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 If the regulations are repealed, students with disabilities lose the protections the regulations provide to ensure equitable access to education.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.
November 15, 2013
No More Delay and Deny
“For parents, there’s an absolute feeling of betrayal. The system is not working the way it’s supposed to work," said DREDF Directing Attorney Arlene Mayerson in this in-depth investigative story by NBC Bay Area News on the state of special education. Focusing on the problem of public schools' tactic of "delay and deny," the piece features Mayerson and Education Advocate Ann McDonald-Cacho.
September 16, 2013
On August 12, 2013, the California Supreme Court issued a decision about who is allowed under state law to administer insulin to students.In that decision, the Court clarified that California law allows people who aren't licensed nurses or doctors to give insulin and other prescription medications to students with diabetes and other health conditions in California's public schools.The American Diabetes Association and Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) are very pleased with this decision and believe it will help California children with diabetes get the insulin they need to be healthy and safe at school. (State law already clearly permitted non-medical school staff members to administer glucagon and perform blood glucose monitoring, among other types of diabetes care.)