BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: ACR 162
Author: Beall (D), et al
Amended: 6/17/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
WITHOUT REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE OR FILE
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Read and adopted 5/13/10
SUBJECT : Disability History Week
SOURCE : California Foundation for Independent Living
Centers
DIGEST : This resolution designates the 2nd week of
October 2010, and annually thereafter, as Disability
History Week, and encourages public and private
institutions of higher education, state and local agencies,
nonprofit and community-based organizations, and private
businesses and corporations to observe Disability History
Week by dedicating appropriate classroom instructional time
or by coordinating all-inclusive activities to be conducted
during that week to afford opportunities for students and
the general public to learn more about the disability
community and to celebrate and honor its role in
contemporary American society.
ANALYSIS :
This resolution makes the following legislative findings:
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1. People with disabilities are the largest minority group
in the United States, with a population of 54 million,
including 6 million who live in California.
2. More than 678,105 public school students in kindergarten
through grade 12 have some type of disability.
3. During most of American history, people with physical,
psychiatric, sensory, and intellectual disabilities were
subjected to a shameful legacy of blatant discrimination
and mistreatment, including denial of access to medical
and psychological care, forced segregation in
institutions, involuntary sterilization, and denial of
equal opportunities in education, housing, and
employment.
4. Most Californians and other Americans are unaware of the
significant contributions that people with disabilities
have made, are continuing to make, for the benefit of
the nation and the State.
5. Even today, long after enactment of state and federal
laws recognizing the civil rights of people with
disabilities, discrimination and exclusion continue.
6. Teaching all students about disability history will
promote a greater understanding between those with and
without disabilities and will lead to increased
opportunities for interaction between students in
special education and the general student population,
which will help form new relationships between students
with and without disabilities to promote a common
awareness and understanding of current disability
issues, and help motivate students to follow the lead of
prior disability rights activists.
7. Knowledge about disability history can help promote an
understanding of the importance of providing
opportunities to people with disabilities to develop and
apply independent living skills that are critical to
personal success in society.
8. Universal knowledge about disability history will
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enhance the recognition that employing people with
disabilities benefits businesses, employees, and the
community.
9. The history of the disability community's civil rights
movement will further expand public awareness about all
types of disabilities, including those that are both
apparent and non-apparent, and a better informed society
will benefit all people with disabilities by helping
them to use education as a tool to reduce
misunderstanding that leads to stigmatization, hate
crimes, and discrimination.
10.All people with disabilities are entitled to feel a
sense of pride about the history of the disability
community, about their role in their local community,
and about themselves as individuals with a disability.
As people with and without disabilities learn more about
the history of disability, all Californians will have a
closer connection to the disability community, which
will ultimately contribute to a greater appreciation of
diversity in our state.
11.For more than three-quarters of a century, the blind
community, parents of persons with developmental
disabilities, and the deaf and hard-of-hearing community
have been advocating for the rights of Californians,
with disabilities, lead by such organizations as the
California Council of the Blind, which organized in 1934
under the leadership of Dr. newel Perry, and the
California Association of the Deaf, which was organized
in1906.
12.These pioneering organizations successfully fought for
many pieces of significant disability rights
legislation, such as the state's white cane law,
employment programs, special education, and financial
assistance for people with disabilities.
Comments
The timing of this resolution is noteworthy. July 26, 2010
marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark federal civil
rights law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and
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October, when Disability History Week are observed, is
National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
This resolution designates the 2nd week of October 2010,
and annually thereafter, as Disability History Week, and
encourages public and private institutions of higher
education, state and local agencies, nonprofit and
community-based organizations, and private businesses and
corporations to observe Disability History Week by
dedicating appropriate classroom instructional time or by
coordinating all-inclusive activities to be conducted
during that week to afford opportunities for students and
the general public to learn more about the disability
community and to celebrate and honor its role in
contemporary American society.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office and sponsor of
this bill state that people with disabilities in California
and throughout the U.S., have a long history of neglect,
mistreatment, and exclusion. In the last part of the 20th
century, however, the California Legislature became
recognized as a leader in addressing and correcting those
abuses, and Californians with disabilities played a major
leadership role in establishing the national disability
rights movement.
CTW:do 6/29/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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