35 Years of the ADA: What Has Changed, And What Still Needs To

What Has Changed

1. Access in public spaces

Thanks to the ADA, ramps, curb cuts, accessible restrooms, elevators, and accessible parking are now part of everyday design. These features aren’t just helpful, they are rights.

2. Rights at work

Employers must now provide reasonable accommodations and cannot exclude someone for needing them. The ADA gave workers legal tools to speak up. Today, if someone needs assistive technology, flexible scheduling, or adapted workstations, they can ask and expect support.

3. Inclusion in services

From public schools to voting offices, programs are required to include people with disabilities. This includes offering interpreters, captioning, accessible websites, and more.

4. A foundation for future laws

The ADA created a model for other policies. It inspired updates to the Rehabilitation Act, added funding for Education, Healthcare, and the workforce, and created the modern Protection & Advocacy (P&A) network and organizations like Disability Rights Florida (DRF).

These are real changes that affect everyday life. None of this would've happened without the voices and leadership of people with disabilities, speaking up and saying: “We belong.”

Measuring Progress and Gaps

Even with these wins, we still face big challenges. Let’s look at some of the data:

• Labor force participation & employment: In 2024, just 22.7% of adults with disabilities were employed, compared with 65.5% of those without disabilities. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics = 2024)
• Unemployment: The 2024 unemployment rate for people with disabilities was 7.5%, nearly double the 3.8% rate for those without disabilities. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics = 2024)
• Record highs – but wide gap: In 2023, employment reached its highest level since data began—36.1% for women and 38.2% for men with disabilities (americanprogress.org). Still, that's far below non-disabled rates (~65–75%) and reflects persistent inequality.
• Pandemic shifts: Remote work during COVID-19 created new possibilities with two million additional workers with disabilities joining the workforce by 2023 (americanprogress.org). But early return-to-office policies threaten those gains.
• Disparities remain: Unemployment and underemployment remain highest among Black, Hispanic, and less-educated workers with disabilities.

What these numbers show is progress but also persistent gaps.

Beyond Employment: Access in Everyday Life

Employment is just one piece of the ADA's promise. Many challenges remain in other areas:

• Housing & transportation: Many homes, buses, and trains remain inaccessible, especially in rural areas.
• Education: Students with disabilities still report lack of appropriate accommodations and support.
• Healthcare: Exam tables, communication barriers, and training gaps prevent people from getting equal care.
• Voting: Physical access to polling places and assistive ballots still lag behind.
• Subminimum wages: Section 14(c) still allows workplaces to pay people with disabilities below minimum wage, a practice many advocates find unacceptable (en.wikipedia.org).

P&A Systems - How Change Happens

The ADA created a legal tool but the real work happens through people and organizations. That’s where Protection & Advocacy (P&A) systems play a vital role.

What Disability Rights Florida Does

• Educate and empower: We teach people about their rights, help them speak up, appeal unfair decisions, or request accommodations.
• Monitor and investigate: We can enter facilities, review records, and push for changes when neglect or inaccessibility occurs.
• Provide legal support: From schools to employment to voting access, Disability Rights Florida represents individuals and groups in court or administrative hearings as funding allows.
• Drive systems change: P&As often work behind the scenes, creating bigger shifts in public policy.
• Vote and civic work: We fight to make voting accessible in every community.

A National Safety Net

There are 57 P&A agencies—one in every state, territory, and tribal system. linked through the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), based in Washington, D.C. NDRN supports training, technical help, legislation, and oversight to ensure P&As stay strong and effective.
 

Looking Ahead: What Still Needs to Change

1. Employment equity

We need to close employment gaps through stronger enforcement, better hiring practices, and incentive programs that support accommodations. Flexibility and remote opportunities proved essential, now we must protect and expand them.

2. Enforcement with impact

ADA rules are strong, but they become real only when claiming them is easy. P&As must be funded and empowered to handle complaints and hold violators accountable.

3. Closing wage gaps

Eliminating subminimum wages and ensuring disability doesn’t reduce pay for equal work must be a priority.

4. Equity across race, gender, and region

We see deeper needs among disabled people of color, women, rural communities, and those with less education. Solutions must reflect that diversity.

5. Access to justice

Legal support must be easy to find, even in remote or low-income areas. P&As should be adequately funded and able to help navigate complex systems and courtrooms.

6. Universal design and inclusive planning

Accessibility should be built in and not added later. That means contracts, funding, and policies require access upfront.

7. Better data and inclusion

We need clear data on how the ADA is working or if it is missing the mark. That means statewide reporting on issues like housing, voting, healthcare, and education.

8. Sustaining progress

Time brings change and sometimes resistance. As recent policy efforts have shown, strong advocacy is needed to guard against backsliding.

The Next 35 Years – A Vision of Access

Imagine:

• Every student gets the support they need to succeed, from day one.
• Every job is open and adaptable to people of all abilities.
• Every home, clinic, bus, library, or polling site welcomes everyone.
• Every law or policy is reviewed through a disability lens before being passed.
• Every voice is heard. No one is left behind.

The ADA started that journey toward inclusion. Now we must take it farther together.

What You Can Do

• Speak up if you face barriers.
• Call your state P&A if you need help with work, school, housing, health, or community access.
• Support Disability Rights Florida and other advocacy groups; they don’t just help individuals, they work to help change the system.
• Share your story and join advocacy campaigns.
• Ask questions of your leaders, builders, and employers: “How are you thinking about accessibility?”

Celebrate Progress. Keep Holding the Line.

It’s been 35 years and the ADA has made a real difference. But inclusion isn’t a destination. It’s a promise.

Every door we open, every job that welcomes a new voice, every community where access is standard, these are victories worth celebrating.

And as long as barriers remain, the work continues. Because dignity, access, and belonging are rights we all deserve. And we won’t stop fighting until every one of us can go where we want, do what we love, and be ourselves—free and equal in every part of life.

Call to Action

If you're facing a barrier and want to know your rights or if you're passionate about ensuring real access, visit our website at www.disabilityrightsflorida.org. You’re not alone. And together, we can keep moving forward.