like local governments, to adopt ideas of their peers. 

Governments should follow the disability rights movement’s mantra of “Nothing About Us Without Us”Disabled people should be active partners in creating and implementing policy initiatives.

General

1. Understand the ADA and follow it. This method may seem obvious, but many people do not know what the ADA legally requires. For example, a 2022 study found that 35.8% of 714 physicians knew little or nothing about their responsibilities to patients under the ADA. 

2. Create a central office for disability access and inclusion, which can assist government agencies in accommodating and providing equal access to people with disabilities. 

Example – The District of Columbia’s Office of Disability Rights trains D.C. agencies on “ADA and other disability rights laws and regulations,” and provides sign language interpreter services and Braille interpretation. This Office also created the District Government Guide on Accessible Meetings for use by the D.C. government.

3. Hire at least one employee for every government department (or more than one in large departments) to advise on disability-related issues. 

4. Create a general disability commission or committee that includes disabled members of the general public. The group can advise governments on disability policy based on local, lived expertise.

Example – The Seattle Disability Commission is composed of 21 volunteers who advise “the Mayor, City Council, and City departments about issues of importance to people with disabilities, recommends policies, practices, and legislation to the City in matters affecting the concerns of people with disabilities, and encourages understanding among people with various disabilities as well as between people with disabilities and the larger Seattle community.” Commissioners serve two-year terms and generally are chosen by the Mayor and the City Council. “Get Engaged,” which is a program for people between the ages of 18 and 29 years old, is the source of one Commissioner who serves a one-year term. 

5. Build disability-related advisory committees for agencies that frequently interact with the public (i.e. elections, transportation, housing, motor vehicles, police, schools, and parks and recreation). Unlike a general disability commission, these committees are housed within or connected to specific agencies, allowing members to provide subject-matter-specific guidance.

Example – In New York City, the Advisory Committee for Transit Accessibility, which was created in 2019, represents multiple forms of disability. It helps the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) "to identify issues, provide practice recommendations, and support the MTA and its core principle of accessibility.” 

6. Train government staff and volunteers on how to work with and interact with people with disabilities. Training should occur when staff and volunteers first begin work and continue on a regular basis. Such initiatives not only reduce bias and foster empathy in the workplace, but also ensure legal compliance and may prevent future problems and costly lawsuits.

7. Design accessible websites, mobile apps, and materials. The U.S. Web Designs System provides recommendations that benefit people with many different disabilities. According to ADA.gov, “The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1, Level AA is the technical standard for state and local governments’ web content and mobile apps.” Exceptions are for “[a]rchived web content,” “[p]re-existing conventional electronic documents, “[i]ndividualized documents that are password-protected,” “[p]re-existing social media posts,” and more. Many accessible websites have high color contrast, consistent navigation, simple formatting, and alternative text for images or logos.

8. Host accessible events. For example, use simple fonts and left-justified text on printed event materials, provide materials in multiple formats (i.e. – large print and plain language), have different types of seating, require speakers to use microphones, have closed-captioning and ASL interpretation, and provide ingredient lists for foods you serve.

9. Create sensory rooms in office and event spaces. Sensory rooms are spaces where people can relax and relieve stress. These areas may include calm lighting, quieter sounds, soft or textured surfaces, and comforting sensory items.

Example – Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services in Fairfax County, Virginia, has three sensory rooms in community centers that the public can use. One of the rooms is staffed and hosts scheduled programming, including group sessions, meditation, yoga class, sensory program, and open time.

10. Create social stories that could help autistic and other neurodivergent children, people learning a new language, and others. Social stories prepare people for situations they may encounter and have text with realistic-looking graphics.

Example – The Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. has social narratives in English and Spanish about what visitors may encounter at the exhibits and one in English about the Zoo’s annual ZooLights event.

11. Recognize awareness periods, such as Autism Acceptance Month (which occurs every April). Governments can honor these periods by issuing proclamations, posting on social media, and holding events. However, it is important to focus on the disability community during the entire year, not just those limited periods. If governments recognize these periods without meaningfully accepting people with disabilities, they may be engaging in virtue signaling.

Example – In April 2026, West Chicago, Illinois, proclaimed April 2026 as Autism Acceptance Month.

12. Give disability-related awards to honor disabled people and their allies. 

Example – The government of Washington, D.C. recognizes people and organizations that "demonstrate a strong commitment to advancing disability rights, inclusion, and equity across the District of Columbia” at its annual Advocate for Equity Awards, which is part of D.C.’s recognition of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (in March). 

13. Assist people with disabilities that may be non-apparent (i.e. – asthma and autism). 

Example – Maryland uses a butterfly symbol that represents non-apparent disabilities. People with these disabilities can add a free butterfly symbol to their identification card, driver’s license, or moped permit. The symbol assists first respondents and others interact with people with communication challenges or who require adjustments that are not apparent.

14. Facilitate free initiatives that teach policy advocacy to disabled people and their families. These programs run over the course of several months and teach participants valuable skills as they make lifelong friends. The Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities created such a program called Partners in Policymaking (PIP) in 1987, which has been replicated in other states. Although PIPs are typically at the state level, they can also occur at other levels of government. Over 27,000 people with disabilities and parents of children with developmental disabilities are alumni of the program in the U.S. and overseas.

Example – Virginia’s PIP educates its participants on topics, such as self-advocacy, education, employment, and technology.

15. Provide more services for disabled adults. Often when people with disabilities age out of special education, they experience a service drop-off, also known as the “cliff,” and have access to substantially fewer options for education and occupational therapy programs than they had prior.

16. Offer more protection than the legal minimum outlined in the ADA. The ADA overrides state or local laws that "provide less protection or benefit," which creates the ADA floor, but a state or local law can provide "more protection or greater benefit” to set a higher bar than the ADA.

Example – Maryland state code requires more van-accessible parking spaces (one in four) than the ADA (one in six).

Example – While the ADA covers employers that have at least 15 employees, the D.C. Human Rights Act applies to every D.C. employer no matter the size.

17. Ensure proper and timely enforcement of disability civil rights laws. It is not sufficient to just have strong laws. If laws are not enforced, they have little to no value.

Focus on Specific Disabilities

18. Designate staff and committees to focus on specific disability communities and develop corresponding multi-year plans.

Examples – Maryland has an Autism Strategy State Coordinator and a five-year state plan on autism that focuses on “education, employment, housing, transportation, safety and health.”Virginia has an Autism Advisory Council, which promotes “coordination of services and resources among agencies involved in the delivery of services to Virginians with autism spectrum disorders and to increase public awareness of such services and resources.” 

Education/Youth

State governments have the most power over public schools, which is especially important for children with disabilities. While 90% of U.S. students attend public schools, 95% of children with disabilities attend such schools. 

19. Create and maintain inclusive playgrounds and recreational areas, enabling all children to play together. Welcoming and accessible areas may attract visitors from hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away. 

Example – North Charleston, South Carolina, has multiple inclusive playgrounds, including Oak Terrace Preserve Inclusive Playground and Park Circle Playground.

20. Prepare transition-age people with disabilities for post-secondary-school opportunities. Transition planning is required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). However, according to SEN Law, transition planning is an “overlooked part” of the IDEA and “statutory law does not always translate to practical application at the ground level.” In 2026, the U.S. Department of Education reported that just 20 states and the Marshall Islands “meet requirements” of IDEA Part B, which covers students with disabilities between the ages of three and 21. School systems and schools could provide information about colleges and vocational schools, employment, housing, disability disclosure, and reasonable accommodations to disabled students. 

Employment

Employment is crucial to quality of life, financial independence, and mental health. People with disabilities have less than a third the employment rate of people without disabilities (approximately 20% compared to 68.7%). 

21. Institute Employment First policies, which the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy defined as “the expectation that public systems align policies, practices, and reimbursement structures to foster competitive integrated employment as the priority option in publicly-financed day and employment services for youth and adults with significant disabilities.” According to the State Employment Leadership Network, "40 states have an official Employment First policy (based on legislation, policy directive, etc.)."

Example – Kentucky’s Employment First Policy says, “It is the policy of the Commonwealth of Kentucky that competitive integrated employment shall be considered the first and primary option for persons with disabilities of working age who desire to become employed.” Kentucky also created a 28-member Employment First Council, which is located in the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and meets on a regular basis. The Council advises Kentucky on state policies and creates training and resources. 

22. Host career fairs to help disabled people secure employment. 

Example – In October 2022, New York's Governor Kathy Hochul, the Office of the Chief Disability Officer, the New York Department of Labor, and other offices hosted a “Disability Rights and Employment Awareness Month (DREAM) Virtual Career Fair.” The job fair featured thousands of positions and many businesses and organizations.

23. Implement hiring preferences for people with disabilities. These practices make it easier for governments to hire individuals with disabilities. 

Example – Montgomery County, Maryland has such hiring preferences. To be eligible, people with disabilities must meet certain requirements. They “[m]ust be rated and placed in the highest rating category on the eligible list;” “[m]ust be a person with a disability who meets the eligibility criteria for certification by the Maryland Department of Rehabilitation or equivalent out-of-state agency; and” “[m]ust be certified by the Maryland Department of Education Division of Rehabilitation Services or by an equivalent out-of-state vocational rehabilitation agency as meeting the definition of disability based upon medical evidence.”

24. End subminimum wage, a labor practice that enables employers to pay disabled people far less than minimum wage. The type of employment comes from section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The 14(c) program is exploitative, with some workers with disabilities earning as little as 22 cents per hour. Ending 14(c) could increase employment rates of people with disabilities. Stopping 14(c) has caused an increase in the labor force participation by 4.7 percentage points. Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia are among the states that ended the 14(c) program. 

25. Pass a bill to end workplace bullying. Nineteen percent of Americans have been bullied. Employees with disabilities are more likely to be bullied than employees without disabilities, despite laws protecting them. Workplace bullying is generally considered legal unless it targets a victim’s protected trait, such as gender, race or disability. Although disabled people are legally protected from workplace bullying, they still experience it in many workplaces.

Example – Three relevant bills are the Healthy Workplace Bill, the Workplace Bullying Accountability Act, and the Workplace Psychological Safety Act. While the ADA covers disability-based harassment, broader bills, such as the Workplace Psychological Safety Act, fill the gap for general workplace hostility. Making workplace bullying illegal would help all employees, including workers who are not already in protected groups.

Health

People with disabilities face more barriers to accessing health care than people without disabilities – many problems result from the inadequate training of medical professionals.

26. Mandate that all medical professionals have continuing education on disabilities to maintain their licenses. Requiring that these employees learn about general bias as part of continuing education is not specific enough to properly cover ableist bias. When fulfilling a continuing education requirement about bias, medical professionals may not encounter disability at all. Having a disability is just one identity that an individual may have; it is important that providers receive comprehensive bias training that includes disability alongside other identities, like race, gender, and religion.

27. Create a Medicaid buy-in program, allowing people with disabilities who earn incomes above Medicaid’s limits to maintain Medicaid if they make monthly premium payments. Forty-seven states have a Medicaid buy-in program. 

28. Create Medicaid Home & Community-Based Services 1915(c) waivers and Medicaid Section 1115 waivers to help people with disabilities, and avoid having long waitlists for services. 1915(c) waivers cover services relating to case management, home health aides, respite care, and mental health. Waivers can focus on specific medical diagnoses and be either statewide or in certain geographic areas. According to Medicaid.gov, “Section 1115 demonstrations and waiver authorities in section 1915 of the Social Security Act are vehicles states can use to test new or existing ways to deliver and pay for health care services in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).” Waivers last for a limited amount of time (i.e. – three or five years). The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reviews and approves state waiver applications. 

As of 2025, 46 states and Washington, D.C. have at least one Section 1915(c) waiver. Some waivers focus on intellectual/developmental disabilities, seniors/adults with physical disabilities, and autism. States often have multiple waivers for different groups of people. 

Waivers allow for waitlists. The presence of people on a waitlist shows that the program’s capacity is not enough. Most (73%) of the people on waitlists have intellectual and developmental disabilities while 24% of individuals on waitlists are seniors and adults with physical disabilities. 

Housing and Support

Housing is essential to life, affecting physical safety, transportation, education, employment, and health. Lack of affordable and accessible housing puts people with disabilities at risk of being institutionalized or becoming unhoused.

29. Support disabled people to live in the community. Recently, the Department of Justice issued a memo that said states are not required to prioritize offering services at home or in the community to people with disabilities. The memo could cause more disabled people to be institutionalized. According to Harvard University, institutions subjected people with disabilities “to the worst of human rights violations.” 

30. Support family caregivers. In the U.S., there are more than 50 million family caregivers, representing one in five people who work. Many of them face physical, financial, and emotional challenges. Many individuals with disabilities live with caregivers who are 60 years old or older. According to the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), 38 states and Washington, D.C. support family caregivers who are employed. NASHP discussed states’ activities, including having “[m]andatory paid sick days,” having family and medical leave acts that go beyond the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, requiring “[p]aid family leave,” providing tax credits for family caregivers “beyond those caring for dependents,” having anti-discrimination provisions, and having unemployment laws. The Center for Health Care Strategy reported that states can create policies to help family caregivers:

·      “Create uniform policies across agencies to streamline caregiver information and access to services” 

·      “Inventory community services and caregiver resources”

·      “Establish data sources to identify and track family caregivers and assess their needs” 

·      "Provide trainings to family caregivers on key care topics” 

·      “Expand access to respite and adult day care services to reduce caregiver stress and prevent burnout” 

·      “Invest in programs that help keep family members in their homes for as long as possible.” 

Example – In Georgia, Qualified Caregiving Expenses are “payments by the taxpayer for home health agency services, personal care services, personal care attendant services, homemaker services, adult day care, respite care, or health care equipment and supplies which equipment and supplies have been determined to be medically necessary by a physician These services, care, or equipment and supplies must be

1.         Provided to a qualifying family member; and

2.         Purchased or obtained from an organization or individual not related to the taxpayer or the qualifying family member.”

A “qualifying family member” has to be at least 62 years old or “been determined disabled by the Social Security Administration.”

Example – In North Carolina, the Family Caregiver Support Program helps family and informal caregivers, including people who care for relatives with disabilities. It does not pay caregivers, but it provides the following kinds of services: “information to caregivers about available services, assistance to caregivers in gaining access to the services, individual counseling, support groups, and caregiver training, short-term respite care; and supplemental services, on a limited basis.”

Transportation

Transportation is vital to quality of life. Nationwide, approximately 25.5 million Americans face major barriers to accessible transportation. While urban areas may have accessible public transportation and paratransit services, rural areas frequently do not have “consistent or available options.”

31. Have a high-quality public transportation system that runs on a regular basis and serves a large area. Data shows that people with disabilities drive less than people without disabilities.

32. Create step-free ways to enter public transportation. Low-floor buses and trams make boarding easier for people in wheelchairs, older people, young children, and people with strollers and/or suitcases. Install and maintain elevators, escalators, ramps, and wide exits and entrances in public transportation systems.

Example – D.C.’s Metro system, which covers Washington, D.C., and parts of Maryland and Virginia, is the North American transit system with the largest number of elevators (320) and escalators (647). 

33. Have “clear large-print signs, both visual and tactile” in transportation systems. According to the U.S. Access Board, “[t]actile signs must have raised characters that are repeated in Grade 2 Braille.” More requirements are on https://www.access-board.gov/ada/guides/chapter-7-signs/. Signs in Braille should be cleaned regularly, preventing the spread of germs and illnesses. 

34. Display messages (i.e. – when the next bus or subway train is coming; there are delays on the subway) in both visual and audible ways. Communicating announcements using multiple methods is necessary to ensure that everyone can receive the information.

35. Have covered benches at all bus stops and subway stations, including platforms where people wait for trains. ADA requirements for bus area shelters, benches, and signs relate to surfaces and size. 

36. Operate paratransit systems that enable people who qualify under the ADA to go from “origin to destination.” Paratransit services are in every state, but they do not cover all parts of every state. People must schedule their trips by the day before the journeys. A companion or a Personal Care Attendant can travel for free.

Conclusion

Structuring public policy and government programs to intentionally support disabled people would improve their quality of life, enabling them to live to their full potential. It is the right thing to do. Governments can be creative in the development and implementation of services and programs. They should collaborate with people with disabilities and allies to formulate and implement policies that benefit the community.

About the author

Native Washingtonian Miriam Edelman, MPA, MSSW is a Washington, D.C.,-based policy professional. She has degrees from Barnard College, Columbia University (BA); Cornell University (MPA); and Columbia University (MSSW – focusing on policy). She is a commissioner on the DC Commission on Persons with Disabilities, serves on her religious congregation’s disabilities task force and her local federation's disabilities-related taskforce, and serves as a member of the planning committee of D.C.'s Employment First Summit. She participates in a national initiative to strengthen disability-related healthcare education. She writes about disabilities (including autism) for magazines, H.R. publications, non-profit organizations, and more. Miriam was a trainee in Georgetown University’s Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities program. Miriam aims to continue her career in public service. She is especially interested in disabilities, employment, health, District of Columbia autonomy, and civic education.

Social media profile

Find Miriam on LinkedIn.