On National Day of Mourning, NCD remembers the impact of President Jimmy Carter

On National Day of Mourning, NCD remembers the impact of President Jimmy Carter

For Immediate Release

January 9, 2025

WASHINGTON-Today on the National Day of Mourning, the National Council on Disability (NCD) remembers the life and legacy of former President James Earl Carter Jr. , 100, who passed away December 29.

President Carter served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, following his term as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975.

During the Carter Administration, NCD was first established by the Comprehensive Services and Disability Amendments Act of 1978.

On Nov. 6, 1978, President Carter signed Public Law 95-602, replacing the former Title IV of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 with a new Title IV. The change established an advisory council within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare called the National Council on the Handicapped, which was NCD's original name.

The law set forth the duties of the National Council, including establishing general policies for the National Institute of Handicapped Research-now known as the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)- and reviewing and evaluating on a continuing basis policies, programs, and activities concerning people with disabilities.

A year later, Congress passed the Department of Education Organization Act and President Carter signed Public Law 96-88 into law, at which time the Council was moved under the newly-created U.S. Department of Education.

NCD became an independent federal agency in 1984, recommended enactment of an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1986, and drafted the first version of the bill which was introduced in the House and Senate in 1988. The ADA became law in 1990.

Since then, NCD has continued to play a leading role in crafting disability policy, and advising the President, Congress and other federal agencies on disability policies, programs, and practices, and working with policymakers on legislation and regulations that improve the lives of people with disabilities.

NCD mourns the loss of President Carter and is grateful to his impact on the world during his presidency and the decades following as a humanitarian.