Disability Discrimination Act
The Disability
Discrimination Act (DDA) was passed in 1995 to introduce new measures aimed at
ending the discrimination which many disabled people face. It protects disabled
people in the areas of:
• employment
• trade organisations and qualifications bodies
• access
to goods, facilities and services
• the management, buying or renting of land
or property
• education.
The SEN and
Disability Act 2000 extended the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to
education with effect from September 2002. The Learning and Skills Council (the
Council) welcomes this new legislation, which will broaden the rights of
disabled people.
Under part 4 of the
DDA, the governing bodies of FE colleges and LEAs providing adult education are
named as responsible bodies who have duties under this legislation. The
responsible body is legally liable for the actions of the institutions they
manage as a whole, and also for the actions of individual employees in the
course of their employment, whether they are full-time, part-time or temporary,
directly contracted or sub-contracted.
Under Part 4 of the
Act colleges and LEAs will have new, legal responsibilities: not to treat
disabled learners less favourably for a reason related to their disability and
also: to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled learners.
These new duties
apply not just to teaching and learning but to any service which is provided
specifically for students. They are anticipatory, that is colleges and LEAs
will need to anticipate the likely needs of disabled learners and not merely
respond to individual needs as they arise.
The Act makes it
unlawful to discriminate against disabled applicants, including potential
applicants or students. The Act uses a wide definition of disability and covers
people with physical or sensory impairments, dyslexia, medical conditions,
mental health difficulties and learning difficulties, as well as progressive
conditions, conditions that have a substantial cumulative effect and people
with a history of disability. Institutions have a duty to take reasonable steps
to encourage students to disclose a disability.