His 'New Freedom Initiative' will increase access to assistive technologies and expand educational opportunities for people with disabilities. Disability is not the experience of a minority of Americans. Federal investment in assistive technology research and development. The administration will provide a major increase in the Rehabilitative Engineering Research Center budget for assistive technologies, create a new fund to help bring assistive technologies to market, and better coordinate the federal effort in prioritizing immediate assistive and universally designed technology needs in the disability community. Access to assistive technology.
Assistive technology is often prohibitively expensive.
In order to increase access, funding for low-interest loan programs to purchase assistive technologies will increase significantly. In return for participating in a new system of flexibility and accountability in the use of federal education funds, states will receive an increase in IDEA funds for education at the local level and help in meeting the special needs of students with disabilities. Technical assistance will be provided to promote ADA compliance and to help small businesses hire more people with disabilities. Nearly every American uses technology to make life easier. For people with a disability, however, assistive technology is more than a luxury - it is an essential tool for independence.