To the editor: It’s been mentioned that you just measure the diploma of civilization of a society by the way it treats its most susceptible members. Utilizing this customary, how will America be judged?
President Trump lately moved the training of disabled Individuals from the Division of Schooling to the Division of Well being and Human Providers (“Trump’s actions sign a transfer towards institutionalizing individuals with disabilities, advocates warn,” July 2). This threatens the rights of the disabled by selling a “medical mannequin” of incapacity and decreasing authorities obligations to offer community-based companies.
Shifting training of the disabled to a well being company frames disabilities as medical defects to be “cured” or “handled,” somewhat than acknowledging the “social mannequin,” during which variations are accommodated and college students study alongside their friends within the least restrictive setting. This transfer would isolate disabled college students, separate them from mainstream lecture rooms and lead to much less tailor-made instructional objectives. Additional, a current Justice Division memo questioned a long time of civil rights protections beneath the Supreme Court docket’s Olmstead vs. L.C. choice, suggesting states should not required to offer the home- and community-based companies that preserve disabled Individuals out of establishments.
Trump’s insurance policies strip disabled Individuals of their rights. Los Angeles public faculties present glorious training for disabled youngsters and people with particular wants in the neighborhood. Don’t let America be judged as a individuals who stripped probably the most susceptible amongst us of their rights.
Thomas Keens, La Cañada Flintridge
