Disability Rights Advocates Fear Rollback of Special Education Protections Under Trump Administration
The memo could weaken obligations to place disabled people in mainstream settings and may embolden states and school districts, advocates said.
- In June, the Department of Justice issued a memo arguing disability rights laws do not mandate mainstream settings, while the Education Department transferred special education oversight to the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Last year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on homelessness endorsing civil commitment, directing the Department of Health and Human Services to reduce barriers to institutionalizing people with mental illnesses.
- Advocates warn the policy shifts signal a return to the "medical model," where disability is viewed as a defect to be cured. Claudia Center, legal director at Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, called the approach "out of touch."
- Families like those of Lindsey Althaus and Magda Nakassis fear their children will lose access to community support services needed to attend mainstream schools as federal agencies interpret civil rights laws more restrictively.
- Selene Almazan, legal director for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, described the shift as "a direct, frontal assault on the rights of people with disabilities," warning against returning to institutionalization.
46 Articles
46 Articles
Trump Actions Signal Move Toward Institutionalizing Disabled People, Advocates Warn
(MedPage Today) -- For decades, disabled people have fought for their rights to go to school and live alongside peers without disabilities -- rights that some fear could be losing ground under the Trump administration. Last month, the Education...
Parents fear a ‘dangerous shift’ as Trump administration rewrites disability policy
For decades, disabled people have fought for their rights to go to school and live alongside peers without disabilities — rights that some fear could be losing ground under the Trump administration
abc10 News
New federal disability policies spark fears of institutionalization
For decades, disabled people have fought for their rights to go to school and live alongside peers without disabilities rights that some fear could be losing ground under the Trump administration.Last month, the Education Department announced it would offload oversight of special education to the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose comments on the limits of disabilities such as autism have drawn sharp reb…
Associated Press News
Trump's actions signal a move toward institutionalizing people with disabilities, advocates warn
For decades, disabled people have fought for their rights to go to school and live alongside peers without disabilities.
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