By Taylor Easley (she/her), Minority Graduate Fellow in Public Health
July is Disability Pride Month, and it is a time to acknowledge the impact of public health policies on the disability community. Two policies that have played a vital role in advancing the rights of individuals with disabilities are the Virginians with Disabilities Act (VDA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The VDA was signed into law by former Governor Charles S. Robb in 1985. Just five years later, in 1990, former President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into law. These laws have had a long-lasting effect on public health policies for people with disabilities in Virginia and the United States. In addition, the ADA Amendment Act (ADAA) was signed into law by former President George W. Bush in 2008, further strengthening the protection and support of individuals with disabilities. Thanks to these policies, people with disabilities can make sure that they will not be discriminated against, and they have set the standard for public health policies in Virginia and across the United States.
The VDA and ADA have impacted Virginia’s public health policies at the state and federal levels. They did this by ensuring equal access to public accommodations and preventing discrimination in areas such as transportation, housing, voting, employment, and education.
Some of Virginia’s public health policies that have helped people with disabilities are: Family Life Education for Students with Disabilities (2020), the Marcus-David Peters Act (2020), and the Medical Care Facilities, Persons with Disabilities, Designated Support Persons (2021). On the federal level, now have the 988 National Suicide Hotline Designation Act (2020). These public health policies have been in place to help people with disabilities in less than three years, and there are many more public health policies.
Although more public health policies should be in place to help people with disabilities, the disability community should note the achievement of public health policies that have helped people with disabilities in Virginia and the United States. Both federal and state policies have paved the way for people with disabilities to have equal access to public health services.