Disability Rights Watch

Tag: DEIA

  • Breaking: Department of Justice Begins Rollback of ADA

    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 at least half disabled people, is supposed to meet annually, but their meeting was cancelled in January. Now the law is being hollowed out by the DOJ.

    The DOJ is using a January Executive Order aimed at “lowering the cost of living” as the justification for the rollback.

    That accommodating disabled people is too expensive is age-old rhetoric favored by eugenicists and Nazis, and has been used to justify segregation, institutionalization, neglect, forced sterilization, and murder of disabled people here and abroad.

    So far, 11 guidance documents have been removed, with protections ranging from self-service gas stations, customer communication, hotel accessibility, general public-facing businesses, and several pandemic-era additions. (Links are to archived content; pages have since been removed.)

    This is an ongoing story.

  • Resources: Tracking Changes at the U.S. Department of Education and State Levels

    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, keep up to date on all the changes at DoED (inclusive of, but not limited to those affecting disabled people) at this spreadsheet, courtesy the volunteer Save Public Education. They’re currently in the process of building the website departmentofedtracker.com, but for now, the spreadsheet remains up-to-date!

    Click on the image to view the Google Doc

    ID: Screenshot of Google Sheets titled “US Dept of Education Updates.”

    Resource: State-Level Proposals and Policies Affecting Education

    States legislatures are capitalizing on ableist and anti-education sentiments in the White House to make their own attacks on local systems.

    Use Fighting for my Voice’s Policy Change Tracker to read the text of state bills, explainers, and suggestions for action items.

  • Week 2: What Happened?

    Week 2: What Happened?

    ID: A CDI signs the below information in ASL with slides in the background presenting that information in text.

    1.  Some ASL interpreters and accommodations divisions were fired in Anti-DEIA sweeps. The White House Press Office interpreter is gone. Providers housed in DEIA divisions were laid off, despite the violation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Since it’s illegal, departments are being told to reverse course on this, with some complying and some not. Trump’s previous administration was sued over failure to provide interpreters at press conferences and lost, but has again removed the interpreter from briefings.
    2. Some resources regarding disabled children’s rights have been deleted from the Dept of Ed’s website. FAQs about Section 504 and other resources went missing during Musk’s DOGE external server takeover, which also seems responsible for a spate of press releases and Facebook posts not in keeping with DoEd’s materials. Due to inconsistencies, verify information with multiple sources when possible.
    3.  Funding freeze of federal payment system creates chaos. A judge blocked the freeze but some programs are still being targeted. Contact elected officials to ensure a new head of OMB recognizes that appropriation powers belong to Congress, not the President. Many essential health, medical and research programs remain frozen from previous orders. Investigations into potential “DEIA” programs continue.
    4.  Current Programs “Under Review” for potential defunding under anti-DEIA orders.

      Deaf and hard of hearing-specific programs:
      Training Interpreters for Individuals who are Deaf and Deaf-Blind (DoED), Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders (HHS), National Deaf Services (DOJ)

      Special Education-related programs Research in Special Ed, Special Ed Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities, Special Ed Grants for Infants and Families, Special Ed Grants to States, Special Ed Parent Info Centers, Special Ed Preschool Grants, Special Ed Studies and Evaluations; Special Ed Technical Assistance and Dissemination to Improve Services and Results for Children w/ Disabilities; Special Ed Technical Assistance on State Data Collection; Special Ed Personnel Development to Improve Services for Children with Disabilities; Special Olympics Education Programs; State Personnel Development (DoED)
      A searchable spreadsheet of all programs and grants under review is available from Politico here.
    5. RFK Jr.’s Nomination Hearing for HHS Secretary begins. RFK supports a variety of racist, ableist and scientifically inaccurate conspiracy theories. His stances on vaccination put the immunocompromised, and everyone, at risk. He has proposed sending folks to “wellness camps” in lieu of taking ADHD medication, boosts hateful rhetoric about autistic people, and holds many other eugenicist beliefs.
    6.  Donald Trump blames DC plane crash on disabled FAA workers and DEIA. In a press conference, Trump quickly capitalized on the tragedy to deride the FAAs DEI hiring initiatives, specifically listing off various disabilities, then insinuating that disabled and/or BIPOC people aren’t smart enough to do Air Traffic Control. Trump’s first administration had originally been behind the 2019 program to hire disabled people at the FAA. Thursday, he issued an official memorandum ordering the removal of DEI from the aviation sector.

      There is no evidence for the President’s claims re: this or any crash. Physical requirements for ATC employees are stringent, and the FAA has long been understaffed. Before the crash, Trump had gutted a key aviation safety committee, and Elon forced the FAA chief to quit over a personal vendetta for having been fined at SpaceX.
    7. Executive Order: “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 schooling” This order threatens to defund schools for a variety of perceived “violations” including respecting trans and nonbinary students, and teaching about racism and honest US history, which it labels “discriminatory equity ideology.” This is defined as “an ideology that treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups, rather than as individuals, and minimizes agency, merit and capability.”

      The Dept. of Ed has never dictated curriculum or content; this is left to states and districts. Defunding schools hurts all students, especially the marginalized, and preventing teachers from discussing discrimination only perpetuates it. The emphasis on “merit” and “capability” given recent-disability rhetoric is also concerning here.
    8. Executive Order: “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families” This order directs a variety of federal agencies to prioritize ways to expand “school choice” and voucher programs at the federal level.

      Sending money meant for public schools to private and religious ones is of concern for disabled students, because private schools are not required to accommodate, or even accept, disabled students, leaving them stranded at underfunded schools and/or with limited support and no recourse.

    What to Do:

    1. Share this info. Disability is often lost in mainstream coverage.
    2. Write/call your congress people and demand that they continue fighting for their duty to make appropriations. Advocate for programs you value. It is taxpayer money, not an executive decision.
    3. Write your senator to vote NO on confirming RFK Jr.
    4. Contact your state legislature and school board and ask that they not comply in advance with voucher expansion or directives for indoctrination. An EO cannot control state funds or educational content areas–states and districts decide their curriculums. 
    5. #ProtectADA on social media for community sharing, news, letter templates, and more

    Tools and Resources:

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