This article is reprinted from the A.T. Quarterly, Volume 5, Number 2 & 3 (1994)
On March 9, 1994 President Clinton signed into law the
Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act Amendments of 1994
(P.L. 103-218). This reauthorization extends congressional support of the original legislation
(P.L. 100-407) through to March 1999 and continues to support state efforts to implement
consumer-responsive, comprehensive, statewide programs of technology-related assistance for
individuals with disabilities of all ages.
Title I of the new act provides the continuation of competitive grants and technical assistance
to states and establishes information and technical assistance to individuals with disabilities and
other persons. Title II authorizes funds for programs of national significance, including training
and demonstration projects related to assistive technology and the establishment of a national
classification system for assistive technology. Title III authorizes funds to states to establish and
expand alternative financing mechanisms for individuals to purchase assistive technology. (Note:
NO money was appropriated for Titles II and III in fiscal year 1994).
Support for the reauthorization was garnered by the Senate Subcommittee on Disability
Policy (Senator Tom Harkin, Chair) and the House Subcommittee on Select Education and Civil
Rights (Representative Major Owens, Chair). Together, congressional committee members,
consumers, service providers, and other involved parties collaborated for over a year to generate
legislation which would increase the probability that all individuals with disabilities have access
to assistive technology devices and services.
The Tech Act program, Titles I, II, and III, is administered by the U.S. Department of
Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) through the National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).
Background
The enactment of the original Tech Act was unique in many ways. It recognized the
importance of assistive technology in the lives of individuals with disabilities and was the first
piece of federal legislation to define assistive technology devices and services. The Tech Act's
"flagship" definition of assistive technology now appears in the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, and the Developmental
Disabilities Act. Title I of the original Act established discretionary funds to be provided
to states on a competitive basis to help them develop consumer-responsive, statewide programs
of technology-related assistance. Currently, 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
Guam, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of Marianas have received technology-related
assistance grants.
Assistive technology programs of national significance funded under Title II focused on
access to assistive technology and identification of barriers or facilitation of access to services
and devices. Examples of programs funded and completed under Title II are the National
Assistive Technology Information and Program Referral Feasibility and Desirability Study
awarded to the Center for Developmental Disabilities at the University of South Carolina to
investigate the feasibility of a national assistive technology information and referral network; the
Study on the Financing of Assistive Technology Devices and Services for Individuals with
Disabilities conducted by United Cerebral Palsy Association for the National Council on
Disabilities to identify barriers to funding assistive technology; and Project Reaching Out,
RESNA's training manual developed for outreach to minority populations.
Major Changes Made to the Act
Congressional hearings held by both the House of Representatives and the Senate highlighted
testimony by consumers, service providers, Tech Act project personnel, and others regarding
assistive technology. The hearings culminated in the development of significant amendments to
strengthen the reauthorization of the original Tech Act legislation. The Amendments of 1994
emphasize six priority activities (listed later in this article) regarding systems change, advocacy,
consumer responsiveness, and outreach to underrepresented and rural populations. The Protection
and Advocacy initiative will provide access to legal representation for individuals with disabilities
who have been denied access or due process to an assistive technology service or device. Title
I includes clear standards of accountability to ensure that states will meet the Tech Act goals
within the 10-year funding period. Allowable activities have been streamlined to focus on
systems change and advocacy; however, Tech Act projects maintain flexibility in how to
implement the priority activities. Additional activities may include model systems and
alternative state-financed systems, interagency coordination, statewide needs assessment, public
awareness programs, training and technical assistance, program data compilation and evaluation,
access to technology-related information, interstate agreements, partnerships and cooperative
initiatives, and advocacy services.
Definitions Strengthen Language in the Act
The Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act Amendments of
1994 includes key definitions to strengthen implementation of state activities and clarify
federal expectations. Terms defined in the Act are: "systems change and advocacy,"
"consumer-responsive," "protection and advocacy services," and "underrepresented populations"
(see sidebar). Congress offers these definitions to assist in providing "more guidance in fulfilling
the objectives of the Act" (House Report 103-208).
Congressional hearings revealed to lawmakers and witnesses alike that the purpose of the
Tech Act is most effectively attained through a systems change design. Civil rights history has
taught us that legal representation is often the key to permanent systems change. Under the Tech
Act, the means to this end is protection and advocacy services.
Language that support consumer-responsive activities according to congressional definitions
are "accessible," "timely," "meaningful," and "inclusion of underrepresented and rural populations
in the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of statewide programs of
technology-related assistance."
Title I: Grants to States
The Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act Amendments of
1994 (P.L. 103-218) authorizes categories of activities that may be performed and lists
priority activities that shall be performed to support systems change and advocacy to increase
access to and funding for assistive technology. Title I authorizes states and territories to compete
for (1) an initial 3-year development grant; (2) a 2-year first extension grant, based primarily
upon grantees' data which demonstrate significant progress toward the development and
implementation of a comprehensive, statewide program of technology-related assistance; and (3)
a 5-year 2nd extension grant, based upon the project's demonstration of significant progress in
developing and implementing a statewide program under its initial and first extension grant. The
amount paid to a grantee for the 4th year (if any) of the 2nd extension grant shall be 75 percent
of the amount paid to the grantee for the 3rd year of the grant period. During the 5th year of
the 2nd extension grant, the amount paid to a grantee shall be 50 percent of the amount paid to
the grantee for the 3rd year. The grants will sunset after the maximum 10-year federal funding
period. Congress expects states to develop a mechanism to replace federal funds within this
10-year period.
Required Activities
The new Tech Act legislation "intends to maintain state ... flexibility, while focusing the
efforts of the states on systemic change and advocacy activities necessary to develop a
consumer-responsive, comprehensive, statewide program of technology-related assistance for
individuals with disabilities that will have a long lasting impact" (Senate Report 103-119).
Grantees must engage in the six priority activities designed to ensure that goals, objectives, and
outcomes toward systems change and advocacy are carried out in a manner that is consumer
responsive.
The following are particular or priority activities:
"(i) the development, implementation, and monitoring of State, regional, and local laws,
regulations, policies, practices, procedures, and organizational structures, that will improve access
to, provision of, funding for, and timely acquisition and delivery of, assistive technology devices
and assistive technology services;
(ii) the development and implementation of strategies to overcome barriers regarding access
to, provision of, and funding for, such devices and services with priority for identification of
barriers to funding through State education (including special education) services, vocational
rehabilitation services, and medical assistance services or, as appropriate, other health and human
services, and with particular emphasis on overcoming barriers for underrepresented populations
and rural populations;
(iii) the coordination of activities among State agencies, in order to facilitate access to,
provision of, and funding for, assistive technology devices and assistive technology services;
(iv) the development and implementation of strategies to empower individuals with
disabilities and their family members, guardians, advocates, and authorized representatives, to
successfully advocate for increased access to, funding for, and provision of, assistive technology
devices and assistive technology services, and to increase the participation, choice, and control
of such individuals with disabilities and their family members, guardians, advocates, and
authorized representatives in the selection and procurement of assistive technology devices and
assistive technology services;
(v) the provision of outreach to underrepresented populations and rural populations, including
identifying and assessing the needs of such populations, providing activities to increase the
accessibility of services to such populations, training representatives of such populations to
become service providers, and training staff of the consumer-responsive comprehensive statewide
program of technology-related assistance to work with such populations; and
(vi) the development and implementation of strategies to ensure timely acquisition and
delivery of assistive technology devices and assistive technology services, particularly for
children. ..." (P 108 STAT 66-67, (7)).
Protection and Advocacy
A cornerstone for change in the new Tech Act Amendments is a requirement for state
projects to fund Protection and Advocacy services. "A state must award a contract to provide
legal services to an organization established pursuant to the Developmental Disabilities
Assistance and Bill of Rights Act as amended. However, if a state provided protection and
advocacy services under its program "through an alternative program prior to June 30, 1993, then
the state can continue to do so"(House Report 103 -208). States must provide funds between a
minimum amount that shall not be less than $40,000 and not more than $100,000 through
contracts or grants with Protection & Advocacy Services no later than October 1,
1994. These funds are committed for the provision of legal representation for individuals with
disabilities who, although eligible, have been denied access to assistive technology (funding).
Lead Agency Responsibilities
The new Tech Act details the qualifications of a lead agency. The governor may designate
state agencies or other agencies such as:
Progress Reports
Each State or territory that receives a development grant or extension grant shall submit a
report annually to the Secretary of Education. The report shall document significant progress in
developing and implementing a consumer-responsive comprehensive statewide program of
technology-related assistance.
The Act specifies that these progress reports (referred to as documentation in the Act) should
include:
(1) "The progress the State has made, as determined in the state's annual assessment, in
achieving the state's goals, objectives, and outcomes as identified in the state's application; areas
of need that require attention in the next year, including unanticipated problems with the
achievement of the goals, objectives, and outcomes described in the application, and the activities
the State has undertaken to rectify these problems.
(2) "The systems change and advocacy activities carried out by the State including an
analysis of the laws, regulations, policies, practices, procedures regarding access to, provision of,
funding for, such devices and services under education (including special education), vocational
rehabilitation, and medical assistance programs.
(3) "The degree of involvement of various State agencies, including the State insurance
department, in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the program, including any
interagency agreements that the State has developed and implemented regarding access to,
provision of, and funding for, assistive technology devices and assistive technology services such
as agreements that identify available resources for assistive technology devices and assistive
technology services, and the responsibility of each agency for paying for such devices and
services.
(4) "The activities undertaken to collect and disseminate information about the documents
or activities analyzed or described in paragraphs (1) through (3), including outreach activities to
underrepresented and rural populations and efforts to disseminate information by means of
electronic communication.
(5) "The involvement of individuals with disabilities who represent a variety of ages and
types of disabilities in the planning, development, implementation, and assessment of the
consumer- responsive comprehensive statewide program of technology-related assistance,
including activities undertaken to improve such involvement, such as consumer training and
outreach activities to underrepresented and rural populations.
(6) "The degree of consumer satisfaction with the program, including satisfaction by
underrepresented and rural populations.
(7) "Efforts to train personnel as well as consumers.
(8) "Efforts to reduce the service delivery time for receiving assistive technology devices and
assistive technology services.
(9) "Significant progress in the provision of protection and advocacy services."
Administrative Provisions:
Redesignation of State Lead Agency
A lead agency must have the ability to (A) respond to assistive technology needs across
disabilities and ages; (B) promote availability of assistive technology services and devices; (C)
promote and implement systems change and advocacy activities; (D) promote and develop
public-private partnerships; (E) exercise leadership in identifying and responding to the
technology needs of individuals with disabilities, their family members, guardians, advocates and
authorized representatives; (F) promote consumer confidence, responsiveness, and advocacy; (G)
implement effective strategies for capacity building, staff and consumer training and enhancement
of access to funding for assistive technology devices and services across agencies. The lead
agency may be redesignated if it has been determined by a gubernatorially appointed monitoring
panel that the current lead agency has not accomplished the purposes of the Act as specified in
Section 2(b) (1) and that there is good cause for redesignation of the agency and the temporary
loss of funds by the State under this title. The monitoring panel shall recommend to the
Secretary that further remedial action be taken or that the Secretary order the governor to
redesignate the lead agency within 90 days or lose funds. The Secretary, based on the findings
and recommendations of the monitoring panel, and after providing to the public notice and
an opportunity for comment, shall make a final determination regarding whether to order the
governor to redesignate the lead agency.
Information and Technical Assistance
Congress expanded the provision of information and technical assistance to states and to
individuals with disabilities. The U.S. Department of Education will issue contracts for the
provision of technical assistance and information to states and to individuals "to help carry out
the mandates of advocacy, and protection and advocacy" (House Report 103-208). It is
anticipated that two technical assistance contracts will be awarded in FY 94.
Title II
The primary purpose of the Tech Act is to support state systems change activities. Title II
is designed to fund programs of national significance which may include the support of
technology training, the development and preparation of individuals for technology careers,
device and equipment redistribution information systems and recycling centers, and technology
transfer.
National Classification System
Title II also authorizes the Secretary to initiate a national classification system, based on a
plan that is to be developed in consultation and coordination with other appropriate federal and
state agencies, that will include a single taxonomy and nomenclature for assistive technology
devices and services. The goal of developing such a system is to be able to obtain uniform data
across public programs and information and referral networks.
Congress authorized ten million dollars to implement Title II; however, no funds were
appropriated in fiscal year 1994.
Title III
Congress has authorized alternative financing mechanisms (low-interest loan funds, revolving
funds, loan insurance programs, partnerships with private entities for the purchase, lease,
provision or acquisition of assistive technology, or other alternate financing mechanisms).
One-time matching grants of up to $500,000 may be awarded to states for the federal share of
the cost of establishing and administering these programs. Congress has authorized up to eight
million dollars to implement Title III; however, no funds were appropriated in 1994.
Future of the TECH ACT Amendments
The U.S. Department of Education is currently developing regulatory language for the TECH
ACT. The RESNA Technical Assistance Project has been working closely with NIDRR to
produce informational materials for the states to assist them in meeting the requirements of the
Tech Act Amendments. Questions about The Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals
with Disabilities Act Amendments of 1994 may be directed to the RESNA Technical
Assistance Project, telephone 703-524-6686; or Carol Cohen, Team Leader, Dissemination and
Utilization, NIDRR, telephone 202-205-5666.
P.L. 103-218 DEFINITIONS
The A.T. Quarterly was a newsletter developed by the RESNA TA
Project under a contract with the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
(NIDRR), U.S. Department of Education (ED). The content, however, does not necessarily reflect
the position or policy of NIDRR/ED and no official endorsement of the material should be
inferred.