Press Releases & Statements

Disability Rights California, Centro Legal de la Raza, and the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice filed a complaint today with the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General and Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Division in response to the death of Mr. Choung Woong Ahn, who died in solitary confinement at Mesa Verde, an ICE detention facility operated by the private, for-profit GEO Group.  ICE and GEO repeatedly violated federal disability law, Mr. Ahn’s constitutional rights, and binding detention standards throughout his time at Mesa Verde.

(Sacramento, CA) Yesterday, President Biden announced the twelve members of the Biden Harris Administration COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force.

(Sacramento, CA) - On January 19th, the California Department of Education (CDE) ruled in favor of students with disabilities, declaring that the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) has failed to conduct special education assessments since distance learning began amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Plaintiff also calls for the School District to invest in positive supports for students and end its harsh and controversial reliance on police intervention, which results in handcuffing, restraint, arrest, campus removal, and hospitalization for disability-related behaviors.

(Moreno Valley, CA) – On February 4th, Disability Rights California, Barajas & Rivera APC, and Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking an injunction and damages against the Moreno Valley Unified School District (MVUSD), District Superintende

(EUREKA, CA)  – An anti-homelessness ordinance set to take effect at midnight tonight has been set aside by the City of Eureka. City Council will reconsider the ordinance at its next meeting on January 5, 2020. The ordinance made it unlawful to camp in almost every part of the City, including Old Town, the Waterfront, and all City parks and recreational trails; it defined camping as living outdoors as well as occupying a vehicle in the restricted zones.

(Los Angeles, CA) Yesterday, Disability Rights California (DRC) and Covington & Burling filed an emergency motion in federal court to force the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) to discharge medically vulnerable patients from Patton State Hospital, one of the largest psychiatric hospitals in the country that is in the midst of a massive and deadly COVID-19 outbreak.

Hundreds of patients who are involuntarily confined at Patton State Hospital have conditions that put them at high risk for severe illness or death from COVID-19.

(San Diego, CA) Today, Disability Rights California (DRC) releases a new report, “Otay Mesa Detention Center: Inhumane Conditions and the Harsh Realities of ICE’s Civil Detention System.” 

This report shines a much-needed light on the inadequate conditions of Otay Mesa Detention Center (“Otay Mesa”), located in San Diego, California after a year-long investigation.

(San Francisco, CA) A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit challenging discrimination against deaf Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities (“I/DD”) can go forward. The California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) had asked the court to dismiss the case.

(Bakersfield, CA) - On October 6th, the California Department of Education (CDE) ruled in favor of students with disabilities, declaring that the Bakersfield City School District (BCSD) failed to implement students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEP) to the “greatest extent possible” since distance learning began amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Los Angeles, CA) - The County of Los Angeles has entered into a new settlement of a longstanding lawsuit, Katie A v. Bontá, where it has made a number of commitments to significantly increase intensive home and community based mental health services for thousands of children and youth involved with the County’s foster care system.

(San Francisco, CA) - Today, the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of people with developmental disabilities and their families who live in federally-subsidized housing. The Court held that a federal regulation prohibits public housing authorities from counting In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) payments towards a family’s income.

Disability rights and older adult advocates from the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, Disability Rights California, Justice in Aging, and Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco filed several complaints with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) over widespread policies and practices that put hospital patients with disabilities including older adults at incr

(Bakersfield, CA) - With another rent day come and gone and government stimulus checks drained, four individuals and three renters’ rights groups – Organize Sacramento, Tenants Together, and Faith in the Valley – filed a motion to intervene in Christensen et. al. v. Judicial Council of California, which challenges California’s freeze on evictions during the pandemic. The interveners are represented by Disability Rights California, Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance, and Western Center on Law & Poverty.

(Los Angeles, CA) - Yesterday, Disability Rights California (DRC) and Covington & Burling LLP filed a federal lawsuit to protect patients who are highly vulnerable to severe illness or death if they contract COVID-19 at Patton State Hospital (DSH-Patton), a California Department of State Hospital (DSH) in San Bernardino, California.  We are seeking immediate action to protect the health and well-being of these medically vulnerable patients, including through discharge or transfer to safer, non-congregate settings.

(Oakland, CA) Today, Disability Rights California (DRC), along with Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, and the Oakland-based law firm Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho filed a federal lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against Alameda County and Alameda Health System.