The National Council on Disability (NCD) has released its annual progress report for 2024. In this report, NCD summarizes developments in disability policy that have occurred over the last year. NCD also points out several areas of progress in the report and makes recommendations for continued improvement in some areas.
NCD is an independent federal agency whose members collaborate with people with disabilities and their advocates to serve as advisors to the President, Congress, federal entities, and state, tribal, and local government entities. The nine members who make up NCD include five appointed by the President and four appointed by the majority and minority leadership of Congress.
National Council on Disability Annual Progress Report
The 2024 NCD progress report highlighted some policy advancements in the areas of healthcare, transportation, employment, and housing policy, as follows:
Healthcare Policy
The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities has designated people with disabilities as a “Health Disparities Population.” This designation signifies agreement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to research barriers and unmet healthcare needs of people with disabilities. The HHS also can develop interventions to meet these unmet healthcare needs because of this designation.
Furthermore, NCD supports issuing the final rule on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act by the Office of Civil Rights of HHS. This rule requires using accessible medical and diagnostic equipment (AMDE). More specifically, within two years of the effective date, recipients of federal funds who use examination tables and/or weight scales must have at least one accessible version of the equipment.
Transportation Policy
The 2024 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act includes accessibility requirements that are critical for individuals with disabilities. Some of these requirements include accommodating seating requests based on disability, conducting proper training for handling wheelchairs to prevent damage, and providing universal charging stations in each airport terminal.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a final rule amending its Carrier Access Act regulation, which improves the accessibility of lavatories on single-aisle aircraft for individuals with disabilities. DOT also proposed a rule that would affect the regulations implementing the Air Carrier Access Act in addressing problems that people using wheelchairs and scooters encounter while traveling.
The U.S. Access Board published a final rule entitled “Accessibility Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way.” This rule provides minimum guidelines for all newly constructed pedestrian facilities and altered portions of existing pedestrian facilities. This rule aims to ensure that pedestrian facilities subject to the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 are accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
Amtrak has made ongoing improvements to make stations and parts of stations for which Amtrak is responsible ADA compliant through its multi-year Americans with Disabilities Act Stations Program (ADSP).
Employment Policy
The purpose of the AbilityOne program was to increase jobs for individuals with disabilities. Its strategic plan calls for revamping the program according to modern disability policy, but to date, structural problems with the program continue to exist. NCD recommends that the AbilityOne program be phased out altogether and replaced with amendments to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act to require federal contractors to employ a percentage of workers with significant disabilities or who are blind.
Tribal Lands Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) programs located on reservations countrywide are ineligible for the guaranteed annual funding all states and territories receive for their VR programs. Instead, the funding comes from a discretionary five-year grant subject to competitive bidding. This funding situation leads to significant disparities in VR services between tribes and the rest of the nation.
Housing Policy
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued an interim final rule (IFR), applicable to emergencies and major disasters declared on or after March 22, 2024, concerning housing for people with disabilities following disasters. These individuals can now get FEMA assistance to make certain accessibility improvements to their homes that have suffered damage due to a disaster.
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