Celebrating 35 Years of Americans with Disabilities Act
July 26, 2025 marks 35 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in both the private and state and local government sectors. Under the ADA, the U.S. Access Board develops and maintains accessibility guidelines for the construction and alteration of facilities covered by the law, as well as guidelines for the design of the public right-of-way and transportation vehicles. These guidelines serve as the basis of standards used by other agencies to enforce the ADA’s design requirements. The Access Board celebrates the 35th anniversary of the ADA as it continues to hold trainings, webinars, public events, and engagements with international partners throughout the year.
In October 2024, several Access Board staff attended and presented at the 2024 M-Enabling Summit held in Alexandria, VA. Additionally, Executive Director Sachin Pavithran facilitated a panel discussion on Title II of the ADA for federal, state, and local governments with Rebecca Bond (Department of Justice), Andrew Nielson (General Services Administration), Jay Wyant (State of Minnesota), and Seamus Dowdall (National Association of Counties).
Access Board staff continue to collaborate with the Administration on Community Living’s (ACL) Older Americans Act Title VI grant program that provides nutrition and other support to elders on tribal lands. ACL staff have identified disability access to ceremonial spaces as a key quality of life issue for older tribal members. The National Congress of American Indians passed a resolution in 2023 encouraging tribes to enhance accessibility of ceremonial spaces and naming the Access Board as a resource for technical assistance. Moreover, in November, Board staff attended the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Traditional Healing Summit both virtually and in person. A roundtable session was held between tribal leaders, ACL leadership, and Board staff to discuss accessibility needs and potential collaborative solutions.
Throughout the past year, the Access Board convened with international representatives from the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), a premier professional exchange program that brings together foreign leaders and American counterparts to engage on emerging issues, policy goals, and shared interests. In November, Board staff met with a delegation from Indonesia, and in December, met with a delegation from the Central African Republic. Both discussions focused on the Board’s rulemaking processes, public engagement, and ways to ensure that people with disabilities have access to government facilities. The delegates welcomed learning more about the ADA and the Architectural Barriers Act as they work toward ensuring access to all aspects of public life for people with disabilities in their respective nations.
Later that month on December 19, Access Board staff provided a virtual training for the 1,100 business members of New Orleans and Company with a focus on public rights-of-way to support accessibility efforts as New Orleans prepared for the upcoming Super Bowl. The session included an overview of the Access Board and an invitation to attendees to the agency’s July 9, 2025 town hall in the city.
In March, Executive Director Pavithran attended the 2025 Zero Project Conference in Vienna, Austria. Pavithran presented on the importance of Creating a Disability Confident Civil Service. He was joined by Dr. Stefan Verhaegh from the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority. Later in March, Pavithran met with students from Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB), who were visiting the nation’s capital. The Executive Director spoke with the students about their experiences with accessibility, the ADA, the disability community, and the role of the Access Board.
Furthermore, Board staff also attended and presented at the 2025 National Title VI Training & Technical Assistance Conference in March. Sessions included discussions of caregiving for older Native Americans with disabilities, resources for older Native Americans, nutritional programs, fiscal training, and more.
In April, Board staff attended the 3rd Global Disability Summit (GDS) in Berlin, Germany, which was hosted by the governments of Germany and Jordan, along with the International Disability Alliance (IDA). Executive Director Pavithran presented on a panel which addressed the topic of Building Connections, Bridging the Digital Divide: An Inclusive and Accessible Digital Future for All Persons with Disabilities. Additionally, Pavithran and Public Affairs Specialist Amy Nieves met with Member of German Parliament Wilfred Oellers.
At the end of April, the Access Board held its annual in-person Board meeting in Washington, DC. During this meeting, the Board learned about the accessibility of the World War I Memorial from the National Park Service, and visited the national headquarters of Paralyzed Veterans of American (PVA) to observe the accessibility of their facilities as well. More details on the week’s meetings can be found in the Board’s news release.
The following month in May, the Board again welcomed a delegation from Oman as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program. The conversation focused on the role of the ADA, the Architectural Barriers Act, and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and their corresponding accessibility guidelines and standards.
In June, Executive Director Pavithran represented the Access Board at the inABLE Inclusive Africa Conference 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya. He delivered a keynote on Advancing Global Accessibility and participated in a panel discussion on the Global Implementation of Accessibility. Later in June, the Chair of the Access Board, Elver Ariza-Silva, spoke on the importance of the Board, the ADA, and accessible business travel at the GBTA Sustainability Summit 2025. In a similar vein, the Board’s Office of Technical and Information Services delivered several presentations on the ADA Accessibility Standards, among other topics, at the 2025 National ADA Symposium in late June.
Finally, during the week of July 7, the Access Board traveled to the city of New Orleans, Louisiana for its 2025 out-of-town Board meeting. On Wednesday, July 9, the Board held its annual town hall meeting, where it heard directly from city residents regarding local accessibility concerns. During the event, 10 Presidentially appointed Public Board Members represented the agency, including Chair Ariza-Silva. Representatives from the Departments of Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs were also in attendance. Liam Doyle, Assistant Director of the Governor’s Office of Disability Affairs, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, and National Federation of the Blind (NFB) President Mark Riccobono provided opening remarks at the session. Read more about the town hall in the Board’s news release.
The U.S. Access Board celebrates the role that the Americans with Disabilities Act has played in the lives of millions of people as the agency continues to advance accessibility through leadership in accessible design and the development of accessibility guidelines and standards. Sign up for the Board’s subscription to get notified of upcoming Board meetings, webinars, trainings, and other events.