COLUMBUS—Today, Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights) introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 18 to urge Congress to amend the Americans with Disabilities Act and adopt a new version of the International Symbol of Access that depicts a wheelchair user in an active and engaged way.

“The handicap symbol is long overdue for an update,” said Senator Yuko. “Updating this 50-year-old sign is a way to change our perceptions of people with disabilities. It is important for the new sign to show mobility because many people with disabilities are fully independent and enjoy a very active lifestyle.”                                                                                                

Shown above, the new symbol features a person on a wheelchair whose body is in motion, with the head and upper body leaning forward and the arms pushing backwards. The resolution calls for the new version of the symbol to replace the current International Symbol of Access. All new signs would use the new symbol and old signs would be replaced with the new symbol when they become worn out.

The concurrent resolution had also been introduced in the 131^st General Assembly as SCR 24.