Press Releases

National Association of the Deaf Announces Landmark Settlement with Harvard to Improve Online Accessibility

November 27, 2019 Settlement was reached four years after this litigation began in 2015, when it was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Massachusetts as a class action lawsuit. Under the agreement, Harvard must provide captions for all online resources, including school-wide events that are live-streamed, content from department sponsored student organizations and any new audio or video hosted by third-party platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo and SoundCloud. The individual plaintiffs in this class action lawsuit were represented by Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, the Disability Law Center, and the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, and the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund. [...]

Class Action Seeks to End Illegal and Abusive Restraints and Seclusion Practices Used Against Children with Disabilities in California

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May 15, 2019
Concord, CA, May 15, 2019 — Four elementary school children with disabilities and their parents and guardians filed a class action lawsuit Monday against the California Department of Education (CDE), directors of the Contra Costa County Office of Education, and staff at Floyd I. Marchus School to challenge the illegal and abusive use of restraints and seclusion in non-emergency situations. [...]

Agreement Reached with CMS to Ensure Accessible Delivery of Medicare Information to Blind Beneficiaries

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April 25, 2018
The National Federation of the Blind and three blind individuals represented by the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) and the law firms of Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, and Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C. have reached an agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) ensuring that the federal agency will distribute information about Medicare in more accessible formats going forward. Options include large print, Braille, audio, and electronic formats. The settlement resolves a 2016 lawsuit that alleged CMS discriminated against blind beneficiaries by failing to provide meaningful and equal access to Medicare information in accessible formats.

California Introduces Eugenics Sterilization Compensation Bill

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March 29, 2018
The California Senate is considering a bill introduced by Senator Nancy Skinner, SB 1190—The Sterilization Compensation Bill—to provide victim compensation to survivors of California state-sponsored sterilization between 1909 and 1979. The bill, which is co-sponsored by California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (CLRJ) and the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF), would make California the third state in the nation to provide compensation for survivors who were sterilized under state eugenics laws.

Antioch School District Must Face Trial on Agreement to Remedy Bias Against Black Students

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February 28, 2018
A state court has rejected the Antioch Unified School District's (AUSD's) attempt to renege on an agreement made with the East County NAACP to address federal civil rights and disability rights violations against African American students.

California State Bar Awards $510K to Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund to Increase Access and Inclusion in Addressing Natural Disasters and Homelessness

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January 23, 2018
Berkeley, CA – The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), a leading national civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals with disabilities and parents whose children have disabilities, has been awarded $170K annually ($510K over the next three years) by the California State Bar. The grant will fund actions to increase access and inclusion in efforts to end homelessness and improve emergency preparedness for Californians with disabilities.

Students With Reading Disorders Sue Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) for Failing to Educate Them

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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.

Orange County Residents Sue County and State Agencies

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December 21, 2016
Orange County Residents Sue County and State Agencies for Discrimination in Medical Services Against Persons with HIV
Despite Advances In Education, Awareness, And Legal Protections Such As The ADA Passed 26 Years Ago, People Living With HIV Continue To Face Stigma And Discrimination — Including Health Care.

Ninth Circuit Takes California Department Of Education (CDE) To Task

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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.

NAD Lawsuit Against Harvard and MIT Moves Forward

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November 8, 2016
Judge Mark G. Mastroianni of the District Court of Massachusetts denied Massachusetts Institute for Technology's (MIT) and Harvard University's motions to dismiss the National Association of the Deaf's (NAD) and other named plaintiffs' complaint that the institution discriminates against deaf and hard of hearing people by failing to caption the vast and varied array of online content they make available to the general public, including massive open online courses (MOOCs). Today's decision affirms that plaintiffs' case will be going forward.