We are witnessing a dangerous trend that threatens a bedrock of American independence. Over the past several months, across the country, the protections that millions of people with disabilities rely on, protections this country has spent decades building, have not just been questioned, they are under attack.
More than one in four adults in the United States have a disability, and the erosion of basic, long-standing protections will impact all of us, whether it’s your neighbor, coworker, loved one, or yourself. Anyone can become disabled at any time through illness, injury, or aging—we will all likely rely on disability support at some point in our lives. That is why what is happening right now deserves the attention of every American, not just those already connected to disability services.
Three major developments have unfolded recently, each one significant on its own, and each one usually discussed as if it stood apart from the others.
Massive cuts to Medicaid are happening, including new work requirements and more frequent eligibility reviews. Bureaucratic hurdles will decide whether millions of people keep the coverage that funds home health aides, personal care attendants, and the community-based services that make independent living possible.
At the same time, proposals to move special education out of the U.S. Department of Education raise serious questions about who will oversee and enforce the protections that millions of children with disabilities rely on to learn alongside their peers.
And now, the right of people with disabilities to live at home and participate in their communities is under threat. The Department of Justice has issued a memo challenging the longstanding integration mandate that requires states to provide services to people in their own home and integrate them into their communities. This mandate stems from disability rights laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmstead v. L.C., the 1999 Supreme Court decision that made the unnecessary warehousing of people with disabilities a form of discrimination.
Looked at individually, each of these may seem like isolated budget decisions or administrative changes. But when viewed together, they form a clear and disturbing pattern.
The integration mandate matters enormously. But it is one brick in a much larger structure. Each of these systems supports the same basic idea: that people with disabilities have the right to live, learn, and participate fully in their communities. When several of the systems that protect that right come under pressure at the same time, the risk is not confined to any one courtroom or any one program. It is a risk to the whole structure, and to everyone who depends on it.
Without legal protections and access to in-home services, many disabled people would have no choice but to leave their family homes and live in care institutions where their autonomy and freedom is stripped away. Individuals and their families would have to make decisions no American should have to make.
This is not a call to take a side in partisan politics. It is a call to pay attention and to advocate with fairness, dignity, and compassion at our core. These protections were built over decades, with support from both political parties, because disability is not a partisan issue. If we are not disabled ourselves, we all know someone who is, regardless of political affiliation. A country that allows these protections to erode quietly, one decision at a time, is making a choice about who it is willing to leave behind, whether or not that choice is ever said out loud.
Easterseals will keep tracking these decisions and speaking up as they unfold, because the millions of people and families we serve deserve better than silence. We are asking America to wake up to this pattern before it becomes even harder to reverse, and to remember that the strength of our commitment to one another is measured most clearly in how we treat the people who are most often overlooked.
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Kendra Davenport is president and CEO of Easterseals.
