DREDF’s Comments in Opposition to HUD’s Proposed Changes to the “Disparate Impact” Rule

October 23, 2019 On October 18, 2019 DREDF submitted comments in opposition to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) proposed changes to the “Disparate Impact” rule. DREDF urged the Department to withdraw the rule in its entirety. HUD’s Proposed Rule would impose drastic changes to the Fair Housing Act’s “disparate impact” protections. These changes would make it much more difficult to use HUD’s Disparate Impact rule to challenge policies and practices that disproportionately harm people with disabilities.

DREDF Honors the Life and Legacy of Representative Elijah Cummings

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October 17, 2019
The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund mourns the loss of Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who died at age 68 on October 17. Representative Cummings was an advocate for truth and justice from childhood until the end. Even on his last public appearance on September 11, 2019, he spoke out in support of disabled people at risk of deportation. Anyone familiar with Cummings' career should not be surprised.

DREDF Applauds District Court Rejection of Trump’s Public Charge

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October 11, 2019
On Friday, October 11, three separate federal district courts issued injunctions blocking the Trump Administration from implementing it's "public charge" rule, which threatened access to health care and public benefits for disabled citizens and non-citizens alike. DREDF, along with seventeen other disability rights organizations, filed amicus briefs in each of these cases, denouncing the Administration's rule as a discriminatory move that would create confusion and fear among disability and immigrant communities.

Seeking Information: Will Kaiser Not Pay For Your Medical Equipment?

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October 7, 2019
DREDF seeks individuals or organizations who have faced exclusions, monetary caps, or high cost-sharing on the coverage of needed medical equipment (e.g., wheelchairs, ventilators, or transfer lifts) in an individual or small group Kaiser health insurance plan.

Federal Disability Agency Publishes Series of Reports on Bioethics and Disability

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September 25, 2019
Despite the growing consensus that disability is a normal part of the human experience, the lives of people with disabilities are routinely devalued in medical decision-making. Negative biases and inaccurate assumptions about disabled people persist. In medical situations, these biases can have serious and even deadly consequences.

Reinstate Medical Deferred Action for Disabled Disabled Immigrants

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September 11, 2019
No disabled child, adult or family of a person with an illness or disability should face certain death through deportation because of policy changes in Washington DC. Join DREDF and the other groups fighting to save Isabel Bueso and people like her with rare and life-threatening conditions whose lives are at risk because of medical deferment policy changes.

DREDF Honors the Life and Legacy of Marca Bristo

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September 10, 2019
Many of us at Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund were fortunate to work with Marca Bristo for many years, and all of us have been touched by Marca’s pioneering disability rights work. We send our condolences to her family, friends, and everyone at Access Living, which she established in 1980.

Tell your Member of Congress: “We don’t punish critically ill children in this country!”

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August 29, 2019
The phrase "cruel and unusual punishment" is usually used in conversations about criminal sentencing. But this week, the Trump Administration made its usage appropriate in federal immigration policy by sending deportation letters to immigrant families who are living in the U.S. under the medical deferred action program.

California Supreme Court Issues Unanimous Decision Affirming Full, Equal Access in the Internet Age

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August 16, 2019
On August 12, 2019, the California Supreme Court issued an expansive opinion in White v. Square, Inc., No. S249248. The unanimous ruling builds on prior appellate decisions, addresses potential conflicts, and resolves important questions about standing and enforcement of civil rights laws online.

How Trump’s Public Charge Changes Hurt People with Disabilities

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August 14, 2019
On Monday, August 12, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its final "Public Charge" regulations that will become official when published in the Federal Register which is expected to happen on Wednesday, August 14. The new rule expands the conditions under which DHS can exclude more applicants for U.S. entry or green card status, including people with disabilities.