The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is broadly considered the first piece of federal civil rights legislation for disabled people. Section 504 specifically required that academic programs, hospitals and other institutions that receive federal funding could not discriminate against or physically exclude people on the basis of disability. While the act was signed into law by Richard Nixon in 1973 - in order for it to widely take effect H.E.W. the Department of Health Education and Welfare, needed to write regulations to define who was disabled and what was considered discrimination. Disability Rights Activists created the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities under the Ford Administration to draft regulations. When Jimmy Carter became president HEW officials attempted to create a different set of draft regulations, in response disability rights activists threatened what is now known as the 504 Sit-In.