Disability Discrimination Act 2005

The Disability Discrimination Bill has been passed. The new Act will amend the existing Disability Ddiscrimination Act and will enter legislation as the Disability Discrimination Act 2005.  Aspects relevant to higher education are highlighted below

The 2005 Act …

• Widens the definition of disability, to include people with progressive conditions such as MS, HIV and some cancers from the point of diagnosis and removes the requirement for mental health conditions to be clinically well recognised

• Places new duties on all public bodies, requiring them to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people and encourage their participation in public life

• New specific duties for listed bodies, including schools, further and higher education institutions and funding bodies, to produce and implement disability equality schemes

• Includes general examination awarding bodies in the DDA part 4, ensuring that disabled students are not treated less favourably when undertaking exams, eg A Levels, and that appropriate reasonable adjustments are made

• Improves disabled people's access to trains and buses, including an end-date for modifications of 2020 Background

Background

On 1 September 2002 SENDA (Special Educational Needs and Disability Act) or Part IV of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA, 1995) came into force. This Act requires Higher Educational Institutions to provide reasonable adjustments to enable disabled students, including dyslexic learners, to access the curriculum. It also states that an institution should not treat a disabled person less favourably than others for a reason that relates to their disability without justification.

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(source Association of Dyslexic Specialists in Higher Education)