12/11/25 - Everyday ableism, and voting rights updates

Good afternoon!

Let's think about what it takes to make everything accessible – everything.

Cracker Barrel Settles to Pay Over $100,000 After Alleged Mistreatment of Disabled Children

Moná Thomas, People - December 10, 2025

"'This settlement underscores a truth we hold as non-negotiable: inclusion is not optional, and dignity is not discretionary,' stated  MCCR Executive Director Cleveland L. Horton II in the announcement of the settlement, released on Monday, Dec. 8, shared with PEOPLE. 'The outcome we reached today was made possible because two state agencies stood shoulder to shoulder in pursuit of justice.'"

This sounds like a pretty good resolution to a disability discrimination case I remember reading about months ago. Two things stand out. First, while Cracker Barrel doesn't admit wrongdoing, they are making some potentially useful fine-like payments, and will have to do extra training with staff throughout the company's restaurants. Second, it's all be done at the state level. In a political environment where federal civil rights agencies can't be counted on to pursue cases like this for the time being, it's good for state agencies to get in some practice defending civil rights, including those involving disability discrimination.

Disney changed the disability policies for their parks. Here’s what to know

Mike Schneider, PBS News - December 8, 2025

"Disney narrowed the scope from people with a wider range of disabilities to mostly guests who 'due to a developmental disability such as autism or similar' have difficulties waiting in a long line. Under the changes, guests seeking a DAS pass must be interviewed via video chat by a Disney worker and a contracted medical professional who determine if the person is eligible. Visitors found to have lied can be barred from the parks."

I have always found it sort of amusing and perplexing to read and write about the ebb and flow of Disney's disability accommodation policies. I'm not a Disney fan. And I admit I am baffled by people for whom being a Disney fan is a major component of their identity. Arguments over who should and shouldn't be allowed to skip 2 hour lines for rides I can't even imagine wanting to take myself are extra theoretical for me. Still, that itself is an absolutely essential aspect of accessibility and accommodation. It doesn't matter what the service is – how trivial or stupid or uninteresting to some. If it's offered to the public, it must be usable by people with disabilities. So in a way, that makes access to Disney parks a good test case for the universality of disability inclusion.

Disability Voting News: December 10, 2025

Sarah Blahovec, The Accessible Voting Booth - December 10, 2025

"This week, we’re talking about a lawsuit brought by disabled voters and the NAACP in South Carolina regarding the state’s restrictions on voter assistance, a Georgia appeals court’s reinstatement of the ban on offering food and water to voters in line, as well as a proposed constitutional amendment to protect universal vote by mail in Nevada."

It's a good time to share another update on voting rights and accessibility issues in the US, via Sarah Blahovec's excellent newsletter, The Accessible Voting Booth.

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