The erosion of DEI threatens rights of people with disabilities, too

One in five people reading this has a disability. Some try to avoid that label at all costs; for others, it provides a right to participation in the community and success at school and in the workforce. Now these rights, like so many others, are at risk. 

A national campaign that is underway against Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility could undo decades of progress. Seventeen states’ attorneys general are arguing that Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which recognized disability as a civil rights category, is unconstitutional. Also, a recently leaked document from the Trump administration proposes cuts to many essential services that will impact voting and education access for people with disabilities; to Medicaid; and to state organizations like the Developmental Disabilities Council and Disability Rights Washington.

Should they be implemented, these changes will curtail the rights of people with disabilities — your friends, colleagues, family and perhaps your current or future self — to community and civic participation. I know what is at stake because I have used accommodations that are under threat: Disability accommodations made it possible for me to become a professor and are vital to the success of many of my disabled students and colleagues.

I still remember the moment when, decades ago, a stranger opened a door for me, muttering that the broken automatic door I was trying to use should work for disabled people. My first reaction was, “Who is he talking about?” I did not yet identify as disabled, although disability is defined broadly in relevant federal laws as anything that “substantially limits a person’s ability to perform major life activities,” or anyone who is “regarded as having such an impairment.” Did I count? Absolutely! At the time, I could not lift a glass of water, tie my shoes or open that door.

When my access needs are supported, I thrive. When supervisors and colleagues distrust my disability, deny my needs or treat me as a liability, I face unnecessary battles. Disabled people are often met with skepticism or as a burden, required to prove their need for services by providing expensive medical documentation, or told that their requested accommodation interferes with an “essential job activity,” often code for “we plan to fire you.” The president has mocked us, while Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims autism is “destroying families.” For disabled LGBTQ+ people and people of color, these barriers can be particularly onerous as they navigate a system that is more likely to fail or imprison them. 

Disabled people and organizations are hard at work to change that. Their activism and advocacy led to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. The act’s predecessor, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, has been enforced since disabled activists held the longest sit-in recorded in a federal building in April 1977. Today, about 15-20% of K-12 students nationwide use services resulting from disability-related legislation, such as modifications to assignments, virtual attendance and communication support.

Today, I direct the Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences at the University of Washington. While disability-rights laws are not perfect, they have helped me and others with disabilities to pursue our dreams, live independently and engage as equals in our society. 

If enacted, the proposed changes may eliminate the accommodations and services that allow me and many others to be successful, independent and contributing members of our communities. Instead of helping disabled people to flourish, and society to benefit from our presence, these proposed changes threaten to turn the clock back to a time when we were institutionalized, forcibly sterilized and denied language, an education and independence.

We must demand that our representatives, no matter their political affiliation, step up. Attend town halls and protests. Reach out to state attorneys general fighting to overturn 504 (instructions at dredf.org). Encourage your state representatives to intervene to protect Medicaid (instructions at dredf.org), programs administered by the Administration for Community Living (instructions from ncil.org), and the Department of Education (guidance from ncil.org). Remind school boards, businesses, and others not to comply in advance. 

In the words of disability justice leader Ki’tay D. Davidson, whom the Obama White House honored as a Champion of Change, “Advocacy is not just a task for charismatic individuals or high-profile community organizers. Advocacy is for all of us; advocacy is a way of life.” I fight almost daily for my disabled students and colleagues, but today’s fight requires more from us all. Please join me!