More than 1,000 young people in Texas are getting the services they need to be successful in school, instead of being “mis-incarcerated.” Read more about the students we have been able to serve through a unique partnership with Harris County, and about similiar programs in other states in this special report from the National Disability Rights… Continue reading Class Time Instead of Hard Time
This past spring, the Texas legislature passed several laws related to special education, student mental health, school funding, student safety, and more. For a complete overview, see our 2019 Texas Education Legislative Summary. If you don’t quite have time right now to read our 22-page extremely thorough legislative summary, you can watch our video series… Continue reading New School Year, New Laws, News Rights
This week marks the 20th anniversary of a very important legal decision regarding the rights of people with disabilities. On June 22, 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in “Olmstead v. L.C.” that Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits the unnecessary institutionalization of persons with disabilities. The case involved Lois Curtis and… Continue reading How Two Women Changed Thousands of Lives
With May being National Mental Health Awareness Month, we’d like to take this opportunity to tell you about the work we do at Disability Rights Texas (DRTx) to protect and advocate for people with mental illness. DRTx is a protection and advocacy agency for people with disabilities. A federal law passed in 1977 said that… Continue reading How We Advocate for People with Mental Illness
by Edie Surtees, Communications Director March is Developmental Disabilities (DD) Awareness Month. Though we’ve come along way in breaking down barriers for people with DD to live and work and play in the community, we still have more to do. Here are some things you can do to encourage inclusion: Employ people with disabilities and… Continue reading How You Can Get Involved in DD Awareness Month
Each one of you is more than a number to us. We feel privileged to have assisted you in some way last year to ensure you have equal access and opportunites in our community. But we did want to show you these numbers so you can see how hard we were working for you in… Continue reading Agency 2018 Report Card
by Steven Aleman, Attorney and Policy Specialist Today Disability Rights Texas marks the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) report on the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The federal report on TEA contained unprecedented findings against a state for major violations of special education law…. Continue reading One Year Ago, Feds Reported Unprecented Findings Against Texas Public Schools
Why would a 22-year-old man end up living in a nursing home for 13 years? Richard Krause, now 38, lived in one from 2001 to 2014. While there, he mostly stayed in bed and could not use the bathroom on his own. He is one of about 3,600 Texans that disability rights advocates say the… Continue reading Lawsuit Eight Years in the Making Goes to Trial
We have some exciting news about donating to Disability Rights Texas on Giving Tuesday, November 27. On that day ONLY (the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday) when you give to us through our Facebook page, your donation will be matched by Facebook and PayPal. That means your $40 gift will turn into… Continue reading Try a Little Kindness
Disability Rights Texas is proud to announce that our own Susan Murphree, Senior Policy Specialist, is the first recipient of the Arc of Texas Virginia Eernisse Legacy Award. The late Ms. Eernisse, who passed away in early 2018, worked throughout her lifetime to compassionately support individuals and communities. She spearheaded the establishment of Special Olympics, The… Continue reading DRTx Advocate Receives Inaugural Leadership Award