Rehabilitation Act 87 Stat. 355 (1973)

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REHABILITATION ACT 87 Stat. 355 (1973)

In addition to providing funding and research incentives for various programs to aid the handicapped, Congress incorporated antidiscrimination provisions into the Rehabilitation Act. In federally assisted programs, the act prohibits discrimination solely by reason of handicap against an "otherwise qualified handicapped individual." In addition, the act requires federal executive agencies to take affirmative action to employ handicapped individuals. In Southeastern Community College v. Davis (1979) the Supreme Court held that the Rehabilitation Act does not forbid a nursing school from imposing relevant physical qualifications upon participants in its training programs.

Theodore Eisenberg
(1986)

(see also: Disabilities, Rights of Persons With; Disability Discrimination.)

Bibliography

Burgdorf, Robert L., Jr. 1980 The Legal Rights of Handicapped Persons. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.