Abbreviation | DREDF |
---|---|
Formation | 1979 |
Website | dredf |
The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), located in Berkeley, California, and Washington, DC, US, is a national cross-disability civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals with disabilities and parents who have children with disabilities. Founded in 1979, DREDF advances the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public policy and legislative development.
The directing attorney is Arlene B. Mayerson. [1] The Berkeley office is located in the Ed Roberts Campus.
DREDF's early efforts focused on:
Following the passage of the ADA, DREDF focused on preserving the new law and shaping its implementation by providing nationwide training and technical assistance [4] , as well as writing and publishing a legal series that presented ADA legislative history and commentary [5] [6] [7] in a series of cases, DREDF won the right of children with disabilities requiring healthcare assistance (such as diabetes and asthma) to receive such assistance in pre-school and recreational settings. In an effort to promote community integration, DREDF works with community and legal groups to challenge the continued institutionalization of disabled residents at San Francisco's Laguna Honda Hospital and to create community-based alternatives. Other ADA litigation has also opened doors to movie theaters, hotels, banking services, and gas stations. DREDF represents Members of Congress in a trilogy of cases involving the definition of disability under the ADA. Continuing its commitment to IDEA implementation, DREDF achieves a series of litigation victories that establish a national precedent for the full inclusion of children with disabilities in regular classes in Holland v. Sacramento City School District [8] and establishes educational rights for children with disabilities in East Palo Alto, California. As interest in disability rights gains international momentum, disability rights leaders from 17 countries invite legal and policy staff to consult and collaborate on strategies for advancing policy in their countries.
Other litigation [9] [10] succeeds in requiring the U.S. Social Security Administration to provide all notices to beneficiaries in alternative formats. [11]
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal, and later sexual orientation and gender identity. In addition, unlike the Civil Rights Act, the ADA also requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, and imposes accessibility requirements on public accommodations.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a means-tested program that provides cash payments to disabled children, disabled adults, and individuals aged 65 or older who are citizens or nationals of the United States. SSI was created by the Social Security Amendments of 1972 and is incorporated in Title 16 of the Social Security Act. The program is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and began operations in 1974.
A domestic partnership is an intimate relationship between people, usually couples, who live together and share a common domestic life but who are not married. People in domestic partnerships receive legal benefits that guarantee right of survivorship, hospital visitation, and other rights.
People with disabilities in the United States are a significant minority group, making up a fifth of the overall population and over half of Americans older than eighty. There is a complex history underlying the U.S. and its relationship with its disabled population, with great progress being made in the last century to improve the livelihood of disabled citizens through legislation providing protections and benefits. Most notably, the Americans with Disabilities Act is a comprehensive anti-discrimination policy that works to protect Americans with disabilities in public settings and the workplace.
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a United States federal law, codified at 29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq. The principal sponsor of the bill was Rep. John Brademas (D-IN-3). The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 replaces preexisting laws to extend and revise the authorization of grants to States for vocational rehabilitation services, with special emphasis on services to those with the most severe disabilities, to expand special Federal responsibilities and research and training programs with respect to individuals with disabilities, to establish special responsibilities in the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare for coordination of all programs with respect to individuals with disabilities within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and for other purposes. It created the Rehabilitation Services Administration.
National Federation of the Blind v. Target Corporation, 452 F. Supp. 2d 946, was a class action lawsuit in the United States that was filed on February 7, 2006, in the Superior Court of California for the County of Alameda, and subsequently moved to federal court. The case challenged whether the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, specifically Title III's provisions prohibiting discrimination by "places of public accommodation", apply to websites and/or the Internet, or are restricted to physical places.
Norma V. Cantú is an American civil rights lawyer and educator. From 2021 to 2023, she served as chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, the first Latina to hold the position.
In the United States, a legal defense fund is an account set up to pay for legal expenses, which can include attorneys' fees, court filings, litigation costs, legal advice, or other legal fees. The fund can be public or private and is set up for individuals, organizations, or for a particular purpose. These funds are often used by government public officials, civil rights organizations, and public interest organizations.
An emotional support animal (ESA) is an animal that provides support to individuals with a mental health or psychiatric disability. Emotional support animals are not required to be trained. Any animal that provides support, comfort, or aid, to an individual through companionship, unconditional positive regard, and affection may be regarded as an emotional support animal.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is American legislation that guarantees certain rights to people with disabilities. It was one of the first U.S. federal civil rights laws offering protection for people with disabilities. It set precedents for subsequent legislation for people with disabilities, including the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.
This disability rights timeline lists events relating to the civil rights of people with disabilities in the United States of America, including court decisions, the passage of legislation, activists' actions, significant abuses of people with disabilities, and the founding of various organizations. Although the disability rights movement itself began in the 1960s, advocacy for the rights of people with disabilities started much earlier and continues to the present.
The Public Defender Service (PDS) for the District of Columbia provides legal defense to individuals on a court-appointed basis for criminal and delinquency cases indigent adult and juvenile defendants/ respondents. Its Mental Health Division provides representation to persons facing involuntary civil commitment based on allegations that the person is a danger to self or others as a result of mental illness. Its parole division represents parolees charged with violating parole and facing revocation before the United States Parole Commission. PDS also provides other legal-related services in DC.
Patrisha Wright is an American disability rights activist. She is legally blind. She was instrumental in enacting the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Marilyn Golden was an American disability rights activist, most notably in the area of transportation. For many years she was a policy analyst at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF). She served on the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board from 1996 until 2005. She had previously worked as the Director of Access California, which was a "resource center on architectural accessibility run by the City of Oakland". She also worked as Co-Coordinator of the Disabled International Support Effort, which aided disability organizations in developing nations. She opposed assisted suicide and fought against assisted suicide legislation in California, Hawaii, and Vermont. She also lobbied for the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Haben Girma is an American disability rights advocate, and the first deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School.
Mary Lou Breslin is a disability rights law and policy advocate and analyst. She is an adjunct faculty member at the University of San Francisco in the McLaren School of Business Executive Master of Management and Disability Services Program. She is the co-founder of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), a leading national civil rights law and policy center led by individuals with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities. She served as the DREDF's deputy and executive director, and president and chair of board of directors.
Arlene S. Kanter is an American academic, lawyer and a Bond, Schoeneck & King Distinguished Professor of Law at Syracuse University College of Law. In 2005, she was named the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence by Syracuse University. She is the founder and director of the Disability Law and Policy Program and director of the Office of International Programs.
Arlene B. Mayerson is an American civil rights attorney focused on disability rights. She is the Directing Attorney of Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF), a position she has held since 1981. She has provided representation, consultation to counsel, and coordination of amicus briefs on key disability rights cases before all levels of federal court, including the U.S. Supreme Court. She was appointed by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education to the Civil Rights Reviewing Authority, responsible for reviewing civil rights decisions of the Department.
The federal government of the United States has limited authority to act on education, and education policy serves to support the education systems of state and local governments through funding and regulation of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education. The Department of Education serves as the primary government organization responsible for enacting federal education policy in the United States.