BLACK LIVES MATTER
January 1, 2021
In Honor of
Richard “Dick” Thornburgh
1932-2020
October 15, 2020
People with Disabilities
Not Counted in COVID-19
Vaccine Allocation Framework
READ MORE ABOUT People with Disabilities
Not Counted in COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Framework →
September 17, 2020
DREDF Condemns ICE’s
Involuntary Sterilization
of Immigrant Women
August 27, 2020
DREDF, Partners, File Complaints of Disability Discrimination by California Hospitals re COVID Visitation Policies
July 15, 2020
Legal Claim Seeks Changes
After Black Disabled Child
Handcuffed at School
June 10, 2020
California Dept. of Public Health
Releases Revised
Crisis Care Guidelines!
March 25, 2020
DREDF Brief: Medical Rationing
on the Basis of
Disability is Illegal
READ MORE about Medical Rationing on the Basis of Disability →
Latest News
The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund condemns the violent insurrectionists loyal to Donald Trump who stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, January 6, in an attempt to overturn the presidential election, threaten the nation’s democracy, and keep a duly elected President from taking office.read more ❯
"Perhaps the most satisfying change the ADA has brought about is a change in attitude. As new generations of Americans have worked, lived and played side-by-side with persons with disabilities, the debilitating barriers of stereotypes and prejudices are disappearing. Participation in everyday American life has brought a sense of self-worth for persons with disabilities."
- Richard A. "Dick" Thornburgh, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 2, 2015read more ❯
DREDF, along with four other disability or aging organizations that are represented on the California Community Vaccination Advisory Committee, sent a letter to the state’s Vaccination Drafting Guidelines Committee prior to its December 29 meeting. The letter advocates for prioritized vaccination for lower-income persons with disabilities of all ages who receive home and community-based long-term services and supports, as well as those with disabilities who are at great risk of COVID-19 infection and severe illness or death, particularly in light of medical rationing concerns.read more ❯
DREDF submitted comments on HHS' proposed "Sunset Rule," which would impose an automatic expiration date on most HHS regulations unless the agency completes a detailed review and determines to retain it. DREDF's comments urge HHS to immediately withdraw the proposal, as it would create a tremendous administrative burden for HHS and create chaos across HHS programs and regulated entities, including Medicaid, Medicare, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). DREDF's comments detail how this increased burden could cause regulations essential to the health care needs of people with disabilities to be arbitrarily rescinded.read more ❯
DREDF, along with other disability rights organizations, filed an amicus brief in Smith v. Regents of the University of California defending the issuance of a preliminary injunction that required the University of California (UC) school system to stop using the SAT and ACT as part of their admission process. The ruling recognized that, under UC's so-called "test-optional" policy, SAT and ACT scores afforded privileged, non-disabled students a "plus factor" in admissions that students with disabilities could not achieve due to a lack of appropriate accommodations and accessible testing sites—a problem highlighted and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. UC Regents sought a stay of the injunction, in hopes of retaining their discriminatory policy. DREDF's brief details why the case was rightly decided.read more ❯
DREDF, along with the American Diabetes Association, AARP, and other leading disability rights organizations, filed an amicus brief in Merrill v. People First of Alabama defending a federal court decision that blocked the State of Alabama from banning curbside voting and implementing stringent vote-by-mail documentation requirements. The brief argues that Alabama's onerous measures would force many Alabamians with diabetes and other chronic conditions to violate social distancing guidelines and put themselves at risk of contracting COVID-19 in order to exercise their constitutional right to vote. On October 21, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Alabama a stay, eliminating curbside voting for disabled Alabama voters. Justice Sotomayor dissented with Justices Breyer and Kagin in an opinion citing the amicus brief.read more ❯
The DREDF Blog
by Meriah Nichols, Unpacking Disability, and DREDF Board Memberread more ❯
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Development Department
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Berkeley, CA 94703
DREDF is dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public policy and legislative development. Your gift makes it possible for us to continue to protect and advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities. Thank you.
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For more information contact Ingrid Tischer.
When Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) in March 2020, it included "Maintenance of Effort" (MOE) protections that would require a state to preserve existing levels of Medicaid enrollment and service coverage before the state could receive enhanced federal Medicaid funding rates for the public health emergency. With the new Interim Final Rule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) tries to interpret the MOE protections as allowing a state to reduce "optional" Medicaid benefits that are critical to people with disabilities such as home and community-based services, physical and occupational services, behavioral health services, and dental and vision services during the pandemic, while still drawing down enhanced federal funds. DREDF's comment opposes both the substance of the rule as well as CMS's use of an "interim final rule" which bypasses the usual public comment processes and timeline.read more ❯