California COVID-19 Vaccine Resources
COVID-19 Advocacy & Resources
July 21, 2021
Class Settlement Reached in
Student A et al. v. BUSD
Read the Class Notice and
Other Important Documents
February 11, 2021
Report: A Case for Prioritizing
Vaccination for Recipients of
Home and Community-Based Services
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 →
August 27, 2020
DREDF, Partners, File Complaints of Disability Discrimination by California Hospitals re COVID Visitation Policies
June 10, 2020
California Dept. of Public Health
Releases Revised
Crisis Care Guidelines!
Latest News
California Passes Landmark Law to Provide Reparations to Survivors of State-Sponsored Forced Sterilization
July 13, 2021
Sacramento, California — On June 12, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom approved a $7.5 million budget request to provide reparations to survivors of state-sponsored forced or involuntary sterilization in California institutions between 1909-1979 and survivors of involuntary sterilizations in women's state prisons after 1979.
Sacramento, California — On June 12, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom approved a $7.5 million budget request to provide reparations to survivors of state-sponsored forced or involuntary sterilization in California institutions between 1909-1979 and survivors of involuntary sterilizations in women's state prisons after 1979.
Disability Rights and Health Advocacy Organizations Urge Recission of TennCare III Demonstration
July 12, 2021
In the dying days of the Trump adminsitration, CMS approved Tennessee's latest Medicaid 1115 waiver proposal which establishes TennCare III under a federal spending cap rather than a program that provides healthcare to all low-income Tennesseans who qualify. The National Health Law Program, the Tennessee Justice Center, and King and Spalding filed a complaint April 22, 2021 in the DC District Court on behalf of thirteen TennCare enrollees, arguing that the Trump administration failed to follow the proper rules before approving the waiver. and that the waiver cannot be approved under 1115's authority to conduct an experiment when Tennessee's proposal affects nearly all TennCare's 1.5 million enrollees for a ten year period. DREDF and 14 other disability rights and healthcare advocy organizations who are concerned about the negative impact on Tennessee's Medicaid enrolless and the bad precedent established for other states sent a letter to CMS asking the agency to take back approval for the changes to Tennessee's medicaid program. [...]
In the dying days of the Trump adminsitration, CMS approved Tennessee's latest Medicaid 1115 waiver proposal which establishes TennCare III under a federal spending cap rather than a program that provides healthcare to all low-income Tennesseans who qualify. The National Health Law Program, the Tennessee Justice Center, and King and Spalding filed a complaint April 22, 2021 in the DC District Court on behalf of thirteen TennCare enrollees, arguing that the Trump administration failed to follow the proper rules before approving the waiver. and that the waiver cannot be approved under 1115's authority to conduct an experiment when Tennessee's proposal affects nearly all TennCare's 1.5 million enrollees for a ten year period. DREDF and 14 other disability rights and healthcare advocy organizations who are concerned about the negative impact on Tennessee's Medicaid enrolless and the bad precedent established for other states sent a letter to CMS asking the agency to take back approval for the changes to Tennessee's medicaid program. [...]
Court Denies Motion to Dismiss Legal Case Against Moreno Valley Unified School District (MVUSD)
June 29, 2021
(Riverside, CA) - On June 17, 2021, a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit against Moreno Valley Unified School District (MVUSD), District Superintendent Martinrex Kedziora, Riverside County, Riverside County Sheriff's Department, and several individual school police officers sued over the violent handcuffing of a 12-year-old Black student (C.B.) with disabilities could proceed. The Court denied Defendants' motions to have the case dismissed. [...]
(Riverside, CA) - On June 17, 2021, a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit against Moreno Valley Unified School District (MVUSD), District Superintendent Martinrex Kedziora, Riverside County, Riverside County Sheriff's Department, and several individual school police officers sued over the violent handcuffing of a 12-year-old Black student (C.B.) with disabilities could proceed. The Court denied Defendants' motions to have the case dismissed. [...]
2022 – 2024 Fellowship Sponsorship Opportunity
June 22, 2021
DREDF invites candidates to apply for sponsorship for Skadden, Equal Justice Works, and/or other public interest fellowship applications for the one- to two-year period beginning Fall 2022. [...]
DREDF invites candidates to apply for sponsorship for Skadden, Equal Justice Works, and/or other public interest fellowship applications for the one- to two-year period beginning Fall 2022. [...]
Supreme Court Ruling Leaves ACA Intact
The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund applauds the June 17, 2021 Supreme Court decision in California v. Texas, which upheld the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its critical nondiscrimination and healthcare expansion provisions. The ruling by the nation's highest Court rejected a significant challenge to the constitutionality of the ACA. In 2020, DREDF and a number of allied organizations filed an amicus brief opposing attempts to dismantle the ACA provisions that people, including many with disabilities, rely on to receive the healthcare services and supports they need. [...]
The DREDF Blog
From Peanuts to Progress: How the American Jobs Plan Can Go Beyond the "Four F's"
by Meriah Nichols, Unpacking Disability, and DREDF Board Member
My mind wandered all over the map after reading Andrew Pulrang's recent article for Forbes, outlining four keys ways President Biden's proposed American Jobs Plan could benefit the disability community. I encourage you to read his article, because he dives deep into some excellent disability-related applications for Biden's plan. [...]
by Meriah Nichols, Unpacking Disability, and DREDF Board Member
My mind wandered all over the map after reading Andrew Pulrang's recent article for Forbes, outlining four keys ways President Biden's proposed American Jobs Plan could benefit the disability community. I encourage you to read his article, because he dives deep into some excellent disability-related applications for Biden's plan. [...]
What Happens When Advocacy Never Ends?
April 12, 2020
I am weary.
Of calling and emailing. Of educating and advocating. Of meeting and presenting. Of filing complaints. Of not being heard.
It’s not living with a disability that exhausts me. I have learned to live well with spina bifida—even to thrive. I am adept at balancing a career, chronic health issues, community advocacy, and having a life. My support system includes a wonderful husband, family, friends, and colleagues. I have honed my advocacy skills; I know when to take on a battle and when to focus on the war. I have worked to make my community accessible for all, and to be the kind of place I want to grow old in. Life is good. [...]
I am weary.
Of calling and emailing. Of educating and advocating. Of meeting and presenting. Of filing complaints. Of not being heard.
It’s not living with a disability that exhausts me. I have learned to live well with spina bifida—even to thrive. I am adept at balancing a career, chronic health issues, community advocacy, and having a life. My support system includes a wonderful husband, family, friends, and colleagues. I have honed my advocacy skills; I know when to take on a battle and when to focus on the war. I have worked to make my community accessible for all, and to be the kind of place I want to grow old in. Life is good. [...]
How Automated Benefits Determinations Violate Disabled People's Constitutional Due Process Rights and Increase Risk of Institutionalization
February 23, 2021
If you blinked, you might have missed it.
At the end of 2020, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals published an important decision in Waskul, et al. v. Washtenaw County Community Mental Health. In the case, five people with developmental disabilities sued the state of Michigan and Washtenaw County after the county was allowed to implement a new budget methodology for their services and health care. The state tried to stop the case from moving to trial, but the Sixth Circuit decided that the plaintiffs’ facts were compelling enough for their arguments to be heard. Their decision offers some important language and potential tips for other advocates. [...]
If you blinked, you might have missed it.
At the end of 2020, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals published an important decision in Waskul, et al. v. Washtenaw County Community Mental Health. In the case, five people with developmental disabilities sued the state of Michigan and Washtenaw County after the county was allowed to implement a new budget methodology for their services and health care. The state tried to stop the case from moving to trial, but the Sixth Circuit decided that the plaintiffs’ facts were compelling enough for their arguments to be heard. Their decision offers some important language and potential tips for other advocates. [...]
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Senators Hassan, Brown and Casey, and Representative Dingell, released a discussion draft of the Home and Community-Based Services Access Act (HAA) in mid-March, seeking broad stakeholder comment. The federal HAA is in an early form but addresses a long-sought goal of the disability community to require states to offer home and community-based services and not only institutional nursing home care under Medicaid. This requirement would help eliminate the waiting lists and patchwork of eligibility and services that Medicaid beneficiaries with long-term care needs currently have to navigate. The HAA also tries to establish living wages and working conditions for the HCBS workforce that will help ensure stable HCBS for all eligible Medicaid enrollees who want HCBS. DREDF worked with the Consortium of Citizens for Disabilities to submit a detailed set of joint comments and also a shorter DREDF set of specific additional comments.[...]