36 Years of the ADA: Why It Still Matters

By: Deborah Dietz

This month marks the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the opportunities it has helped create for people with disabilities to live, work, learn, and participate fully in community life. For more than 20 years, DIG has worked to enforce the ADA and expand on its promise by advancing access, inclusion, and independent living for people with disabilities in our communities. Through advocacy, education, training, and systems change, DIG has worked to remove barriers so people with disabilities can attend school, find and keep jobs, secure housing, use transportation, build relationships, and live with dignity and choice. The ADA matters because it helps make all of that possible by protecting the right of people with disabilities to be active, valued members of their communities.

The importance of the ADA extends far beyond ramps, parking spaces, and accessible entrances. At its heart, the ADA is about opportunity. It helps ensure that people with disabilities have the same chance to pursue an education, build a career, participate in community activities, access services, and make decisions about their own lives. It supports the idea that disability should never be the reason someone is excluded from opportunities that others take for granted.

The ADA is also deeply connected to independence. It helps make community living possible by supporting access to housing, transportation, communication, employment, and public services. For many people with disabilities, these protections help create the freedom to live where they choose, contribute to their communities, maintain relationships, and pursue personal goals.

Just as importantly, the ADA is about belonging. It recognizes that people with disabilities are part of every neighborhood, workplace, classroom, and community. Access is not a favor, and inclusion is not optional. Strong communities are built when everyone has the opportunity to participate and contribute.

As we recognize this anniversary, we should also remember that the ADA only works when it is understood, respected, enforced, and upheld. Its protections affect real people in real ways every day. The ADA establishes the minimum standards required by law, but our goal should never be to do the bare minimum. We should continue working toward communities, workplaces, schools, and systems that go beyond compliance and create meaningful access, inclusion, and opportunity for all.

Thirty-six years after its passage, the ADA remains one of the most important tools for advancing independence, dignity, and full participation in community life. As we celebrate this milestone, let us recommit to protecting its promise and continuing the work of building communities where people with disabilities can belong, contribute, and thrive.