Technology Related Assistance for Individuals
with Disabilities Act
Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act
Since the amendment of the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1998, states can receive discretionary grants to assist them in developing and implementing consumer-responsible, comprehensive statewide programs of technology-related assistance for individuals of all ages who have disabilities. Currently, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Trust Territories have an assistive technology project funded under this act. The Tech Act program is administered by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the U.S. Department of Education.
The Tech Act requires projects to examine barriers to accessing and obtaining assistive technology in their state and then work to permanently eliminate those barriers. In addition, each state and territory project has established a collaborative relationship through a grant or contract with a protection and advocacy agency (P&A) to provide legal representation and advocacy. In the decade that the Tech Act program has been in operation, projects have focused on changing legislation, policies, practices, and organizational structures to overcome barriers in three areas: access to assistive technology, availability of assistive technology, and funding for assistive technology.
Individual State Tech Act projects focus their activities on needs and barriers identified by the citizens with disabilities in their respective states. A complete listing of state projects and links to state Web sites can be found on the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) Web site (http://resna.org).
The topics listed are individual websites that can be accessed only by members of The National Association of Parents with Children in Special Education (NAPCSE). If you are not a member of NAPCSE, and would like to join, click here to register. Members of NAPCSE, please log in above (member login and password) to activate these, and all other websites, in our database.
Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act
- The law
- Summary
