@dredf.bsky.social
DREDF is a leading national civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals with disabilities. Website: dredf.org
Brad Lomax, a Black man and manual wheelchair user holds a microphone and smiles. He is in a retro suit. Text reads “February 2026 Black History Month, Black Disability Rights Leadership” with the DREDF logo in the corner.
Black history is disability rights history.
Black disabled leaders like Brad Lomax helped shape the civil rights movement and the 504 Sit-In.
Brad Lomax's legacy of that is in @pbs.org American Masters Special: https://tinyurl.com/2kpwnbmk
Disability civil rights don’t enforce themselves. With federal guidance limited, state leadership matters more than ever. This toolkit helps advocates push for Section 504 implementation.
13.02.2026 00:31 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Lois Curtis, Elaine Lewis, and their lawyer sit at a table smiling. Text reads: Background. The Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. LC says that people with disabilities have a right to live in the community. Arrow point to Lois and Elaine saying ‘plaintiff.’
Text reads: The ‘integration mandate’ of the Olmstead decision required states to take action to help people with disabilities get out of institutions and into the community. A visualization of how Olmstead helps keep people out of institutions. A person with an intellectual disability on track to go to an institution, but an arrow navigates around the institution, instead going to a home in the community.
Text reads: Summary of the Report. This report looks at how the Olmstead decision brought about positive change in three states: Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. The report describes how each state utilized Olmstead as a tool to improve access to community living for people with disabilities, including improving housing affordability, supportive housing, and home and community-based services.
Text reads: The report’s authors interviewed people for their input and expertise. Here’s what they had to say. Quote 1: I think that Olmstead has been one of the most powerful tools to increase the availability of affordable and accessible housing.” Quote 2: I’ve seen many examples where Olmstead litigation has led states to pretty significantly increase availability of accessible integrated housing with supportive services for people with disabilities…”
New Report 📝 Olmstead’s Effects on Housing Affordability, Supportive Housing, and Home and Community-Based Services: A Three-State Study
This report and its associated case studies were conducted by the @dredf.bsky.social, in partnership with the CLPC.
Read online: TinyURL.com/OlmsteadReport2026
Take action today to tell congress that FEMA funding should not be used as a political bargaining chip to allow ICE and CBP to continue their ongoing and imminent threats to the areas where they operate.
Learn more and see how you can take action: https://ow.ly/2gAk50Y9KGS
Large text reads: “Webinar: Using Disability Law and Domestic Abuse Protections to Avoid Eviction - Practical Tools for Advocates and Legal Service Providers” Thursday, February 19 at 12:00 - 1:00 pm PT. The DREDF and FVAP logos are at the top with a close up photo of a hand posting an eviction notice to the front of a door.
For people with disabilities and survivors of violence, eviction often stems from circumstances beyond their control.
Join our webinar on Feb 19 @ 12 pm PT to learn how disability law and survivor protections can work to stop evictions.
Register now: https://tinyurl.com/3964xeyv
A bold graphic reads “Celebrating Black History Month” with the DREDF logo above. Surrounding panels feature Pan-African or Afro-American flag colors of green, red and black with decorative patterns, including zigzags, curved lines with yellow stripes, silhouettes of raised fists holding signs, and two hands reaching toward each other.
Black disabled people have always been at the heart of the disability rights movement: organizing, resisting + building care. This #BlackHistoryMonth, we continue to protect the hard-fought rights and build a future of equality.
@ndrnadvocates.bsky.social's series: https://tinyurl.com/ymhwyrhp
A simplified map of the southeastern United States highlighting Virginia in blue, North Carolina in gray, and Georgia in purple. Below the map is the report title: “Olmstead’s Effects on Housing Affordability, Supportive Housing, and Home and Community-Based Services: A Three-State Study.” Logos appear at the bottom for Brandeis University’s Heller School/Lurie Institute for Disability Policy, the Community Living Policy Center (CLPC), and the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF).
Graphic explaining Olmstead v. L.C. Text states that the Supreme Court ruled people with disabilities have the right to live in the community. Below is a photo of plaintiffs Lois Curtis and Elaine Lewis seated at a table, identified by arrows and labels.
Text explaining the Olmstead integration mandate. Text states that states are required to help people with disabilities move out of institutions and into the community. Simple icons show a person moving from an institution building to a house labeled “Community Living.”
a smartphone displaying the cover and table of contents of a report titled “Olmstead’s Effects on Housing Affordability, Supportive Housing, and Home and Community-Based Services: A Three-State Study.” The cover shows a map highlighting Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia, with logos for Brandeis University, the Community Living Policy Center, and DREDF. A purple banner below the phone reads “TinyURL.com/OlmsteadReport2026.”
Integration works.
It expands dignity, access, and opportunity.
New research from @brandeisuniversity.bsky.social and DREDF affirms the positive impact when states embrace the right of people with disabilities to integration - a right we must continue to protect: https://tinyurl.com/4u9938a9
A key advisory board for funding autism research is now filled with anti-vaccine activists and promoters of dangerous, debunked “treatments."
Autistic people deserve authentic representation and research that centers us.
@autisticadvocacy.org's full statement:
A close-up photograph of a wheelchair positioned on a snow-covered sidewalk or path. The wheelchair’s front caster and large rear wheel are visible, dusted with snow, emphasizing difficult winter conditions. On the left side of the image, bold text reads “Severe Weather Resources.” The overall image highlights how winter weather can create accessibility barriers for people with disabilities.
Severe storms are putting disabled people at greater risk—especially when medical equipment, care, or medications are disrupted.
Know your rights, be prepared, severe weather resources widely, and check on disabled neighbors, elders, and others who may need support.
Resources: https://bit.ly/3NX4WHz
Graphic with a teal background and overlapping speech bubbles. A large white speech bubble contains the text “Help Shape Our Communications” and the DREDF logo.
Help shape how DREDF communicates. We’re launching our 2025 Communications Survey to learn how you want to hear from us and how we can do better. Your feedback matters! Take the survey now: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SFBX699
29.01.2026 18:02 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Black-and-white image of a manual wheelchair user, seen from behind, positioned in a doorway that opens to the community outside. The setting appears institutional, with worn walls and a narrow passage. Large text at the top reads, “Stop the Attack on Section 504” in bold and urgent font.
Nine states are attacking Section 504 and the right of disabled people to live in the community. This lawsuit threatens decades of disability rights upheld by the Supreme Court in Olmstead.
Stop segregation and institutionalization.
Learn more: https://bit.ly/section-504-attack
At the top, a photo shows a child seated at a table with two caregivers and an educator, reviewing paperwork together in a classroom setting, suggesting an IEP meeting. Below, text reads: “DREDF Training Series: Writing SMART Goals in the IEP. Virtual Training. Monday, February 9, 2026. 7:00–8:45 pm PT.” A red “Register” button appears at the bottom.
Are your child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals designed for success?
Join us for Part 6: Writing SMART Goals in the IEP to learn what the law requires and what it takes to make strong goals.
Register for the training: https://dredf-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4oMpifxNT7mAvGHMQPM01w
A silhouetted hand reaches through vertical metal bars toward bright sunlight, suggesting confinement and the desire for freedom. The sky beyond is clear and blue, contrasting with the dark foreground. Bold white text at the bottom reads “NEVER AGAIN,” conveying urgency, resistance, and a warning against returning to histories of detention, institutionalization, and dehumanization.
Nearly 1 in 3 unhoused people have a disability. Proposals for cruelty, dehumanization + isolation are a page from the Ugly Laws and institutionalization playbook.
Join the @homelesslaw.bsky.social on Jan 29 to say No Federal Funds for Homeless Detention Camps: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
The House’s vote to increase ICE funding puts disabled people who are immigrants or people of color at greater risk of harm. DREDF urges the Senate to reject the FY26 DHS funding bill and supports the National Day of Solidarity with Minnesota.
Read more & take action:
dredf.org/dredf-urges-...
A teal textured background with layered graphic shapes and dots. At the center is a large cream-colored speech bubble with bold black text reading, “Help Shape Our Communications.” The DREDF logo appears in red in the upper right corner of the speech bubble. A smaller pink speech bubble shape overlaps the bottom of the image, reinforcing the theme of dialogue and community input.
Help shape how DREDF communicates!
We’re launching our 2025 Communications Survey to learn how you want to hear from us and how we can do better. Your feedback matters! Take the survey now: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SFBX699
Graphic with a cream background and a simple line illustration of a man in a suit with likeness to Martin Luther King Jr. quote in dark blue text reads, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. - Martin Luther King Jr., from Letter from Birmingham Jail, August 1963.” The DREDF logo appears in the top right corner.
MLK wrote these words from a jail cell, where he was held for participating in nonviolent protests and for refusing to accept injustice. His message reminds us: our struggles are bound together.
DREDF is closed in observation of Dr. King’s legacy + the ongoing fight for civil and human rights.
A close-up of a small mirrored disco ball held aloft by Barbie's plastic hands. The disco ball reflects light in sharp, geometric facets. The background is an abstract blur of vibrant warm colors of yellows, oranges, reds, and pink to create a sense of motion and energy.
Inclusion shapes expectations and what children imagine for themselves. Disability is often excluded from representation in toys. Barbie’s diversity shows progress, but real inclusion goes further. More from @autisticadvocacy.org https://autisticadvocacy.org/2026/01/asan-announces-autistic-barbie/
15.01.2026 23:30 — 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
From @nilc.org: You can take action now and tell Congress: No Funding for More ICE Detention Beds: act.nilc.org/page/92564/a...
15.01.2026 00:13 — 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
As Audre Lorde once said, "We do not live single issue lives," every issue is a disability rights issue.
15.01.2026 00:12 — 👍 30 🔁 19 💬 1 📌 1
Graphic for a DREDF training series. On the left, a notebook labeled “Individualized Education Program” sits on a desk with pens, clips, and sticky notes. On the right, text reads: “The Importance of IEP Goals,” Virtual Training, Monday, January 12, 2026, 7:00–8:45 pm PT, with a red “Register” button.
Join DREDF for Part 5 of our Training Series: The Importance of IEP Goals.
Learn about what IDEA requires, where goals come from, and how they support meaningful access to education. Register: https://dredf.org/event/part-5-of-10-the-importance-of-iep-goals/
Promotional graphic for the Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law’s Conference on Gender Discrimination. Text highlights January 29–30, 2026, with in-person and Zoom options. Highlights include up to 13 California CLE credits, a $100 registration discount for DREDF supporters, and a January 30 panel featuring DREDF Senior Staff Attorney Ayesha Elaine Lewis. A portrait of a woman appears on the right, and a “Register Now” button is shown at the bottom.
We're proud to share the @berkeleylaw.bsky.social 7th Annual CLE Conference on Jan 29 - 30, 2026. DREDF’s Ayesha Elaine Lewis will present on Jan 30.
- Up to 13 CA CLE credits
- DREDF supporters get $100 off registration
Register: https://na.eventscloud.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=862704&
Don't forget transcripts for video and audio. These will help blind users and low-vision users, deaf and hard-of-hearing users, people with ADHD, people with audio-processing disorders, and beyond. Transcripts also benefit search engines, people in quiet spaces, and people in a hurry.
09.01.2026 17:25 — 👍 47 🔁 25 💬 0 📌 1
More info: www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/20...
10.01.2026 01:26 — 👍 9 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
Bright yellow graphic with bold dark text reading, “Affordable Healthcare is Within Reach.” Below, smaller text says, “Call Your Senator and Demand They Pass ACA Subsidies.” In the top right corner is the DREDF logo. On the right side, a simple line illustration shows an outstretched hand reaching toward a smartphone, symbolizing taking action by making a call. The overall tone is urgent yet hopeful, emphasizing that affordable health care is attainable through collective action.
The House voted to extend ACA premium subsidies that keep health care affordable for millions. Now the Senate must pass it, too.
Call your Senators and urge them to pass the extension.
More info:
A person walking in Adidas shoes holds a banner with hand-drawn images, one of which is a trans pride flag. Text reads “Comment to Protect Trans Rights: You Can help stop cruel and harmful proposed rules,” and a next arrow.
Text reads “Informational Briefing on HHS’s New Anti-Trans Rules. Monday, Jan 12 10:30 - 11:45 am PT | 1:30 - 2:45 pm ET. Register Now” with a doodle of a light bulb and a DREDF logo in the corner.
HHS has proposed 3 harmful rules that would allow discrimination against trans people, block essential care for trans youth using Medicaid/CHIP, and bar trans youth from receiving care at hospitals. These rules aren’t final,act now. Learn more: https://dredf.org/protect-trans-rights/
08.01.2026 19:15 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Bob Kafka was a community builder whose work shaped generations of disability rights leadership. He believed in dignity, solidarity, and the power of organizing together. His legacy lives on through community, care, and action.
Read the @npr.org feature: bit.ly/4piG9ut
A brown graphic with the DREDF logo at the top left features large white text reading “Accessing Education,” with smaller yellow text below that says “With Your Support.” On the right, a focused school-aged child sits in a wheelchair at a table, writing with a pencil, while an adult leans in nearby offering support and encouragement. The scene conveys inclusion, learning, and shared attention.
For students with disabilities, access to education has been shaped by civil rights, advocacy, and the belief that every child belongs.
DREDF has worked for decades to advance inclusive, equitable education so students with disabilities can succeed.
Support our work: https://dredf.org/donate/
A brown graphic with the DREDF logo at the top left features large white text reading “Expanding Opportunity,” with smaller yellow text below that says “With Your Support.” On the right, a thoughtful, confident Black masculine-presenting blind person holds a white cane, looking slightly upward, conveying determination and possibility.
Opportunity begins with access—to live, learn, love, and work in the community.
With your support, DREDF will continue its decades-long work to open doors, remove barriers, and build pathways to full participation in the year ahead.
Support our work: https://dredf.org/donate/
A brown graphic with the DREDF logo at the top left features large white text reading “Securing Freedom,” with smaller yellow text below that says “With Your Support.” On the right, a smiling, confident, feminine-presenting person with short dark hair sits in a wheelchair, wearing a red top and patterned skirt, gesturing expressively with one hand. The image conveys confidence, agency, and self-determination.
Freedom means being able to pursue education, employment, healthcare, and community life with autonomy, access and respect.
For decades, DREDF has worked to expand freedom and remove systemic barriers. With your support, we carry this work forward.
Support us: https://dredf.org/donate/
Selfie of Lori and Mark, both middle-aged white people that tilt their heads toward each other.
Selfie of Lori and Mark, both middle-aged white people, smile in front of a Christmas nutcracker.
Mark and Lori are celebrating their 10th anniversary today. As an engaged couple, their biggest Christmas wish remains the right to celebrate their love by getting married.
Learn more and support Mark and Lori’s journey toward future Christmases as a married couple: dredf.org/vertical/mar...
