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Western Pennsylvania Disability History and Action Consortium

Western Pennsylvania Disability History and Action Consortium

Honoring the historic struggle of Western Pennsylvanians with disabilities to attain human and civil rights.

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Disability History Now Part of Pennsylvania School Curriculum

08/23/2022

On July 8, 2022, the PA legislature passed an amendment approving disability inclusive curriculum in Pennsylvania schools. The bill (H.R. 1642), introduced by PA Representative Joe Hohenstein (D-Philadelphia) and Representative Jason Oritay (R-Washington/Allegheny), passed by a vote of 181-19. On his website Representative Hohenstein, himself a person with a disability, emphasized the importance of this bill when he said “Disability inclusive curriculum is enlightening and can bring us closer together. It is a shared truth that exclusion and failure to talk about diversity breeds stigma, shame, ignorance and misunderstanding. Every child deserves to be seen.” Read the full announcement: Hohenstein celebrates inclusion of disability-inclusive curriculum in Pennsylvania’s Education Code (pahouse.com).

The bill creates a 3-year pilot program, beginning with the 2022–2023 school year, to instruct students on the “political, social, and economic contributions of individuals with disabilities.” (1)

The bill is an amendment to the March 10, 1949, bill that established Pennsylvania’s education code. Pennsylvania joins several states which recognize disability history as part of their curriculum.

(1) Link to a draft of the original bill, incorporated as part of the final bill, H.B. 1642, is here: Bill Information – House Bill 726; Regular Session 2021-2022 – PA General Assembly (state.pa.us).

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NOTE TO WEBSITE VISITORS

The language and terminology used in historical materials on this site reflect the context and culture of the interviewee(s), and may include stereotypes in words, phrases, and attitudes that were wrong then and are wrong now.

Rather than remove this content, Western Pennsylvania Disability History and Action Consortium wants to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it, and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.

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