NCD releases annual report of policy progress impacting Americans with disabilities

NCD releases annual report of policy progress impacting Americans with disabilities

For Immediate Release

October 31, 2024

WASHINGTON - Today, the National Council on Disability (NCD) released its annual progress report, focusing on a review of governmentwide disability policy developments over the last year.

National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, 2024 report highlights issues pertaining to the health status and healthcare of people with disabilities as well as issues related to employment, travel, accessible technology, housing, and the US census. The report also discusses the needs of people with disabilities within tribal lands.

"NCD is pleased to present this concise overview of the significant policy developments from the past year," said NCD Chair Claudia Gordon. "While we celebrate these achievements, we remain steadfast in our commitment to providing expert policy advice to address the pressing needs of our community."

"In the report, we chronicle a year's worth of various policy changes impacting people with disabilities," said NCD Council Member and former Chair Neil Romano, who was closely involved in the report's creation. "This report includes some of our previous advice to policy makers, as well as other significant points of progress from the disability community. We hope it will help us understand what has been accomplished and what still needs to be done," he said.

The 2024 NCD Progress Report provides a summary of developments in disability policies, assessing the progress made in achieving disability policies, while identifying new and emerging issues. NCD restates several of its existing recommendations on the topics addressed in the report as a measure by which to gage progress.

Key updates include:

• Healthcare policy: The report notes the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities' designation of people with disabilities as a "Health Disparities Population" and the final Section 504 (of the Rehabilitation Act) rule by the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

• Transportation policy: The report notes the 2024 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act and the proposed regulation by the US Department of Transportation, guidelines provided by the U.S. Access Board, and ongoing accessibility improvements made by Amtrak.

• Employment policy: The report focuses its consideration of employment disability policy in the AbilityOne program and Tribal Lands Vocational Rehabilitation.

• Housing policy: The report touches on issues surrounding housing for people with disabilities after disasters, specifically FEMA's interim final rule (IFR), which applies to emergencies and major disasters declared on or after March 22, 2024.

"We hope this report can become a useful annual resource for policymakers looking for a level set on the latest policy activity affecting the lives of people with disabilities," said Romano.

NCD as an independent federal agency provides recommendations to the President, Congress, federal, state, local and tribal agencies on disability policy.

The report is available for download at NCD.gov.

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