Using this Guide
How to use these pages
This guide contains selected resources to help start your research on topics related to disability law.
For in-depth help with your research, please set up a research appointment through our Ask a Librarian! page.
Law & Regulations
Finding Disability Rights Laws and Regulations
The Guide to Disability Rights Laws from the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division gives an overview of federal laws that apply to individuals with disabilities. It includes brief summaries, citations to laws and regulations and contact information for enforcing agencies. It was last updated in 2009.
Americans with Disabilities Act
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Archive ADAComprehensive online archive of documents and history related to the ADA and the ADA Amendments of 2008
IDEA Act
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IDEA.ed.govDepartment of Education website includes links to the statute (below), regulations, proposed rulemaking and other useful information.
Other Statutes
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Comparison of the ADA, IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation ActAdapted by the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center from a document created by the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.
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Rehabilitation Act of 1973Online via the Department of Transportation
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Air Carrier Access ActVia Cornell Legal Information Institute
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Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)Online via the EEOC website.
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Disability Statutes and RegulationsCompilation of Federal Disability Laws and Executive Orders provided by the Department of Labor.
Finding Pending Legislation
Try the following databases to search the text of bills to identify pending legislation.
Advocacy groups and Agency websites can be another source for information about pending legislation.
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Current Federal and State Bills -WestlawBill summaries and statuses of federal and state bills from the current session.
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Older Federal and State Bills -WestlawArchived bills and summaries from 2005 to previous legislative session.
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Advocacy GroupsSelected list of disability advocacy groups and research resources provided by Access.gov
Regulations
Selected regulations on disability rights.
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ADA Title I Regulations, 29 CFR 160Provided by the EEOC
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ADA Regulation for Title IIAs printed in the Federal Register on September 15, 2010, and effective on March 15, 2011.
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ADA Regulation for Title II, OldAs printed in the Federal Register on July 26, 1991 and effective until March 15, 2011.
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ADA Regulation for Title IIIAs printed in the Federal Register on September 15, 2010, and effective on March 15, 2011.
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ADA Regulation for Title II, OldAs printed in the Federal Register on July 1, 1994 and effective until March 15, 2011.
Case Law
The following reporters contain selected U.S. cases on disability law.
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Mental and Physical Disability Law ReporterIn print: KF480.A15 M37
Online via Hein and LegalTrac
Includes news, cases, analysis.
Legislative History Material
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The Legislative History of the Americans with Disabilities Act
by Call Number: KF480.A32 A15 1990ISBN: 0916559289Publication Date: 1990-09-01
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Disability Law in the United States: A Legislative History of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 19906 volume set of legislative history documents as of 1991.
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Americans with Disabilities
by ISBN: 073553148XPublication Date: 2002-11-22Chapter 2 - Legislative History
News & Current Awareness
News and Current Awareness
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SSRN Disability Law e-JournalAbstracts and downloadable working papers on disability law topics.
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Individuals with Disabilities Education Law Report, Special Education Series
Call Number: KF4210.A6 I53Publication Date: 1979-
Blogs
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ABA Blawg Directory: Disability Law BlogsUse the ABA Blawg directory to identify additional blogs.
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Disability News BlogNews links for Social Security Disability claimants
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Rooted in RightsA project of Disability Rights Washington that produces campaigns on disability rights issues.
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Workplace Prof Blog posts on disability lawPart of Law Professors Blog Network. Often includes posts on disability law.
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Understanding the Americans with Disabilities ActResource created by William D. Goren, author of Understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act, 4th Ed. (2013) to improve understanding of the ADA.
Disabilty News Blog: Recent Posts
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Rooted in Rights
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Understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act
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Books & Databases
Online Databases
The following databases provide access to combined sources on disability law, including statutes, regulations, case law and analysis.
Treatises and Handbooks on Disability Law
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Federal Disability Law in a Nutshell
by Call Number: KF480.C65 2016ISBN: 9781634601153Publication Date: 2015-11-20 -
The Law of Disability Discrimination Handbook
by Call Number: KF480.A3 2011ISBN: 9781422494882Publication Date: 2011-01-01 -
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Search for more books in HOLLIS
Articles & Papers
Bibliographies and Research Guides
Research guides can be helpful in providing background information on a topic, as well as providing you with links to evaluated resources, saving you time and effort.
When using another academic institution's guide, be aware that links or call numbers referenced may be specific to that library's collection.
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Bibliography of Law Review Articles on Disability IssuesCompiled by Prof. Ann Puckett, University of Georgia School of Law. Indexed by subcategory. Latest article listed is from 2007
Search for Articles in Legal Journals
Search these indexes to identify articles in law reviews and journals.
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LegalTracIndexes over 1400 legal periodicals from US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Also available in Lexis and Westlaw as the Legal Resource Index.
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Index to Legal Periodicals and BooksProvides coverage of important English language legal information, with international coverage of scholarly articles, symposia, jurisdictional surveys, court decisions, legislation, books, book reviews and more.
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Index to Foreign Legal PeriodicalsMultilingual index to approximately hundreds of titles published worldwide.
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Legal Journals IndexLegal Journal Index indexes articles from legal journals published in the UK and Europe as well as journals covering topics pertaining to the laws of the European Community and its Member States.
Search for Articles in the Academic Literature
Search these databases for cross-disciplinary articles, theses and other scholarly works. For additional databases go to Harvard E-Resources.
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Academic Search Premier (Harvard Login)Citations, abstracts and some full-text from thousands of multi-disciplinary scholarly publications.
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ERICERIC provides access to approximately 900 journals and 13,000 reports and government publications about education published since 1966.
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Google ScholarBroad search of scholarly literature, including articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites.
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JSTORFull-text of more than 200 cross-disciplinary academic journals. Coverage begins with the first volume, but usually does not include the most recent 1 to 5 years
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PAIS International (Harvard Login)Harvard ID and PIN required
Indexes the public and social policy literature of public administration, political science, economics, finance, international relations, law and health care from 1972-present from over 2,000 publications -
PubMed with full textPubMed ndexes the international literature on biomedicine, including the allied health fields and the biological and physical sciences, humanities, and information science as they relate to medicine and health care from 1966 to the present.
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Web of ScienceMultidisciplinary database, with searchable author abstracts, covering the journal literature of the sciences. Covers 5,700 major journals across more than 150 scientific disciplines and includes cited reference lists or bibliographies
Working Papers
The following databases contain working papers and pre-publication scholarship.
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SSRN Disability Law e-JournalAbstracts and downloadable working papers on disability law topics.
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bePress Law RepositorySearchable repository of legal articles.
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Dissertation Abstracts - SEE: Dissertations and Theses Full Text (ProQuest)Abstracts and full text of dissertations and theses from most North American colleges and unversities
International & Comparative
Research Guides
Research guides can be helpful in providing background information on a topic, as well as providing you with links to evaluated resources, saving you time and effort. When using another academic institution's guide, be aware that links or call numbers referenced may be specific to that library's collection.
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International Human RightsGuide to general human rights research. Includes links to sources for international human rights agreements, repositories, organizations and other sources.
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Wendy Scott, "Guide to Sources in International and Comparative Disability Law," 34 Syr. J. of L. and Comm 621 (2006-2007)Comprehensive article listing research sources for foreign and international disability law
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University of Minnesota Human Rights Library: Disabled Persons and Human Rights LinksLinks to advocacy organizations and UN Documents
International Law Sources
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UN Enable PortalUN Enable is the official website the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It provides "public information on topics related to disability and the work of the United Nations for persons with disabilities."
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World Bank DisabilityLinks to World Bank documents, publications and activities related to its efforts to "improve the well-being of persons with disabilities living in developing countries." Includes a compendium of links to the major international law instruments relating to disability
Regional and National Resources
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IDRM-International Disabilities Rights MonitorGrass roots monitoring organization. Publications include regional and thematic reports on disability rights in specific countries.
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International Norms and Standards Relating to Disability: The Regional Human Rights SystemThis section of the UN Enable site links to regional human rights commissions and other bodies with responsibility for disability rights.
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WorldBank Disability: Regions and CountriesReports on specific countries and regions.
Data & Web Links
Statistical Sources
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IDEA Data Accountability CenterPublic access to data about children and youth with disabilities served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Government Websites
These government websites contain useful information about disability law topics.
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ADA.govThe Department of Justice's Americans with Disabilities Act page
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Disability.govFederal clearinghouse for "comprehensive information on disability programs and services in communities nationwide."
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Building the Legacy: IDEA 2004Department of Education website. Includes training materials, statutes and regulations, articles.
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Disability Employment Resources by TopicLinks provided by the Department of Labor. Includes a directory of state disability employment offices.
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EEOC.govThe Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website
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United States Access BoardThe U.S. Access Board is federal agency that promotes equality for people with disabilities through leadership in accessible design and the development of accessibility guidelines and standards.
Web Resources
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ADA National Network"The ADA National Network provides information, guidance and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), tailored to meet the needs of business, government and individuals at local, regional and national levels. "
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Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund"The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, founded in 1979, is a leading national civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals with disabilities and parents who have children with disabilities." Its mission "is to advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public policy and legislative development." Includes section on advocacy, with briefs, complaints, and other documents.
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