Key facts
- The Trump administration's actions are seen by advocates as a potential step back from decades of progress in disability rights.
- Special education oversight may be moved from the Education Department to the Department of Health and Human Services.
- New guidance from the Department of Justice could make it easier to institutionalize individuals with disabilities.
- Advocates argue these moves contradict the principles of integration and community living established by laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmstead v. L.C.
Disability advocates are raising alarms over recent actions by the Trump administration, warning that they signal a move toward institutionalizing people with disabilities, potentially reversing decades of progress toward integration and community living.
The concerns stem from a decision by the Education Department to offload oversight of special education to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy has drawn criticism for past remarks suggesting limitations for individuals with conditions like autism, which advocates say are contrary to the goals of special education.
Furthermore, the Department of Justice released new guidance that advocates argue lowers the threshold for institutionalizing individuals with disabilities. This guidance reinterprets the Supreme Court's 1999 Olmstead v. L.C. decision, which affirmed the right to receive services in the most integrated setting possible. Advocates fear this shift could embolden states to move away from community-based support and toward institutional settings.
These developments are viewed by some as a return to an outdated 'medical model' of disability, where differences are seen as defects to be cured, rather than a 'social model' that emphasizes accommodation and support within the community. Families of children with disabilities express deep uncertainty about the future of services that have been instrumental in their children's development and integration.