A look back at 2023
This year left people with disabilities in Texas reasons to be both optimistic and discouraged. The things we are celebrating with you include:
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A federal court judge ruled that part of SB1, a Texas voting law passed in 2021, violated federal law.
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New laws passed, such as one that protects younger students from dangerous restraint practices in schools, another that allows people to hire their own lawyer to remove unnecessary guardianships that severely restrict their rights, and another that improves curbside voting and gives people with disabilities priority at the polls.
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New funding opportunities to allow us to extend our work in areas like vaccine equity, voting and housing rights, and inclusive disaster support.
- The ability for our attorneys and advocates to provide legal services that have helped tens of thousands of children and adults with disabilities overcome barriers they face when accessing the necessities of life, such as safe housing, education, healthcare, jobs, and more.
But we’ve also seen what we believe to be an outright attack on disability rights in our state, such as:
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Numerous attempts to pass school voucher laws which can segregate students with disabilities and remove their federal legal rights in private schools.
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A bill with bi-partisan support surprisingly vetoed that would have provided accessible mail-in ballots for blind and low-vision voters.
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Nearly 2 million people, many who have disabilities, losing critical Medicaid health care coverage.
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School districts failing to provide timely special education evaluations for thousands of children with disabilities.
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Continued failure to increase attendant pay to a living wage so people with disabilities can live independently in the community instead of locked up in institutions.
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Lack of accessible emergency and disaster services that leave people with disabilities in grave danger during hurricanes, power outages and other life-threating events.
Unfortunately the list of challenges goes on. You can count on Disability Rights Texas to keep fighting for progress so that our state becomes a place where all people with disabilities can live and have access to the things in life that all people want and need.
We’ll keep providing individual case services, filing lawsuits and legal complaints, training you on your rights, and educating policymakers until Texas becomes a fully accessible and inclusive place to live.
We thank you for your ongoing support of our efforts. We could not succeed without you.
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