Rosa's Law

What is Rosa's Law?

• Rosa's Law is a United States federal law that replaced the term "mental retardation" with "intellectual disability" in various laws and regulations

• The law aims to promote respectful and inclusive language regarding people with intellectual disabilities

• The law was signed into effect in 2010 and was named after Rosa Marcellino, whose family advocated for the change in language

  • Senate: Passed unanimously on August 5, 2010

  • House: Passed by voice vote on September 22, 2010

  • President Obama: Signed the bill into law on October 5, 2010

• Access to the full document from the Congress.gov website is available via this link