INDEPENDENT LIVING NETWORK ________________________________________________________ NCIL/ILRU NATIONAL TRAINING & TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROJECT March 12, 1996 INFORMATION YOU CAN USE: THE REHABILITATION ACT Enclosed are fact sheets related to the Rehabilitation Act of 1992, as amended. Earlier versions of these fact sheets were used in the IL NETWORK's 1994 training manual, Independent Living and the Rehab Act, which over 600 of you received as participants in the ten training sessions conducted in 1994. Since then, most of these fact sheets have been revised significantly to reflect information that has been recently released, to make them easier to understand, or both. In addition, we feel an obligation to try to provide this important information to as many people in the independent living field as possible. For these reasons, we are sending you the enclosed fact sheets about the Rehab Act. These materials may be duplicated without acquiring permission, providing that the following credit is given to the project: "Developed as part of the IL NETWORK: NCIL/ILRU National Training and Technical Assistance Project." To support use of these materials in alternate formats or in searchable form, we are making this information available electronically on DIMENET in the IL_NETWORK file area. The entire packet is contained in a file called "rehabpk1.wp" in WordPerfect or in the file "rehabpk1.asc" in ASCII format. In the descriptions listed below for each fact sheet in the packet, you will also find the file name for each piece. In addition , you can find the entire text of the Rehab Act, the Final Regulations, the 704 Report, and many other resources available to you at no cost in the 'Rehab' file area. If you would like assistance in downloading from the file area, or for a copy of the DIMENET user's manual, please contact a technical assistant at one of the following DIMENET regional host sites: Taunton, (508) 880-5325 (V/TTY); Dayton, (513) 439-0071(V), 439-0072 (TTY); and Tulsa, (918) 592-1235 (V/TTY). FACT SHEETS ABOUT THE REHAB ACT Amendments to the Rehab Act: 1986 & 1992: A Comparison--A set of charts showing changes in the Rehab Act which occurred from 1986 to 1992. Filenames: 'ilnet9.wp', 'ilnet9.asc'. Where to Get Information About the Rehab Act--How to obtain copies of the Rehab Act and related background information from the government and from other public record sources. Filenames: 'ilnet10.wp', 'ilnet10.asc'. Terminology Related to the Legislative and Regulatory Process--Explanations of terms and concepts related to the legislative process. Filenames: 'ilnet11.wp', 'ilnet11.asc'. Key OSERS Staff--A listing of top-level staff members of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, the Rehabilitation Services Administration, and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). Filenames: 'ilnet12.wp', 'ilnet12.asc'. We hope that you find these fact sheets useful. We welcome any comments for improving them as well as any recommendation for future topics that you would like to see addressed. ABOUT THE IL NETWORK The IL NETWORK: NCIL/ILRU National Training and Technical Assistance Project, a collaboration of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) and the Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) Program, is committed to promoting a national network of centers for independent living, statewide independent living councils, and others involved in the independent living field. Through training and technical assistance activities, project staff seek to provide individuals at all levels of expertise with educational and networking opportunities. The IL NETWORK is funded in part by a grant from the Rehabilitation Services Administration, U.S. Department of Education. The content of the fact sheets is the responsibility of the IL NETWORK, and no official endorsement of the Department of Education should be inferred. ---------- AMENDMENTS TO THE REHABILITATION ACT 1986 & 1992: A Comparison TITLE I CONSUMER CONTROL 1986 1992 None Rehabilitation Advisory Council ELIGIBILITY 1986 1992 Counselor has full authority to determine eligibility Presumption of eligibility Typical 4-6 month eligibility determination period 60-day eligibility determination period SOCIAL SECURITY REIMBURSEMENT FUNDS 1986 1992 Funds used for "program" Funds may be used in Title I, VI-C, or VII APPEALS 1986 1992 State agency director may overrule independent hearing officer State agency director may overrule only with "clear and convincing evidence" CAPs in state agencies CAPs in state agencies TITLE II NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH (NIDRR) 1986 1992 No consumer input Research advisory council TITLE IV NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY (NCD) 1986 1992 5 of 15 members with disabilities 8 of 15 members with disabilities (or parents/guardians) TITLE VI BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL 1986 1992 No consumer representation At least one person with a disability TITLE VII STATEWIDE IL COUNCIL 1986 1992 Appointed by state agency director Appointed by governor Majority of members with disabilities (or parents/guardians) Majority of members with disabilities STATE IL PLAN 1986 1992 IL plan is "considered" SILC has shared authority for the IL plan with state agency director STANDARDS 1986 1992 To be approved by NCD Center adherence required Vague reference to "advocacy" "Individual and systems advocacy" is core service Indicators by 1988 Indicators by October 1, 1993 INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTERS AND SERVICES 1986 1992 State agency has first right to funds States contributing more than feds have first right Contract agreements with CILs Grants to CILs "Consumer control" not defined "Consumer control" defined and required Revised 5/95 Developed by the IL NETWORK: NCIL/ILRU National Training and Technical Assistance Project. Requests for technical assistance on this and other independent living subjects may be directed to the IL NETWORK Project, c/o ILRU at (713) 520-0232 (voice), 520-5136 (TTY), 520-5785 (FAX), or NCIL at (703) 525-3406 (voice), 525-3407 (TTY), 525-3409 (FAX). ---------- WHERE TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT THE REHABILITATION ACT To obtain a copy of the Rehabilitation Act as amended in 1992 (Public Law 102-569, October 29, 1992), contact your congressional representative or senator. All congressional officials can be reached through these addresses: The Honorable ________ The Honorable ________ U.S. Senate U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20515 A copy may also be obtained from House Documents. Call (202) 224-3121 or (202) 225-3456 and request a copy of PL #102-569 (for the Act) and PL #103-73 (for its Technical Amendments). A copy of the Rehab Act which includes both the 1992 Amendments and the 1993 Technical Amendments is available on the DIMENET computer network, in the "Files" section under "Rehab Act" as "rehab93.wp," "rehab93w.zip" for a zipped version in WordPerfect, or "rehab93.txt," "rehab93a.zip" for a zipped version in ASCII. Final regulations for Title VII of the Rehab Act were published in the August 15, 1994 Federal Register (vol. 59, no. 156). They are also available in print from ILRU and on disk via DIMENET (in the "Files" section, under "Rehab Act" as "ilregswp.fin.," "ilregswp.zip" for a zipped version in WordPerfect, or "ilregsas.fin," "ilregsas.zip" for a zipped version in ASCII. ). For background information on the Amendments of 1992, you may wish to obtain copies of the following documents: Legislative History: H.R. 5482 (S. 3065) House Reports: No. 102-822 (Committee on Education and Labor) and No. 102-973 (Committee of Conference). Senate Report: No. 102-357 accompanying S. 3065 (Committee on Labor and Human Resources). Congressional Record, Vol. 138 (1992): Aug. 10, considered and passed House. Aug. 11, S. 3065 considered and passed Senate. Aug. 12, H.R. 5482 considered and passed Senate, amended. Oct. 2, House agreed to conference report. Oct. 5, Senate agreed to conference report. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Vol. 28 (1992): Oct. 29, Presidential statement. These documents are available on request from: Senate Document Room House Document Room Hart Senate Office Building Room B18, Annex 2 Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20515 (202) 224-7860 (202) 225-3456 Ask for Senate Report No. 102-357 Ask for House Report No. 102-822 and No. 102-973 ---------- TERMINOLOGY RELATED TO THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY PROCESS LAW--A requirement passed or enacted by a government body which must be obeyed by everyone over whom that governmental body has authority. An example of a law is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which, as a federal law, applies to individuals and organizations across the country. State, county, and local governments may also pass laws related to disability that apply to both persons living in and organizations operating in areas covered by those governments. Generally, in cases where federal laws differ from state, county, and local laws relating to disability or other issues, the more strict version of the law--or the version requiring the most from individuals and organizations covered--must be observed. STATUTE--The text of a law that has been passed by a legislative body. Statutes provide details about what is meant by a law that has been passed. Statutes passed by the United States Congress are put together or "codified" in a set of books known as the United States Code. This is usually abbreviated as USC. REAUTHORIZATION--The process of extending a law that covers a specified time period. Most laws that create programs and services--such as the Rehabilitation Act that established medical, vocational, and independent living services for people with disabilities--must be reviewed and reauthorized by legislative bodies periodically. This process is designed to provide some assurance that programs and services continue to address needs of individuals or groups for whom they were initially created through the legislative process. The reauthorization process provides opportunities to correct problems with legislatively mandated services and programs that may not have been anticipated when the legislation was passed initially. The positive changes in the federal independent living program--strengthening the commitment to consumer control and adherence to the independent living philosophy--were facilitated by the fact that the Rehabilitation Act needed to be reauthorized in 1992. This provided a window of opportunity to inform legislators and their staffs about changes in the Act that would strengthen the independent living program and improve community-based services for people with disabilities. It is important that independent living and disability rights advocates become familiar with the reauthorization schedules for all disability-related legislation. Advocates can then be actively involved in informing legislative personnel and policy makers about problems with the legislation that should be addressed in the reauthorization process. For example, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) legislation is up for reauthorization in 1994. AMENDMENTS--Changes in laws that had been passed previously. When existing legislative programs are modified through reauthorization or through other legislative processes, the modified act is said to be "amended." Thereafter, the legislation is often referred to with its original name followed by the term "amendments" and the year in which the latest amendments were passed by the legislature. It is important to remember that amendments to legislative programs may involve relatively modest changes to the original legislation or may involve rewriting legislation in whole or in part so that the amendments result in significantly different legislation than was passed initially. The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992 resulted in major modifications of several titles of the Act, including Title VII dealing with independent living. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS--Even after legislation has been passed by a legislative body, new information may come to light or new interpretations of previously existing information may emerge that result in changing the wording of the legislation through a process called "technical amendments." Technical amendments are done through an expedited legislative process requiring significantly less time than is usually necessary for passage of a law. It is important to determine what, if any, technical amendments may have been made to legislation previously passed. Technical amendments may involve minor changes in spelling or grammar, or may include significant alterations, such as the technical amendments to the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992 adding training for the statewide independent living councils (SILCs) to the list of purposes for which Title VII funding might be used. CITATION--Once laws are passed and statutes are written, they can be "cited" by individuals and organizations responsible for implementing the law. Citations are used to refer to specific sections of the law that might apply in various situations. When "citing" a section of the law, the abbreviation " " is usually used to mean "section." If two are used, then more than one section of a law is being cited. Also, in cases where sections of a law that follow one another are cited, the abbreviation "et seq." may be used. Et seq. stands for "et sequentia," meaning "and the following ones." Whenever a citation lists a section ( ) number followed by et seq., it refers to the section cited and the sections that follow it. Citations may also refer to titles, chapters, and parts of an act, as in the case of the Rehabilitation Act, which has nine titles divided into chapters and parts and referred to as sections throughout the Act. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--The reports generated by various legislative committees in the process of creating a law. During the process of creating legislation, several Congressional committees are usually involved in gathering information that is used in drafting the law and in creating regulations to implement the law. These committee reports and supporting documentation are assembled and retained for use later in implementing the law and interpreting questions about compliance with the law. The documents in which committee reports are contained represent the "legislative history" of a Congressional act. These documents are referred to often by regulatory bodies charged with implementing legislation and may be used by members of the judicial branch if legal action is taken by someone claiming non-compliance with the law by a public or private entity. The legislative history can be very important to advocates and consumers who are working to assure that laws are implemented in accordance with their original intent. REGULATIONS--The guiding rules prepared by governmental agencies with statutory authority for implementing laws that are passed by legislative bodies. The regulations developed for a law tell individuals and organizations what they are expected to do in order to be in compliance with the law. As was the case with the ADA, there may be several government agencies responsible for developing and implementing regulations involving education, legal processes, transportation, and other areas covered by the law. NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING--An announcement that a governmental agency is engaged in developing regulations to implement new or amended legislation. Whenever governmental agencies are charged with developing regulations to guide implementation of legislation, they are required to solicit input from persons affected by the legislation. For most disability-related laws, this is done through publication of a "notice of proposed rulemaking" in the Federal Register. These notices provide information about the legislation and draft regulatory statements, as well as about the date by which comments on the proposed regulations must be received and the address to which comments should be sent. It is of vital importance that individuals with disabilities and organizations representing individuals with disabilities respond to these notices in a timely fashion when the proposed regulations have to do with disability-related legislation. Monitoring the Federal Register for such notices is a very important activity. CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS--The complete description of all regulations pertaining to specific legislation. As is the case with statutes, regulations for various laws are put together in books known as the Code of Federal Regulations or CFR. As with the United States Code referring to statutes, the CFR is divided into sections that may be referred to using the symbol, and may also be divided into titles, chapters, and parts. A good example of this is the Rehabilitation Act, which has Title VII, dealing with independent living, and Chapter 1, Parts A, B, and C, dealing with individuals with severe disabilities, and Chapter 2, dealing with independent living services for older individuals who are blind. CASE LAW--Judicial decisions reached in court cases involving legislation passed by governmental bodies. In many cases, interpretations of federal, state, or local statutes are not clearly stated in the original legislation or in regulations developed to implement the legislation. In such cases, definitive interpretation does not occur until an individual or a group files a lawsuit claiming non-compliance with the legislation by a covered entity. The results of such lawsuits, in which judges rather than legislative personnel make authoritative interpretations of the law in question, then become part of the law itself and may be cited in future interpretations of the law. A measure of the authority of case law rulings in interpreting legislative meaning has to do with the judicial level at which the ruling was made. For federal laws, there are three levels: federal district courts, which are trial courts; federal circuit courts, which are courts in which rulings of federal district courts can be reconsidered; and the United States Supreme Court, which hears appeals from federal circuit courts. Supreme Court rulings are the highest in the federal system and are binding over all other federal court rulings. POLICY DIRECTIVES--Printed materials produced to explain regulations for specified legislative programs. Directives are distributed to representatives of other federal, state, and private agencies with responsibility for implementing programs covered by federal legislation. These directives usually identify procedures to be followed by organizations required to comply with regulations. The directives also indicate the proper office or person to which questions about regulations should be addressed. In cases where forms or other paperwork are required for compliance, copies of forms may be attached to the circular. It is very important to review policy directives carefully in order to understand how federal agencies are interpreting laws and regulations and what these federal agencies are expecting of organizations covered by federal regulations. NOTE: Government agencies also produce and distribute technical assistance circulars. These circulars provide information on best practices and recommendations; they are not mandatory. In contrast, policy directives are based on regulations and are mandatory. Revised 5/95 _________________________ Developed by the IL NETWORK: NCIL/ILRU National Training and Technical Assistance Project. Requests for technical assistance on this and other independent living subjects may be directed to the IL NETWORK Project, c/o ILRU at (713) 520-0232 (voice), 520-5136 (TTY), 520-5785 (FAX), or NCIL at (703) 525-3406 (voice), 525-3407 (TTY), 525-3409 (FAX). ---------- KEY OSERS STAFF OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION SERVICES Judith E. Heumann Howard Moses Assistant Secretary, OSERS Deputy Assistant Secretary, OSERS 330 C Street, SW, Room 3006 330 C Street, SW, Room 3006 Washington, DC 20202-2500 Washington, DC 20202-2531 202-205-5465 (V/TTY) 202-205-5465 (V/TTY) REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION Fred Schroeder Commissioner Rehabilitation Services Administration 330 C Street, SW, Room 3006 Washington, DC 20202-2531 202-205-5465 (V/TTY) Ann Queen Associate Commissioner Office of Developmental Programs Rehabilitation Services Administration 330 C Street, SW, Room 3038 Washington, DC 20202-2575 202-205-8292 Thomas Finch Director Division of Special Projects Rehabilitation Services Administration 330 C Street, SW, Room 3315 Washington, DC 20202-2650 202-205-9796 John Nelson Chief Independent Living Branch Rehabilitation Services Administration 330 C Street, SW, Room 3326 Washington, DC 20202-2741 202-205-9362 (V/TTY) Donald Thayer Independent Living Specialist Independent Living Branch Rehabilitation Services Administration 330 C Street, SW, Room 3320 Washington, DC 20202-2741 202-205-9315 (V/TTY) NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH Katherine Seelman Director NIDRR US D.O.E. 600 Independence, SW Washington, DC 20202 202-205-8134 Revised 5/95 ---------- End of Document