Category: Uncategorized

504

–FINAL RULE–

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 Contacts:   Ron Cranston                  Nancy Crowther                                      

 512-903-3340512-808-7486

                               ronniebonners@aol.com                       Ncrowther21@gmail.com                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

WHAT: REMOVE TEXAS FROM “TEXAS v KENNEDY”

DON’T MESS WITH OUR DISABILITY RIGHTS IN TEXAS

WHEN:  July3, 2026, Friday, 12:00pm 

WHERE: 1100 Congress at the base of the south steps of the Texas Capitol

Austin, TX, ADAPT of TX/ PACT, public figures and a host of Disability Rights Advocates will gather to send a message to Attorney General Ken Paxton:  Remove Texas from “Texas v Kennedy”.

 Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act is America’s oldest disability rights law. Attorney General Paxton is asking the court to make the 2024 update to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (a.k.a. THE FINAL RULE) UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

 All but six states have dropped participation in the lawsuit.

 The rule contains new opportunities for internet access, accessible medical equipment and services. The rule also contains new and stronger supports for persons with disabilities at a risk of being institutionalized, the community integration mandate, and many other provisions that fulfill society’s moral obligations to persons with disabilities of All ages. Also, the final rule contains protections against infanticide and assisted suicide. Repealing it would have a devastating effect on all programs that receive Federal Financial dollars and form the cornerstone of DISABILITY RIGHTS.

“…the elimination of these rights will lead to the decimation of civil rights to persons of all ages with disabilities. This would destroy basic access and the civil rights we have acquired for over 50 years.” said Ron Cranston, citizen with a disability.Press Conference: Join ADAPT/PACT and other disability advocacy organizations Friday, July 3rd at 12:00 pm to send a message to Attorney General Ken Paxton:

                                           Drop the Texas v Kennedy Lawsuit.

For Immediate release: June 22, 2026
For more information contact:
Latoya Maddox: (267) 809-2454
Lydia Nunez: (832) 630-8419


National ADAPT, the disability led cross disability activist organization that has fought relentlessly for home care since 1990, joins the stream of disability groups expressing outrage at the recent statement released by the Trump Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). The OLC seeks to justify forcing people with disabilities to be locked away in institutional settings in complete opposition to the 1999 United States Supreme Court decision in Olmstead vs L.C and E.W., a decision that affirmed the right of people with disabilities to live in their own homes and communities.

“We in ADAPT have been fighting for our right to access and live in our own homes and communities with our family and friends since 1978,” said Lydia Nunez of Texas ADAPT. “Because of the home care I get I have been able to volunteer as an ombudsperson to protect people who are locked away in institutions, many of whom don’t have families to look out for them. The Trump people have gone after immigrants, Somalians and other people of color, and now they’re coming for us. They have tried to erase our civil  rights, parts of this country’s history, and now they’re trying to erase us, too.”

The Olmstead decision is part of a whole body of law that established and affirmed the rights of disabled people to live in, work in, go to school in, participate in and contribute to their communities.  Those rights are additionally guaranteed by laws that include the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that says disabled students have the right to a free and appropriate education like any other student, to be delivered in typical school settings with any needed services and supports; Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act; the  1990  Americans with Disabilities Act; and the 1988  Fair Housing Act as amended.

“Because of my home care I am not locked away in a nursing home,” said Latoya Maddox of Philadelphia ADAPT. “Because of the home care I get I am raising my child, I am attending grad school to better myself,  I am a valued employee serving my community in a local organization, and as a volunteer I also support other moms with disabilities.  Shame on the Justice Department for trying to take away my rights and lock me away.”

Sister organizations to ADAPT that have also expressed outrage at the OLC statement include the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Arc of the United States, the American Council of the Blind (ACB), the National Centers for Independent Living (NCIL), Not Dead Yet (NDY) and a multitude of other state and local organizations. The disability and civil rights communities are united in their support for the rights of disabled people to live in their own homes and communities.

The Inquisitive Outsider
William Thomas

aka Classic Reinvention
Chief Curator

TIOutsiders.com

ADAPT DEMANDS Congress support our right to live in the community by funding Home and Community Based Services, supporting our Community Workforce, making personal protective equipment available, and ensuring we have affordable, accessible, integrated housing.

ADAPT has sent an Open Letter to Congress demanding action now. We must make sure Congress pays attention and responds to our needs!

1. Join in on the Lives Worth Life social media campaign! The campaign is explained in this video by Latoya Chivon. To participate, make and post short videos, photos, and signs explaining why you and/or your loved ones have #LivesWorthyOfLife.  Contact Latoya at (267)815-8688 if you have questions or need help. Check out our talking points and more details coming soon on our website including scripts.
   
2. Use the primary hashtags #ADAPTandSurvive #DisabledNotDisposable #LivesWorthyOfLife and secondary hashtags #OurHomesNotNursingHomes #MyLifeIsWorthyOfLife  #ADAPTorPerish #Covid19 in your posts regarding COVID-19.
   
3. Contact your legislators regarding our demands for important legislation that will Free Our People and keep them safe like passing Coronavirus Relief for Seniors and People with Disabilities Act of 2020 (S. 3544 and H.R. 6305), making Money Follows the Person permanent, making personal protective equipment available, and ensuring we have affordable, accessible, integrated housing. You can use our sample letter template to contact your members of Congress or our sample Tweets.
   
4. Drive a caravan with cars and vans with signs, noise makers, etc. around like a march. The vehicle march can go past Congressional home offices, media outlets, and other prominent places in your community to bring attention to this issue.
   
5. Contact the media to call a press conference about this campaign. Tell them this campaign is part of coordinated action across multiple states. Invite the media to witness your caravan event. Reach out to adaptnational@gmail.com for assistance. Check out talking points and sample press materials will be on nationalADAPT.org soon.
   
6.  Hold a local action in whatever style most suits you. Be loud, be proud, and be safe.

Let local and national media know what you are doing.

Please share your postings, pictures and stories about how you and your group are sending the message that the disability community will #ADAPTandSurvive are #DisabledNotDisposable have #LivesWorthyOfLife and#ADAPTorPerish in the time of #Covid19. National ADAPT will be using posts and submissions for social media and publications.

#DisabledNotDisposable #ADAPTandSurvive #LivesWorthyOfLife
NationalADAPT.org @RealNatlADAPT on Twitter & Instagram, ADAPT National on Facebook and TikTok, National ADAPT on YouTube
ADAPTnational@gmail.com