Note

Disentangling the Eleventh Amendment and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Alternative Remedies for State-Initiated Disability Discrimination Under Title I and Title II

When it was first drafted and put into effect, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) allowed litigants to seek monetary damages from state governments for disability-based discrimination under Title I and Title II of the statute. On Eleventh Amendment grounds, however, recent decisions have virtually eliminated the prospect of monetary damage awards against the states for such violations. In the wake of these deci-sions, the precise scope of remedies against the states for violations of Ti-tles I and II of the ADA is unclear. This note examines possible alterna-tive remedies for private plaintiffs alleging disability discrimination by the states. Ultimately, the note argues that two viable remedies exist: injunctive relief under Ex parte Young, and the so-called plan waiver ex-ception to the Eleventh Amendment. The note asserts that the plan waiver remedy is particularly suitable when a Title I violation is alleged, while Ex parte Young injunctive relief should be favored as a remedy for Title II violations.

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