Category: Uncategorized

1. Department of Justice rescinds key Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidance. On Wednesday night, the DOJ removed important guidance on accessibility in businesses, hotels, gas stations, regarding service animals, and more. The DOJ used an EO about the cost of living to justify the move, suggesting disabled people are the reason things are so expensive, a nod to eugenicist rhetoric.
   
   While the ADA remains federal law, rescinding guidance makes it harder and more confusing for businesses to follow. The US Access Board, who is supposed to be in charge of reviewing guidance, had their meeting cancelled in January with no cause. The DOJ is charged with enforcing, not weakening, ADA protections.
   
2. Executive Order, “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States and Communities.” On Thursday, Donald Trump issued an EO attempting to dismantle the Department of Education. Abolishing the Department would take an act of Congress, so the order contains only a vague directive to McMahon, “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department.”
   
   While the directive is illegal, Congress and/or legal action will be required in order to hold the administration to Constitutional rule.
   
3. Trump announces DoEd’s “Special Needs” programs to move to HHS. On Friday afternoon, Donald Trump announced the move of “special needs” to the Department of Health and Human Services as soon as possible, in order to expedite the dismantling of DoEd. It’s unclear which programs he was referring to, or if it is legal for them to be moved without Congressional approval.
   
   If IDEA oversight and other programs were relocated to HHS, they would fall under the direction of RFK Jr, a eugenicist who has spoken extensively about his distain for autistic people, and his desire to create “wellness farms” to treat neurodivergence. Kennedy has no experience in education.
   
4. Social Security Administration to remove phone identity verification options. Due to DOGE’s ongoing obsession with Social Security fraud (allegations that have remained unproven), SSA will end their telephone processes for identity verification.
   
   Requiring recipients to come into the office in-person places an undue burden on the elderly or disabled, many of whom receive benefits because of limited mobility. DOGE also plans to close 47 SSA field offices this year, meaning folks will have to travel farther.
   
5. Department of Labor removes PEAT, longstanding digital and AI accessibility tool. 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 had been funded by the Dept of Labor (DOL) for 13 years. The Trump administration has prevented the renewal of a contract under the guise of a “funding pause.”
   
6. Texas vs. Beccera lawsuit continues. Attorneys General continue to use transphobic rhetoric to attack Final Rule and Section 504. Participants continue to say they do not want to dismantle disabled people’s rights, but have not revoked the original filing, which explicitly asks for 504 to be declared unconstitutional (p 37-42).
   
   504 protects disabled people’s rights in all spaces that receive federal funding, but could have major implications for those needing interpreters in hospitals in light of the new English EO, the rescinding of ADA guidance, and uncertain future of DoEd protections. The next update is due in April.
   
7. Fox commentator says the quiet part out loud with respect to special education. Last night, while discussing the EO to dismantle the Dept. of Education, commentator Jessica Tarlov said, “When I hear Republicans out there talking about their plan for education in America, I don’t hear them talking about making sure disabled kids have access to a public education,” Gutfield interrupted her, saying, “Because we’re against it!” followed by laughter.
   
   Gutfeld previously caused controversy in 2023 with comments suggesting that the Holocaust had provided survivors with skills that made them more useful. His comments are a reminder of the surging popularity of eugenic pseudoscientific thought. The show has 4 million viewers.
   
8. Ohio State Senator George Lang says disabled students are too expensive, unloved. Lang joined a virtual meeting for a proposed voucher program in Ohio and botched an attempt at nuance(??), explaining that while he supported vouchers, there are additional considerations in public schools: “We know for a fact that it costs more to teach a student with severe disabilities. I’m gonna make a number up, let’s say that cost is $50,000 a year … compared to a student who comes from a family with a loving mom and a loving dad who put education at a high level. It costs a lot less to educate those students.”
   
   Concern about the expense of educating disabled people is a often a eugenic talking point. Further, propaganda about euthanasia as the best way of expressing love for disabled people was a key method of garnering support in the leadup to Germany’s programmatic murder of the disabled, which first targeted children.
   
9. University of Texas at Austin to hold eugenics and “race science” conference next week. The 2nd annual “Natal Conference” will take place at University of Texas at Austin’s AT&T Conference Center on March 27-28th.
   
   “Natalism” is philosophy that believes in the importance of childbearing for social (or religious) reasons, and thus advocates for a high birthrate. Eugenics and “race science” are strains of pseudoscience founded in the belief that humanity can be “improved” through selective breeding. Typically, these ideas are used to reinforce racist stereotypes and ableism.
   
   Various neofascist influencers are slated to speak. Musk has also been invited.

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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 eugenicist conference.

Make sure your vaccines are up to date, especially if you may have received an inactive virus version of the MMR vaccine from 1963-67.

If your state is involved, contact your Attorney General and ask them to withdraw from Texas v. Beccera. Tell them you stand in solidarity with disabled people, and trans folks.

Consider how to move toward creative acts of growing awareness offline, including local protest and mutual aid.

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 been funded by the Dept of Labor (DOL) for 13 years. The Trump administration has prevented the renewal of a contract under the guise of a “funding pause.”

This comes one day after the Department of Justice removed key guidance and resources relating to the ADA compliance.

1. The full Senate voted along party lines to advance McMahon’s nomination. The final confirmation vote is Monday, 3/3.
   • Trump has promised major cuts to the department via Executive Order once McMahon is in place, and three active bills to abolish the department are also currently in Congress.
   • DoED funds and oversees a variety of disability-specific programs and grants, and protects disabled students rights to attend public schools.
   • Read our Department of Education explainer, or check out state and federal educational policy tracker tools.
2. “End DEI” Snitch Portal Opens at DoED. The portal asks people to report K-12 schools that are supporting sex or race-based DEI initiatives, which the program frames as “discriminatory.”
   • The end to inclusive efforts in public schools hurts all students, with BIPOC disabled and/or LGBTQ disabled students at the highest risk of being bullied by peers, and not receiving full access to their education
3. Airlines petition to overturn DOT rule holding them accountable for wheelchair damage. In Airlines for America vs. DOT, the group has filed a petition to roll back a Biden/Buttigieg era update that would hold airlines accountable for damage caused to wheelchairs and mobility devices on flights.
   • More than 1 in every 100 wheelchairs or mobility devices are damaged in transit, often rendering them unusable and leaving passengers stranded in their new destination.
   • Delta, American Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest, and United are all involved.
4. Texas vs. Beccera lawsuit continues. An update last week attempted to shift focus to Final Rule’s spending guidance for independent living, which could affect disabled people’s rights to live in-community. They also continue to use transphobic rhetoric to attack Final Rule.
   • Despite reassurances, the original filing does explicitly ask for 504 to be declared unconstitutional (p 37-42). We also should not make concessions on basic rights for any humans.
   • A South Dakotan AG was removed from the case, but the state itself did not withdraw from the suit.
   • The next update is due in April. Stay vigilant. See our lawsuit explainer and resources here.
5. Budget Resolution with deep cuts to Medicaid, SNAP clears the House. The House passed a budget resolution requiring $880 billion in cuts, likely from the Energy and Commerce Committee, who oversees Medicaid and SNAP. Medicaid provides healthcare for 70 million disabled and low-income Americans, SNAP provides financial assistance for families who need food.
   • The money would instead go to tax cuts for the very wealthy, as well as to the Dept. of Defense for border programs. Changes for tax on tips and overtime was not included, despite campaign promises.
   • The budget now moves to the Senate, where they can propose changes. Congress will also work on the bill in committees.
6. RFK Jr., Rubio and DOGE attack vaccines, global health programs. The FDA meeting to plan next year’s flu shots was cancelled this week, alongside a meeting for developers of a Covid vaccine pill. A Long Covid committee was also disbanded. The move comes amid an ongoing measles outbreak, in which an unvaccinated schoolchild was the first death.
   • DOGE and Rubio’s defunding of USAID has removed Ebola protections during an outbreak, shuttered global TB, HIV, polio, and malaria treatment supply chains, and fired Avian flu researchers, among others.
   • Both pandemics and vaccine refusal are bad for everyone, and disproportionately harm disabled and immunocompromised folks, as well as babies too young to receive their vaccines.
7. Eugenicists get promoted. Conspiracy theorist Darren Beattie is now serving as an acting undersecretary at the Dept. of State. He was fired from a first Trump administration speechwriting role after attending a white nationalist conference.
   • Beattie is known for bigoted comments, especially his desire to sterilize “low-IQ trash.” His advocacy for “population control” frequently targets BIPOC and disabled people.
   • Right-wing ideologue Bari Weiss used her platform to advocate for subminimum wage for disabled people this week. Biden’s Labor Dept had previously sought to phase out the sheltered workshop certification loophole that makes it legal.

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Action Items:

• Share this info. Disability is often lost in mainstream coverage.

• Call your Senator and ask them to vote NO on the McMahon nomination, and on any budget that cuts Medicaid/SNAP

• Call your Rep. and tell them to bring back funding for public health, and vote YES to the Dept. of Education Protection Act.

• Contact involved airlines and ask them to drop their suit, and be accountable for destruction of passengers’ wheelchairs.

• If your state is involved, contact your Attorney General and ask them to withdraw from Texas v. Beccera. Tell them you stand in solidarity with disabled people, and trans folks.

• Make some good trouble and spam the DoED Anti-DEI portal 😉

• Be on the lookout for an incoming Executive Order about English as the national language, which could have many educational impacts.