Creating Enforceable Civil Rights for Disabled Students in Higher Education: An institutional theory perspective

Abstract

The Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, building on the Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, have been relatively effective in securing enforceable civil rights for disabled students in higher education in the United States. In contrast, the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 and any related previous pieces of legislation have persistently excluded these students in the United Kingdom, making, by default, any discrimination against them legal. However, the Government has started the legislative rule making process to include higher education under the new legislation, based on the final report of the Select Committee on Education and Employment of House of Commons and the final report of the Disability Rights Task Force. The paper argues that close examination of these reports as well as the Government's most recent consultation paper, 'Rights for Disabled People in Education', reveals a path which is unlike the path that followed during the rulemaking process leading to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. In other words, it is likely that disabled students would continue to be subjected to potential discrimination despite the inclusion of higher education under the new proposed legislation and despite special disability funding provided to universities for disabled students. Disability civil rights advocates have an important role to play in the current rule-making process to create enforceable civil rights for disabled students in higher education.