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Amid growing concerns about racial, ethnic and language disparities in health care, The Joint Commission and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights have worked together to support language access in health care organizations with the video Improving Patient-Provider Communication: Joint Commission Standards and Federal Laws. 

“I’m advocating for greater alignment between ESEA and IDEA. Alignment does not mean the merger of IDEA and ESEA. Nor does it represent any intention whatsoever to diminish or weaken IDEA as a unique and freestanding civil rights statute. … The reauthorization of ESEA and IDEA will create an opportunity for a paradigm shift that will allow us to define one educational system, while also refining our policies and practices to make certain that we educate all students to the highest possible standards,” said Posny.

What: In order to help keep you more informed, the White House is hosting monthly calls to update you on various disability issues as well as to introduce you to persons who work on disability issues in the federal government. This call is off the record and not for press purposes. Guests will be: Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights - Department of Education, Russlynn Ali Director of Federal Contract Compliance Programs -Department of Labor, Patricia Shiu When: Thursday, May 26, 2011 1:00pm Mountain Conference call information: Dial in: (800) 230-1085 Title: White House Disability Call (use instead of code) Date of Call: 05/26/2011 Start Time: 1:00 PM Mountain (I encourage you to call in five minutes early due to the large volume of callers) For live captioning, at the start of the call, please login by clicking on the following link: http://www.fedrcc.us//Enter.aspx?EventID=1745291&CustomerID=321. Please only use this feature if you are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

As an older sibling of someone with developmental disabilities, I want to believe that my sister will have better options than exist today. Policies such as IDEA and NCLB were founded on philosophies derived from civil rights and an individual’s pursuit of happiness. These are meant to provide a semblance of equality and possibility for individuals with disabilities to grow and achieve their full potential. My sister, however, will never be able to fight for her happiness on her own. The state will always see her as a burden, and she will rely on a community to support and protect her.

The Southwest ADA Center is pleased to announce the availability of the Disability Law Handbook now in Spanish, as well as English. The Disability Law Handbook is written in "Frequently Asked Questions" format and answers questions about the ADA, the ADA Amendments Act, the Rehabilitation Act, Social Security, the Air Carrier Access Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, and the Fair Housing Act Amendments. Free copies may be downloaded or viewed at http://www.swdbtac.org/html/publications/Spanish/gld/index.html for the Spanish version and http://www.swdbtac.org/html/publications/dlh/index.html for the English.

This week, we celebrate the 24th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into law. This landmark legislation was the nation’s first comprehensive civil rights law addressing the needs of people with disabilities. It prohibited discrimination in employment, public services, public accommodations, and telecommunications.

As part of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today issued guidance to schools reminding them that bullying is wrong and must not be tolerated – including against America’s 6.5 million students with disabilities.