Rosa's Law

NDSC and 30 other national organizations signed on as supporters of this law in a "Dear Colleague" letter sent out by Senator Mikulski.  A "Dear Colleague" letter is often used when a senator is requesting actions by other senators such as co-sponsorship of a bill. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), Senator Lamar Alexander (R- Tenn.), Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), and Senator John Thune (R-S.D.)  also co-sponsored the bill.

According to a statement issued by Senator Mikulski, "It (Rosa's law) makes nominal changes to policy in federal education, health and labor law. It simply substitutes 'intellectual disability' for 'mental retardation.' This bill will neither expand nor diminish services, rights or educational opportunities. We vetted it with legal counsel. We reached out to the very wonderful advocacy groups in this field and they concur that this legislation would be acceptable.

"This is not the first time we've updated this terminology. Our laws once referred to boys and girls as 'feeble minded.' We thought we were being advanced when we changed it to 'mentally retarded' in the 1960s. Now, 40 years later, let's take another big step and change it to 'intellectual disability.'

Rosa's Law replicates a law recently adopted in Maryland. Senator Mikulski first heard about the state law from Rosa's mother during a roundtable discussion about special education held in Edgewater, Maryland.  Senator Mikulski promised Rosa's mother that if the bill became law in Maryland, she would take it to the floor of the United States Senate.

Rosa's 13 year-old brother Nick testified before Maryland legislators when the law was being considered by the General Assembly.  He stated, "Some people say they are just words, and it's not going to make a difference if we just change the words. Some say we shouldn't worry about the words, just the way we treat people. But when you think about it, what you call people is how you treat them! If we change the words, maybe it'll be the start of a new attitude towards people with intellectual disabilities. They deserve it."