Rosa’s Law (2010)
- Sam Shepherd
- Oct 4, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 24
Overview
Rosa's Law is a law that replaced previous terminology with "intellectual disability" within federal law, sparking a shift in how intellectual disability is characterized in law as well as continuing the movement to remove saying derogatory terminology from society. This law was officially signed by President Obama on October 5, 2010.
Summary
This law is named after Rosa Marcellino, a girl with Down syndrome, who was 9 at the time of this law passing. Her mother joined other parents in taking legislative action in the state of Maryland after discovering that Rosa was labeled as the r-word in school, eventually leading to federal legislation being sponsored by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD.) and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY.) [1,2]. Rosa's brother, Nick, had a very powerful statement in his testimony that captures this issue perfectly: “What you call people is how you treat them. What you call my sister is how you will treat her. If you believe she’s ********, it invites taunting, stigma. It invites bullying and it also invites the slammed doors of being treated with respect and dignity [1].”
Previous terminology included in laws have been not only outdated, but have also had such a negative usage and connotation amongst society as a whole; and unfortunately still does. Yet, taking this step in changing terminology at the federal level was a great one. As this law was signed by President Obama on October 5, 2010, this replaced previous terminology with "intellectual disability" or appropriate variations of the term within federal laws.
Federal laws that had terminology changed to "intellectual disability" include Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, The Higher Education Act of 1965, The Public Health Service Act, and more.
Impact
On October 8, 2010, the White House had a ceremony to celebrate Rosa's Law being signed into law, a commemoration including 11 Special Olympic athletes [2]. In the years to follow, many states and other government agencies have followed suit in replacing previous terminology with "intellectual disability," even though Rosa's Law did not require states and other government agencies to do so [3].
To continue, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the official manual for diagnosing different conditions as published by the American Psychiatric Association also made the shift in terminology. In the most recent version, the DSM-5 (2013) changed the terminology to "intellectual disability" from the r-word, as the DSM-4 (1994) previously had, part of the inspiration stemming from Rosa's Law [4].
Following, in the Supreme Court case Hall v. Florida (2014) ruling, the majority opinion cited both Rosa's Law and the DSM-5 for the usage of "intellectual disability," moving away from previous and harmful terminology. This allows for clarification in cases surrounding individuals with developmental disabilities as well as removing the use of previous terminology that even advocates had to use in court documents to avoid confusion [5].
Overall, the impact of Rosa's Law is clear in legislation and official classifications. It also supports the continuous movement to stop others from using harmful and outdated terminology that has no place to be used in our society.
Sources
[1]: cperhson. “Rosa’s Law Will Have Profound Impact .” Digital Commons at USU, Utah State University , 29 Sept. 2010.
[2]: “Rosa’s Law Signed Into Law by President Obama.” Special Olympics, Oct. 2010.
[3]: “Change in Terminology: ‘MR’ to ‘Intellectual Disability.’” Federal Register, 1 Aug. 2013.
[4]: Intellectual Disability, American Psychiatric Association, 2013.
[5]: Diament, Michelle. “In Shift, Supreme Court Moves Away From ‘MR.’” Disability Scoop, 20 June 2014.
Original Legislation
