Pennhurst State School & Hospital v. Halderman

Passed by Congress in 1975, the Developmentally Disabled Assistance and Bill of Rights Act set up a joint federal and state program under which the federal government offered financial assistance to states establishing and maintaining programs for the developmentally disabled or mentally retarded. State participation in the act was voluntary, and states could either comply with the act's provisions or miss out on federal funding. Under the "bill of rights" section of the act, developmentally disabled persons "have a right to appropriate treatment, services, and habilitation" in "the setting that is least restrictive of . . . personal liberty."

Like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, the Developmentally Disabled Assistance and Bill of Rights Act was an outgrowth of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The latter prohibited discrimination on the basis of disability in any activities with federal funding. The ADA would extend this prohibition to the state and local governments and to the private sector.