2/18/25 - More Trump Stuff: DEIA and Education; marriage & benefits
Explaining Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA), The Trump Administration’s Recent Actions on DEIA, and the Impact on Disabled Americans
American Association of People with Disabilities - February 16, 2025
"Since taking office, President Trump has taken several actions attacking diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (often called “DEIA” or “DEI”) in the federal government. AAPD has put together this resource to provide an overview of what DEIA is, why DEIA efforts are essential for disabled Americans, and how diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts have been affected by these recent Presidential actions, including Executive Orders and guidance related to them."
This is a thorough but quite readable explanation of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility, what the Trump administration is trying to do to it, how it affects Americans with disabilities, and what disabled people can do to defend ourselves and our allies. It reads to me as a pretty effective explainer, especially for disabled people who may not be familiar with "DEI" and the fight over it, or who are skeptical of it and not sure how it relates to themselves as disabled people. It also details specifically how DEI programs have helped people with disabilities in the workplace and in broader society. It's a good read for novices, and a good refresher for longtime advocates.
What The Assault On Public Education Means For Kids With Disabilities
Jessica Winter, The New Yorker - February 13, 2025
"Project 2025 proposes rolling federal Title I and special-education funding into block grants, which states can administer without extensive federal oversight. 'The states would no longer have a check on how they are complying with I.D.E.A. or other federal laws,' Stewart said. The likely scenario for kids with special needs, he went on, is 'fewer teachers, fewer funds, delayed funds, and less certainty.' Of course, according to the school-choice movement, parents who are dissatisfied with their child’s cash-strapped public school should have the opportunity to choose a private one in a thriving educational marketplace. In reality, Levin said, 'private schools are legally allowed to not accept students with disabilities or serve them appropriately, and so you end up with a higher concentration of higher-needs students in schools that now have fewer resources.'"
Equal rights to public education, and special education services together under laws like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act together are some of the most complicated areas of disability policy. Education may also be the most controversial realm of disability politics. Significant portions of disability communities and our allies have vastly different views on educating kids with disabilities – many of them opposite to each other but equally rooted in real-life disability experience. So it's going to be very tricky to communicate consistently with each other about what attempts to reshape or abolish the U.S. Department of Education might mean. This article is a start. It's long, and may not be free to access for everyone. But it provides deeper context than an action alert alone. Those will come later – probably soon.
Rep. Panetta Reintroduces the Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act for Valentine's Day
U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta - February 14, 2025
"Under current law, DAC beneficiaries, more than one million Americans with lifelong disabilities, lose their Social Security and Medicaid benefits if they marry a non-disabled person. This antiquated rule strips individuals of their financial and healthcare security simply because they wish to build a life with their partner. The Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act would repeal this unjust penalty and ensure that disabled individuals are not punished for choosing to marry."
This issue and bill already feels like part of a different, more optimistic era for disabled Americans. But it remains one of the easiest problems to fix for at least some disabled people, and one that really should, in theory, have bipartisan support – if only for its positive focus on marriage. But it will be interesting to see if the issue gets even further buried. It may also be worth thinking about what could happen to it if the Trump administration does at some point turn to Social Security in a serious way looking for billions more in "savings," by cutting benefits and making it harder for disabled people to keep them for any reason.
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tpinedo
tpinedo
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