PLUK News feed

Proposed Regulations Would Extend ADA's Reach

Link: ADA

A proposed Bush administration revision of the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act would establish more strict mandates, such as requiring wheelchair lifts or ramps in school auditoriums, swimming pools and playgrounds. Disability advocates say the law does not go far enough, while business associations say the revisions could create financial strain at some of the more than seven million businesses and government agencies nationwide expected to be affected.

House Subcommittee Votes Unanimously to End Reading First

Link: Read First

A House subcommittee on Thursday unanimously approved eliminating funding for the federal Reading First program next year. "A scientifically rigorous study released by the Department of Education found that the program has no discernible impact on student reading performance," said Rep. David R. Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat and chairman of the House Appropriations committee. It also "has been plagued with mismanagement, conflicts of interest and cronyism, as documented by the inspector general," he said.

Spending Bills with Education Components Moving Through Congress

Link: Education

Medicaid payments to schools would continue and many war veterans would receive college benefits under a new supplemental-spending bill passed by the U.S. Senate on a 75-22 vote. A House bill containing similar provisions already has been approved in that chamber.

Spy Museum to Improve Access for People with Disabilities

Link: Museum

After a 2004 complaint that the six-year-old International Spy Museum discriminated against people with visual impairments, the for-profit organization announced it had reached an agreement with the Justice Department. The museum will close-caption video presentations, offer special tours with visual descriptions of exhibits, hire sign-language docents and improve wheelchair access.

State Insurance Mandates Changing the Picture for Autism Treatment

Link: Autism Treatments

Generally, insurance companies have denied coverage for autism treatments even when the same treatments, such as speech or occupational therapy, are covered for other conditions. Medicaid is available for families that meet its income requirements, but extensive waiting periods often prevent early intervention, which, according to research recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is critical to improving a child’s development. Meanwhile, many parents with children enrolled in public school special education programs have sued their districts when services they deem necessary, such as home-based tutoring, are denied, or when schools fail to provide services for which they are being reimbursed by Medicaid. Increasingly, those suits are being settled in the districts’ favor.

Under Political Pressure, Union Pulls Home Care Initiative

Link: Home Care Initiative

A voter initiative to expand in-home care for the elderly and the disabled in Montana won't be on the ballot this fall. The labor union pursuing Initiative 159 announced Wednesday that it is withdrawing the measure.

President Bush Signed Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Into Law!

Link: Genetic Fairness
WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 21, 2008 - The Coalition for Genetic Fairness (http://www.geneticfairness.org/) commends President George W. Bush for signing into law today the first civil rights legislation of the new millennium, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). GINA is the first and only federal legislation that will provide protections against discrimination based on an individual's genetic information in health insurance coverage and employment settings.

Examiner.com: Blazing new trail

Link: Examiner

BALTIMORE -

Atholton senior and wheelchair athlete Tatyana McFadden has won races against some of the best competition in the world, but her most recent victory came away from the track.

McFadden’s testimony in front of the General Assembly was pivotal in it unanimously passing a bill that requires schools to provide disabled students with access to high school sports teams, either among themselves or with able-bodied students.

WSJ.com: Bill Advances to Suspen Medicaid Cost-Shift Rules

Link: The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON -- Legislation to block Medicaid rules that states said would shift billions of dollars of costs to them began a move through the House.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee's health panel Wednesday unanimously passed the bill, which would put a moratorium on seven rules that, among other things, would end federal payments for physician training and transportation of Medicaid-eligible children to school. Congress put some of the rules on hold last year; that moratorium expires June 30. The new legislation would hold the rules in abeyance until April 1, 2009, when there will be a new president.

AGBell.org: Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act of 2007

Link: EHDI 2007

Originally enacted in 2000, the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act provides funding for early hearing detection and intervention programs nationwide. The U.S. Congress is currently considering reauthorization of this landmark legislation. On Tuesday, April 8, the EHDI Act of 2007 passed the House of Representatives and now moves to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for consideration. AG Bell would like to thank all those members of the House of Representatives that supported and championed the EHDI Act of 2007.