ABSTRACT
This chapter considers that ongoing drive for full civil rights protection for persons with disabilities that protects self-determination and supports independent living. It examines the sad history that has characterized much of the nation's life, the disability rights movement, the search for constitutional protections, and the statutory framework for civil rights in this field. One major strand of civil rights efforts for those with disabilities has been the effort to achieve the kinds of constitutional protections that other groups in society who have suffered a history of discrimination now enjoy. Although there are some constitutional protections for people with disabilities, these fall woefully short of the kinds of civil rights guarantees needed by them and available to other groups who have such a long history of exclusion and discrimination.
