Cases

DREDF Defends ACA in 5th Circuit Amicus Brief

April 1, 2019
An amicus brief in the Texas v. U..S. case, on appeal in the 5th circuit, was filed on Monday, April 1 by DREDF and the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, working with the Dentons law firm on behalf of our two organizations and 13 other leading disability rights organizations. The case was originally brought in district court by a number of states, led by Texas, that claimed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was rendered unconstitutional when the Trump administration reduced the mandatory penalty for failing to buy health insurance to zero, because the ACA was based on Congress' authority to tax and there was no longer a tax. [...]

E.S. v. Regence BlueShield (2019)

February 1, 2019
Pursuant to Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure 29(a)(3), amici curiae respectfully request leave of this court to file the attached brief in support of Plaintiffs-Appellants. Amici are the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund; the National Association of the Deaf; the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; the Hearing Loss Association of America; the Hearing Loss Association, Oregon State Association; the Washington State Communication Access Project; the Oregon Communication Access Project; and the California Communication Access Project. Amici collectively share the mission of advancing the equality of people with hearing disabilities and removing discriminatory barriers to coverage of the health care services and devices that they need to fully participate in American society. [...]

Hinkle, et al. v Kent, et al.

October 22, 2018
DREDF and co-counsel Disability Rights California (DRC) and Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) filed a class action lawsuit this morning on behalf of California Council of the Blind and individuals in three California counties who have long sought their Medi-Cal notices in accessible formats that they can independently read. [...]

STUDENT A, by and through PARENT A, her guardian, et al. v. Berkeley Unified School District, et al.

Update: November 3, 2021
This class action is suing Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) for failing to educate students with reading disorder. Despite the availability of effective teaching methods, BUSD refused to alter its policies and practices, leaving students of all ages who have reading disorders without the basic tool of literacy The complaint is filed against Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD), the BUSD Superintendent, the BUSD Board of Education, and the Directors of the BUSD Board of Education, BUSD is being sued for failure to comply with federal and state laws that ensure all students receive a free appropriate public education. [...]

East County NAACP Sues Antioch Unified School District

July 7, 2016
The East County NAACP filed suit against the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) for violating an agreement intended to address civil rights violations against African American students. That agreement, and the lawsuit, seek to end AUSD’s disproportionate suspensions and expulsions of African American students, particularly those with disabilities. The NAACP East County is represented in this lawsuit by Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF), Morrison & Foerster, the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL), and the Equal Justice Society (EJS). [...]

Juan Figueroa, Derek Manners, Martti Mallinan, and The National Federation of the Blind v. US Department of Health and Human Services

February 10, 2016
The lawsuit filed today by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and individual plaintiffs charges the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through its sub-agency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and its CMS sub-contractors, with systemically violating the civil rights of blind Medicare recipients. The complaint details how, 40 years after the federal Rehabilitation Act and a the growth of a new world of technology, blind people are still forced to -- among other long-outmoded practices -- rely on others to read inaccessible materials, and to disclose private personal and financial information to sighted third parties. [...]

Good News on NAD vs MIT! Our Communication Access Case Involving Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) Will Move Forward

February 9, 2016
The Massachusetts District Court rejected MIT's motions for a stay and to dismiss NAD's lawsuit. The ruling also ensured plaintiffs will not have to wait the Department of Justice to issue regulations regarding website accessibility. The court recognized that MIT's and, implicitly, other universities' online education courses, are subject to broad Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act protections, and can be required to provide equal access to people with disabilities. [...]