Press Releases & Statements

(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.

(Santa Barbara, CA ) On behalf of the hundreds of people incarcerated in Santa Barbara County Jail, Disability Rights California, Prison Law Office, and King & Spalding LLP have reached a groundbreaking settlement with Santa Barbara County and the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office in a class action lawsuit that seeks to address the dangerous and unconstitutional conditions at the jail.  

(Riverside, CA) On July 15, 2020, Disability Rights California, Barajas & Rivera APC, and Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund submitted a tort claim to the Moreno Valley Unified School District (MVUSD) on behalf of an 11-year-old Black student with disabilities who was discriminated against by school police.

(San Francisco, Ca) Today, as millions of taxpayers file their income tax returns, the IRS is announcing that it has agreed to develop and implement a process to allow blind taxpayers to request post-filing tax notices—such as notices about additional taxes or penalties owed—in Braille, large print, or electronic formats. The new alternative media process (AMP) will be in place by January 31, 2022.

(Bakersfield, CA) - On June 5, 2020, a federal court approved the final settlement reached between the Parties on behalf of youth with disabilities detained at Kern County Juvenile Facilities, who were represented by Disability Rights California (DRC) and Disability Rights Advocates (DRA).

(San Diego, CA) Disability Rights California (DRC) submitted a letter on June 11, 2020, to the Superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) urging them to provide students with disabilities special education & related services amid school closures in response to COVID-19.

(Sacramento, CA) On June 9, 2020, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released new “Crisis Care Guidelines” for COVID-19 that affirm that health care providers may not discriminate based on the age or disability of patients when deciding how to allocate scarce resources.

(San Diego, California) Yesterday, on behalf of five homeless individuals with disabilities and an association serving them, Food Not Bombs, Disability Rights California filed a lawsuit against the City of San Diego for failure to provide access to hotel rooms for homeless individuals amid COVID-19.