May 3, 2017
Students With Reading Disorders Sue Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) for Failing to Educate Them
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
May 2, 2017
Berkeley, California - Disability rights lawyers filed a complaint in federal court today against Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD), the BUSD Superintendent, the BUSD Board of Education, and the Directors of the BUSD Board of Education, for systemically failing to educate students with reading disorders, and students who are suspected to have reading disorders.
April 3, 2017
H.R. 620 would weaken the ADA, a critical source of rights for people with disabilities to public accommodations (that is, businesses such as stores, restaurants, hotels, etc.). It would turn people with disabilities into second-class citizens, and undermine the very principles of an inclusive society that America is all about. [...]
March 7, 2017
Last week, the House of Representatives voted to overturn the ESSA regulations. As soon as Wednesday, March 8, the Senate is set to vote on the repeal of ESSA regulations. If the regulations are repealed, students with disabilities lose the protections the regulations provide to ensure equitable access to education.
February 1, 2017
Join students with disabilities, parents, and advocates to let your senators know that Betsy DeVos' support for school vouchers will undermine the rights of students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Ask them to vote NO to her confirmation!
December 15, 2016
The Ninth Circuit affirmed U.S. Northern California District Court Judge Thelton Henderson's orders that the California Department of Education (CDE) must implement a corrective action plan designed to ensure that its special education monitoring system would comply with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Consent Decree in the case, a class action brought to protect the special education rights of students with disabilities. The decision is the culmination of nearly 20 years of attempting to reform failed local and state-level special education policies.
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). [...]
July 7, 2016
Martinez, CA – The East County NAACP filed suit on July 6, 2016 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 current lawsuit, seek to end AUSD's disproportionate suspensions and expulsions of African American students, particularly those with disabilities.
January 15, 2016
DREDF, the ACLU, and Disability Rights California delivered a demand letter to officials at the California Department of Education that calls for an independent monitor to investigate abusive practices at segregated special education sites all across the state. The demand came days after the release of a disturbing video showing a 9-year-old student with disabilities being restrained and hit by staffers at Tobinworld, a publicly-funded special education school in Antioch, California. [...]
November 16, 2015
In June 2015, the National Council on Disability released, Breaking the School-to-Prison Pipeline for Students with Disabilities, a report researched and written by DREDF. The School-to-Prison Pipeline (STPP) refers to the practice of pushing students out of school and into the criminal justice system. The report’s findings document that students with disabilities, especially students of color with disabilities, are at the greatest risk of being thrust into the STPP.