President George Bush to Host Year 2000 Disability Conference; Conference to Plan America's Disability Agenda

    WASHINGTON, May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Former President George Bush will join
 with the National Organization on Disability (N.O.D.) in hosting the Year 2000
 Disability Conference.  The conference, set for February 24-26, 2000, will be
 held at the George Bush Presidential Library Conference Center at Texas A&M
 University in College Station, Texas.
     The goal of the conference will be to develop a blueprint for how America
 can further the full and equal participation of America's 54 million men,
 women and children with disabilities in all aspects of life.  The conference
 will include four sequential panels on employment, education, community life,
 and political participation.  Panel discussions will focus on how to close the
 participation gaps in these areas of life.  The backdrop for these discussions
 is the 1998 N.O.D./Louis Harris & Associate Survey of Americans with
 Disabilities, which uncovered that people with disabilities continue to lag
 considerably behind people without disabilities in participating in major life
 activities.
     Invited participants -- members of the Administration and other government
 officials, heads of foundations, the media, national disability leaders,
 community and business leaders -- include former U.S. Attorney General Dick
 Thornburgh; Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Justin Dart; N.O.D. Vice
 Chairman Christopher Reeve; and Chairman, President and CEO of Provident
 Companies, Inc. J. Harold Chandler.
     The year 2000 will mark the tenth Anniversary of the Americans with
 Disabilities Act, which was signed into law by President Bush on July 26,
 1990.  The ADA provides civil rights protection for people with disabilities
 in employment, public accommodations, transportation, communication and in
 state and local government affairs.  ADA implementation is proceeding;
 nevertheless, serious gaps in the levels of participation of people with
 disabilities in all aspects of life persist.
     President Bush stated, "I regard the ADA as one of the high points of my
 presidency.  At this conference, we hope to identify steps that key sectors of
 society must take in the new millennium to realize the full and equal
 participation of people with disabilities in American life."
     The National Organization on Disability promotes the acceptance and full
 participation in all aspects of life for America's 54 million men, women and
 children with physical, sensory or mental disabilities.  Founded in 1982,
 N.O.D. is concerned with all disabilities, all age groups and all disability
 issues.  Through its network of 4,500 Community Partners in towns, cities and
 counties nationwide, N.O.D. promotes voluntary action, to expand opportunities
 for people with disabilities.
     For more information, please contact N.O.D. at (202) 293-5960, TDD
 (202) 293-5968 or visit them on the World Wide Web at www.nod.org.
 
 

SOURCE  National Organization on Disability