National Council on Disability to Release Analysis of Federal Enforcement of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

2/3/2003

From: Mark S. Quigley of the National Council on Disability, 202-272-2004; 202-272-2074 (TTY)

News Advisory:

The National Council on Disability (NCD) will release a report analyzing federal enforcement of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, at a press availability at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, February 14, at NCD, 1331 F Street, NW, Suite 850, Washington, DC.

Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act is acknowledged as the first national civil rights law to view the exclusion and segregation of people with disabilities as discrimination and to declare that the Federal Government would take a central role in reversing and eliminating this discrimination. Section 504, which prohibits federal agencies and federally funded programs from discriminating on the basis of disability, was designed to promote and expand opportunities for persons with a broad range of disabilities and offer broad-based protection from unwarranted discrimination stemming from prejudice, social stigmas, and negative assumptions about their ability to fully participate in the mainstream of society.

The following experts will be available at the press availability to discuss the report:

-- Graham Hill, NCD Member -- Jeffrey T. Rosen, NCD General Counsel and Director of Policy -- Martin Gould, Ed.D., NCD Senior Research Specialist -- Sara Pratt, Esq., Fair Housing and Civil Rights Consultant -- Bonnie Milstein, Esq., Partner, Milstein and Magar

For more information, contact Mark Quigley at 202-272-2004.