About:
This site is for aggregating breaking news and information about the state of disability rights and advocacy work in the United States, particularly the anti-DEIA attacks under the current administration, in an online space separate from the control of social media moguls.
Disability impacts people of every race, sex, gender, age, class, national origin, citizenship status, religion, political affiliation, and geographic location. Due to its intersectional nature, BIPOC disabled and other multiply-marginalized folks are disproportionately impacted by any attacks on accessibility, and disability justice is intertwined in all liberation movements.
- Week 12 Update
- Week 11 Update
Take Action: Share this info. Disability is often lost in mainstream coverage. Call your Representative and tell them to intervene on behalf of the Dept of Education and HHS regarding illegal layoffs. Contact your school board and state’s education officials, and tell them not to comply with McMahon’s baseless anti-DEI directive. If your state is… Read more: Week 11 Update - Week 10 Update
Action:Share this info. Disability is often lost in mainstream coverage. Call your Representative and tell them to intervene on behalf of the Dept of Education, the ADA, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) and other HHS programs. Make sure your vaccines are up to date, especially if you may have received an inactive virus version… Read more: Week 10 Update - NEW: Former Gallaudet Employee Speaks Out Against “Deceitful, Fanciful Thinking” in University’s Response to DoEd Layoffs
The following post provides information specific to Gallaudet University, the world’s only liberal arts university exclusively for D/HH students, in the wake of the Department of Ed’s layoffs last week. For a general overview of that news, click here. For more information and action items specific to Gallaudet University, click here. For an ASL version… Read more: NEW: Former Gallaudet Employee Speaks Out Against “Deceitful, Fanciful Thinking” in University’s Response to DoEd Layoffs - Week 9 Updates
Action items: Share this info. Disability is often lost in mainstream coverage. Call your Representative and tell them to intervene on behalf of the Dept of Education and the ADA. Call the Senate Finance Committee members and tell them to vote NO on Dr. Oz Protest U of T’s hosting of the upcoming racist and… Read more: Week 9 Updates - Breaking: Dept of Labor Dismantles PEAT, Key Digital Accessibility Resource
Per internal sources providing info on condition of anonymity: The Department of Labor has removed PEAT, a major digital accessibility resource, previously housed at PEATWorks.org. PEAT was used by thousands in technology to make sure their designs were accessible for disabled people. It was also one of the few resources on accessible AI. PEAT has… Read more: Breaking: Dept of Labor Dismantles PEAT, Key Digital Accessibility Resource - Breaking: Department of Justice Begins Rollback of ADA
Yesterday the Department of Justice began removing guidance related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the law that protects disabled people’s rights to access and accommodations in public. While the law itself remains on the books, the definition of legal “access” is developed by guidance from the US Access Board. The Board, comprised of… Read more: Breaking: Department of Justice Begins Rollback of ADA - Action Item: Protect Deaf and Special Education!
1300 Department of Education employees were laid off last week, some of them illegally, including workers in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), who provide a variety of special education funding and programs, oversee IDEA, and fund and support special institutions like Gallaudet, NTID, the American Printing House for the Blind, Helen… Read more: Action Item: Protect Deaf and Special Education! - Week 8 Update
Action Items:Share this info. Disability is often lost in mainstream coverage. - New: Internal DoEd Document Show Full Reorganization After Tuesday’s Illegal Layoffs
- Call Scripts for 13 March Regarding Budget Resolution and Illegal DoED Layoffs
Script for Calling Your Senator (*Time Sensitive*–they must vote by Friday, 314) Find your Senator’s phone number here Hello Senator [last name], My Name is [full name] and I’m a constituent calling from zip code [your zip code] to ask you to vote NO on the budget bill until there are firm guardrails in place… Read more: Call Scripts for 13 March Regarding Budget Resolution and Illegal DoED Layoffs - Breaking: Nearly Half the Department of Education Laid Off Tuesday, Including from Legally Mandated Positions
On Tuesday, 11 March, the Department of Education fired over 1,300 workers, nearly half of the department. Afterward, Linda McMahon told reports that legally-mandated employees, and programs protecting disabled students’ rights were not affected; however, that was a lie. In the same interview, she also revealed she did not know what IDEA stands for. Federal… Read more: Breaking: Nearly Half the Department of Education Laid Off Tuesday, Including from Legally Mandated Positions - Week 7 Updates
Action Items Share this info. Disability is often lost in mainstream coverage. - Breaking: Email from McMahon to Dept of Ed. Declares “One Final Mission”
From: McMahon, Linda Sent: Monday, March 3, 2025 9:29 PM Subject: Our Department’s Final Mission When I took the oath of office as Secretary of Education, I accepted responsibility for overseeing the U.S. Department of Education and those who work here. But more importantly, I took responsibility for supporting over 100 million American children and… Read more: Breaking: Email from McMahon to Dept of Ed. Declares “One Final Mission” - Week Six Update
Action Items: - Resources: Tracking Changes at the U.S. Department of Education and State Levels
The US Department of Education is an essential source of funding and oversight for all US students, but particularly for those with disabilities. If you want more information about the functions of DoED and recent attacks, visit our explainer here. For a flyer with a QR code linking back to that information, go here. Or,… Read more: Resources: Tracking Changes at the U.S. Department of Education and State Levels - Week 5 Update
Take Action #ProtectADA for community sharing, news, letter templates and more - Week 4 Update
Battles in the courts, Congress, and the labs this week, but the outcry against Texas v. Beccera shows the pressure still works, with some AGs backing away from the suit. Keep it up! PS–Trans rights are human rights. This lawsuit shows us they will try to pit us against one another with misinformation, and we’re… Read more: Week 4 Update - Take it to the Streets! Flyers Download PageThe news is changing so rapidly it can be hard to keep up. We’re creating flyers that will target different issues, and link viewers to with explainers and action items. Click on a flyer below to download the PDF.
- What’s going on with the US Department of Education?
Last Updated 3.10.2025 In the news: President Trump has repeatedly promised to close the Department of Education, including at his September 2024 rally in Pennsylvania, and later on a Fox and Friends interview. He reiterated the plan when he nominated former WWE executive Linda McMahon to head the department. This plan can also be found… Read more: What’s going on with the US Department of Education?
Our Deal:
Who are you?
We’re a group of disabled people and allies seeking to provide timely and accurate disability-rights related information, which is often underreported in the mainstream media.
How do I cite this?
Unless an author or signer is otherwise noted, you can just call us the Disability Rights Watch collective. We’ll also always link to secondary sources when available.
But who are your “inside sources”?
Verified federal employees working in various agencies, whose identities we will protect, obviously.
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