Legal Scholars Discuss the Future of the ADA

On October 12, 2020, the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy invited experts on disability law to discuss the future of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “The Future of the ADA,” was the most recent installment of the Center’s virtual spotlight series on the 30th anniversary of the ADA and featured law professors Jasmine Harris ’05 and Elizabeth Pendo.

Jasmine Harris is a Professor of Law and Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall Research Scholar at the University of California – Davis School of Law. She is an expert in disability law and antidiscrimination law. Harris combines approaches in law and the humanities to better understand the role that perception, aesthetics, and emotions play in group subordination.

Elizabeth Pendo is the Joseph J. Simeone Professor of Law and a member of the Center for Health Law Studies at the Saint Louis University School of Law. She is an expert in disability law and legal theory, health law and policy, and bioethics. Her research focuses on greater access to health care and health equity, work opportunities, and full participation in society for people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

Harris and Pendo talked about how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the discussion around disability. Institutions have had to integrate accommodations as a norm rather than an exception, and things that people have been denied access to for years are now widely available. They also spoke about the importance of intersectionality in the discourse around disability, especially regarding disability and race. From employment to education to health care and congregate facilities, disability issues have become front and center in the wake of the pandemic.

“People have said, ‘Gosh, you know disability rights — they’re important, but in order to make concepts like universal design a reality, we need to hit a stop button,’” said Harris. “And we can’t ever just hit the pause button and rethink the way in which we do business, the way in which we develop services, the way in which we educate. Well, guess what? COVID-19 is our pause button.”

Harris and Pendo addressed the role of the ADA in shifting public norms of disability and combatting some of the challenges to these normative shifts. Harris spoke about her recent work exploring the relationship between privacy and disability, suggesting that relying on privacy to prevent discrimination may be a mistake. According to her, it is necessary to reconceive the role of law in disability justice, and now might be the time for such a reimagination.

Pendo discussed the use of the ADA and other related laws to promote the health and well-being of people with disabilities. She underscored the critical protections of the ADA in areas of health care and health promotion and how gaps remain in ensuring care for people with disabilities. Pendo also pointed out that these protections can often benefit even those without disabilities.

The conversation emphasized the importance of shifting norms and legal interventions for the ADA to move productively into the future. Looking forward to the future of the ADA, Pendo urged considering its intention in future policy decisions. “If you think of it more expansively, as it was intended, to correct past wrongs and to provide a level playing field, then you’ll see it as something that should grow and thrive and develop and apply in new ways,” she said. 

This series is cosponsored by ThinkDifferent, DivineAbilities at the Yale Divinity School, the Graduate Student Disability Alliance, and Disability Empowerment for Yale (DeFY).