Trump’s actions signal a move toward institutionalizing people with disabilities, advocates warn
Summary
The U.S. Education Department has moved special education oversight to the Health and Human Services Department, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has made controversial statements about disabilities like autism. Disability advocates worry this move, along with new Justice Department guidelines easing the institutionalization of disabled people, could roll back hard-won rights to inclusion and independence.Key Facts
- The Education Department transferred special education oversight to the Department of Health and Human Services.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leads the Health and Human Services Department and has made disputed comments linking vaccines to autism.
- Disability advocates fear a return to the “medical model,” which views disabilities as defects needing cure, replacing the “social model” that supports inclusion.
- The Justice Department issued guidance that lowers the threshold for institutionalizing people with disabilities.
- Since the 1960s, laws have expanded the rights of people with disabilities to live, learn, and work alongside nondisabled people.
- The 1999 Supreme Court Olmstead v. L.C. ruling requires services to be provided in the least segregated, most integrated settings.
- Advocates question whether Kennedy will support the goal of special education helping disabled students develop skills for independent living and work.
- The changes raise concerns that people with disabilities may lose rights to live and learn equally in the community.
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