Last Tuesday, Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Michael Enzi (R-WY) introduced "Rosa's Law"(S. 2781) a bipartisan bill to substitute outdated, stigmatizing terms in federal health, education and labor laws. If enacted, this bill will remove the terms "mental retardation" and "mentally retarded" and replace them with "intellectual disability" and "individual with an intellectual disability."
It is important to point out that this change would not alter the eligibility requirements for any services and supports. It would, however, ensure that current language in all legislation impacting this group of individuals was correct. CEC believes that replacing antiquated terminology with more common and accurate language is an important and respectful step for people with disabilities. Therefore, CEC joined with many other groups to support this needed change.
CEC encourages its members to contact their Representatives and Senators and urge co-sponsorship of this important legislation. Members can locate their elected officials through CEC’s Legislative Action Center. Find out who YOUR representative is.
What is the latest news regarding "Rosa's Law" (2781)?
Posted by: Ernie Rodriguez | 12/08/2009 at 09:49 PM