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How have key U.S. laws advanced the availability and use of assistive technology in public schools, and how do these advancements benefit individuals like Sady today?

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (20 USC § 1401)

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (20 USC § 1401)

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Setting the Stage for Assistive Technology:

Compared with the reauthorization of IDEA in 1997, this 2004 reauthorization more significantly increased the mandate for aid in providing assistive technologies to students with disabilities. This re-authorization required school districts to supply assistive technology devices and services at no expense to parents as part of FAPE; hence, it ensured that some students were not denied the tools they needed to succeed at school due to financial barriers.

The benefit to Sady:

This Act ensures Sady's family that she will get all the necessary assistive technologies without any extra costs incurred- it guarantees access to the use of tools that give her a full chance at participating in her education and expressing her creativity.

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 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (20 USC § 1401)

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 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (20 USC § 1401)

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Setting the Stage for Assistive Technology:

It resulted in the 1997 reauthorization of "IDEA" with the directing provision that assistive technology be considered in every student's "IEP" development. It brought up the aspect that a school should offer the necessary technology to facilitate or help elicit and support the educational and functional needs of students with disabilities.

The benefit to Sady:

Sady's IEP would detail the accommodations with assistive technologies required by her so that she is supplied with all the equipment that will ensure success in schooling; a measure by the law that would ensure constant support for her needs with technologies.

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (20 USC § 1401)

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (20 USC § 1401)

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Setting the Stage for Assistive Technology:

This reauthorization of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act recognized the need for transition services that would help students with disabilities transition from school to post-school activities; it also recognized how assistive technology could help students attain their educational results and, thereby prepare for adulthood.

The benefit to Sady:

Sady receives transition services, including assistive technologies, to help her prepare for life after high school. By receiving these transition services, she will develop skills and build confidence in whatever she does, whether that is as a video editor.

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Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101)

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Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101)

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Setting the Stage for Assistive Technology:

The ADA, passed in 1990, guaranteed that civil rights were expanded to every aspect of public life, including education, employment, and transportation, among others. The ADA, as relates to education, required all public schools to ensure accessible facilities and services, the use of assistive technology notwithstanding, to guarantee students with disabilities equal educational opportunities.

The benefit to Sady:

Under the ADA, Sady is entitled to access a universally available learning environment, meaning physical accessibility in addition to access to the assistive technology that she needs. In essence, it means barrier-free navigation of the school environment in accessing education.

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Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 (29 USC § 2201)

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Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 (29 USC § 2201)

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Setting the Stage for Assistive Technology:

Also called the "Tech Act," this was the federal statute that supplied money to the states to help purchase assistive technology devices and services for persons with disabilities. The Tech Act recognized that technology has a key role in enhancing the lives of citizens with disabilities, including access to educational environments.

The benefit to Sady:

The Tech Act provides a lot of options for assistive technology that Sady could use to help with communication, learning and so many other things. It is her key to full participation in school and beyond.

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Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (20 USC § 1401)

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Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (20 USC § 1401)

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Setting the Stage for Assistive Technology:

This act was to come later to be known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. It promised any child with a disability a free appropriate public education (FAPE). This law mandated that each student have a distinctive, specially designed education program (I.E.P) custom-tailored to each student's particular needs, including any assistive technology devices necessary for that education.

The benefit to Sady:

Sady's IEP would detail the particular assistive technologies that would be required to help her specific disability, thus being given the proper tools to help her learn and participate at school. Now, the individually designed program would go on to meet the person-specific needs that face Sady and would help improve her education thus by overcoming these problems as noted earlier.

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The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 701)

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The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 701)

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Setting the Stage for Assistive Technology:

This act was the cornerstone to establish protection under civil rights to persons with disabilities. Section 504 of the act states that: "no otherwise qualified individual with a disability shall solely because of her or his disability, be excluded from participation in, denied the benefit of, or subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." The law applied to public schools. Schools were to provide appropriate accommodations that set the stage for development and use of assistive technology used to support students with disabilities to have access to education on terms equal to their non-disabled peers.

How this Act benefits Sady

It means, via Section 504, that Sady will receive the appropriate accommodations and assistive technologies to ensure that she is afforded full participation in the activities at school; that is to say, eliminating barriers in her educational environment. This type of fundamental support assumes that she has access to the curriculum and her peers.