Donald Galloway (1938–2011) was a fierce advocate for the rights of people with disabilities and for the inclusion of people of color in the disability rights movement.
Johnnie Lacy was a Black disability rights activist integral to the independent living movement. Through her activism, she brought to light the intersectionality of race and disability and worked to tackle ableism in the Black community and racism in the largely white-dominated disability community.
While we understand the need for some very limited and nuanced flexibility in the wake of COVID-19, we urge the U.S. Department of Education to exercise great caution in authorizing any state waivers. States must continue to be required to capture key assessment and school climate data—as required by the law—so they can hold districts and schools to high standards and assure resources are targeted toward supporting all students, including students with disabilities.
Fannie Lou Hamer (1917–1977), a civil rights activist with multiple disabilities, was a pivotal figure in the fight for Black enfranchisement, women’s rights, and civil rights.
Brad Lomax (1950-1984), a Civil Rights leader and disability rights activist, brought together the two movements to present a united front in the fight for equity.
From the start, the disability rights movement has been inextricably interwoven with Black Americans’ fight for civil rights.
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s inspired many disability rights advocates, who used the model and tactics demonstrated by Black activists to pursue deinstitutionalization and legal rights.
Black disabled activists, as well as Black supporters without disabilities, provided instrumental support to the disability rights movement from the beginning—and strong alliances linked the two movements.
Lois Curtis is a Black disability activist and artist best known for her role as a plaintiff in the Olmstead vs L.C. Supreme Court Case establishing the right of people with disabilities to live independently.
The National Center for Special Education (the Center) has released a new report examining trends related to enrollment of students with disabilities in Colorado charter schools. Through this report, the Center documented enrollment trends across the state and by authorizing entity, surfaced contributing factors, and identified opportunities for key stakeholders to make short- and long-term changes that can improve students with disabilities’ ability to access and thrive in charter schools.
The COVID-19 global health crisis has upended the continuity of learning for
students with disabilities. Despite these ongoing challenges, the right to a free
appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with disabilities remains in
place. As schools shift to more distance learning, teams of educators are left
to redesign what FAPE looks like when they cannot be physically present with
their students. This guide offers a decision-making model that aims to balance
individual student needs within a virtual learning context, as well as a range of
exemplars showing how this model can be applied.
The members of the Equity Coalition believe that it is now more important than ever for schools to commit to permanently rejecting harsh exclusionary discipline practices for all students and especially for those with disabilities.