Here is a look at each one individually as they relate to CART, including the requirements and definitions in the law, who is covered and what kind of services they provide.
The Laws Related to CART
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504)
Section 504 requires that any agency, school or institution receiving federal financial assistance provide persons with disabilities an opportunity to be fully integrated into the mainstream. However, the institution will receive no additional financial support to provide auxiliary services or aids.This law defines persons with disabilities as individuals who have a physical impairment that limits one or more major life activities or a person who is regarded as having an impairment, which qualifies the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
Its aim is to protect all persons with a disability from discrimination in education based solely on disability and to eliminate barriers that would prevent a student from full participation in programs or services offered to the general school population.
Persons with disabilities are allowed placement in regular classrooms with support services, such as CART, to eradicate any barriers to the complete educational experience.
- ADA
The ADA was enacted in July 1990.The act gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age and religion.
An accommodation plan is developed with the individual, who is then placed in mainstream environments with any reasonable accommodation needed to provide full access. This law covers a broad range of issues from wheelchair access to employment and housing issues to information access.
In addition, Title II of the ADA clarifies the requirements of section 504 for public transportation systems that receive federal financial assistance, and extends coverage to all public entities that provide public transportation, whether or not they receive federal financial assistance.
A reasonable accommodation is any modification or adjustment to a school or work environment that will enable a qualified student or employee with a disability to participate or to perform essential functions. It is the right of every deaf or hard-of-hearing individual to receive these services at school, in the workplace and certain specified meeting places unless the cost to provide such services is unduly burdensome. While doctors and hospitals are required by law to provide CART assistance, they are reluctant because at this time insurance carriers do not compensate them for costs associated with this service.
- IDEA Amendments of 1997
New IDEA legislation was signed into law in 1997. The language requires educational institutions to provide a free, appropriate, public education to people with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. A local educational agency is eligible for assistance under IDEA if it has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the state educational agency that it meets each of the required conditions.The new law is designed to remove financial incentives for placing children with disabilities in more separate settings when they could be served in a regular classroom. In addition, regular classroom teachers will be included in meetings when the academic goals of children with disabilities are set.
It also eases some of the restrictions on how IDEA funding can be used for children served in regular classrooms. Specifically, such funds can be used for providing services to children with disabilities in regular classroom settings even if non-disabled children benefit as well. An example of this could be if the CART provider was projecting the transcript on a larger scale than a laptop monitor.
Under IDEA, each student has an Individual Education Program (IEP), which is created by a team consisting of the parent(s), at least one of the student’s regular teachers, a representative of the public agency, an individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, and at the discretion of the parent or the agency, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the student, including related service personnel (such as the CART provider), and, if appropriate, the student.
