On the 64th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

May 17, 2018
At the request of Congressman Bobby Scott, DREDF submitted a letter (PDF) to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on the 64th anniversary of the landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The letter urges Congress to continue its traditional role of providing leadership and oversight to ensure that the civil rights of all students are protected as the Administration and US Department of Education rollback civil rights enforcement.

Agreement Reached with CMS to Ensure Accessible Delivery of Medicare Information to Blind Beneficiaries

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April 25, 2018
The National Federation of the Blind and three blind individuals represented by the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) and the law firms of Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, and Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C. have reached an agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) ensuring that the federal agency will distribute information about Medicare in more accessible formats going forward. Options include large print, Braille, audio, and electronic formats. The settlement resolves a 2016 lawsuit that alleged CMS discriminated against blind beneficiaries by failing to provide meaningful and equal access to Medicare information in accessible formats.

Letter of Opposition to Proposed California Legislation to Expand Conservatorship (AB 1971 and AB 2157)

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April 6, 2018
Unfortunately, two bills introduced in California’s Assembly seek to expand the definition of “gravely disabled” in order to make it easier to conduct involuntary commitment and treatment of certain mentally ill people, and to expand conservatorship. DREDF strongly disfavors the needless expansion of conservatorship, which broadly allows a conservator to manage the financial affairs and daily life of a conserved person. Those who are conserved are left with limited legal capacity, inevitably lose personal choice in many facets of their lives, and face institutionalization against their will for some period of time. [...]

California Introduces Eugenics Sterilization Compensation Bill

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March 29, 2018
The California Senate is considering a bill introduced by Senator Nancy Skinner, SB 1190—The Sterilization Compensation Bill—to provide victim compensation to survivors of California state-sponsored sterilization between 1909 and 1979. The bill, which is co-sponsored by California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (CLRJ) and the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF), would make California the third state in the nation to provide compensation for survivors who were sterilized under state eugenics laws.

43 Senators Tell the GOP: ‘Hands Off My ADA!’ in Sign On Letter Penned by Senator Tammy Duckworth

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March 29, 2018
Efforts by disability activists from across the nation to preserve and protect the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) have sent a clear message to Congress in recent weeks to safeguard equal access to stores, restaurants, and other public accommodations. The message to Congress has been loud and clear: “Hands Off My ADA!” If passed into law "notice and cure" legislation would segregate Americans living with disabilities as the only federally-protected class of citizens forced to rely on “education,” rather than enforcement of the law, to exercise their basic civil rights.

Comments Concerning Removing Regulatory Barriers for Vehicles with Automated Driving Systems

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March 23, 2018
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) is pleased to submit in response to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) request for comments regarding regulatory barriers for vehicles with automated driving systems (ADSs). DREDF thanks NHTSA for its work to date to ensure safety for disabled passengers, pedestrians and bicyclists.

Comments on HHS Proposed Rule on Protecting Statutory Conscience

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March 27, 2018
On March 27, 2018 DREDF submitted comments in response to regulations proposed by the Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights on "Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care." DREDF questions the vagueness and breadth of the proposed rule which gives broad latitude to healthcare providers and entities to refuse to perform or assist in performing health care services or activities to which they object "for religious, moral, ethical, or other reasons." DREDF emphasized that the provider's right to refuse cannot simply override the right of persons with disabilities of all races, ethnicities, ages, sexual orientation and gender, to receive accessible and equally effective healthcare services, free of discrimination.

Arkansas’ Harsh Medicaid Work Requirement Confirms Fears of Disabled Enrollees

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March 22, 2018
Since the Trump Administration endorsed Medicaid work requirements on January 11, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved proposals from three states to waive federal law and implement so called "community engagement" programs into Medicaid. While work requirements in Kentucky and Indiana are troubling in their own right, Arkansas' program sets a particularly dangerous precedent for disabled enrollees despite promises they would be exempt from work requirements.

Comments Concerning the Public Meeting: Automated Vehicle Policy Summit

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March 9, 2018
The promise and safety of AVs will only be realized if AVs are fully accessible, and the safety elements take into account the needs of people with disabilities. To that end, we ask you to consider the following...

ALERT to Californians: Save the ADA!

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March 8, 2018
H.R. 620, the bill to badly weaken the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed the U.S. House of Representatives on February 15. On the plus side, very few Democrats voted for the bill—only 12, and 19 Republicans opposed it! This important achievement is a strong testament to your effective grassroots pressure—your calls and emails made a real difference!