PubPol 750.018 Topics: Disability Policy

This course provides an introduction to disability policy in the United States.  We will begin with the origins of disability policy in the English Poor Laws, and explore the historical development of American disability policy through the Americans with Disabilities Act and subsequent legislation.  After that historical examination, we will look in depth at disability policy today in a number of distinct domains:  health, education, employment, cash benefits, housing, and others.  We will conclude with a brief examination of international and comparative approaches to disability policy.  Throughout, we will address a number of key conceptual, theoretical, and normative topics, including the definition of disability, the tension between civil rights and welfare approaches to disability, and the choice between universal and targeted benefits. 

Faculty Expert

Samuel R. Bagenstos

Arlene Susan Kohn Professor of Social Policy

Samuel R. Bagenstos is Frank G. Millard Professor of Law and Arlene Susan Kohn Professor of Social Policy at the University of Michigan. He served as General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Management and Budget in the Biden administration.