For decades, individuals with disabilities have advocated for the right to attend school and live alongside nondisabled peers, a right that many fear may be eroding under the Trump administration.
Last month, the Education Department announced that it would transfer oversight of special education to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is headed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; his remarks questioning the scope of disabilities such as autism have provoked strong criticism from advocates and legislators.
In parallel, as part of a White House initiative to address homelessness, the Department of Justice issued guidance that eases the process for institutionalizing individuals with disabilities.
Collectively, these actions suggest a troubling resurgence of policies that marginalize people with disabilities, advocates warned.
\”It is a direct, frontal assault on the rights of people with disabilities to live their lives as nondisabled individuals do,\” said Selene Almazan, legal director of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates. \”I cannot imagine a nation agreeing to return to such a reality.\”
The Transition From Institutionalizing People with Disabilities
Since the 1960s, legislation and court rulings have progressively expanded supports and protections enabling people with disabilities to attend school alongside nondisabled peers and to live and work in their communities. Prior to that, individuals with mental illnesses or developmental and intellectual disabilities were largely institutionalized.
Advocates have contested the so‑called medical model, which treats disability as a defect requiring cure. In contrast, the social model of disability recognizes that differences can be accommodated and supported, allowing people with and without disabilities to learn and work together.
Families and advocates have warned that transferring special education to a health department would revive the medical model. They are also upset by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s attempts to associate vaccines with autism, contradicting decades of research showing no link, and by his characterization of autism as a disabling disease.
Kennedy’s remarks last year, in which he claimed that children with autism would never write a poem, pay taxes, or hold a job, raised concerns about his capacity to lead an agency tasked with fostering those skills. He later clarified that his comments pertained to individuals with severe autism or those who are nonverbal.
\”Many of the capabilities he described as unattainable for autistic individuals are precisely what special education strives to enable for students with disabilities,\” said Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. \”Will he fulfill this responsibility, or does he view disabled students as hopeless until a medical cure is found?\”
The Supreme Court Considers the Issue
In 1999, the Supreme Court held that segregating individuals with disabilities who could live in the community with appropriate supports constitutes discrimination. The Olmstead v. L.C. decision mandated that government agencies provide disability services in the most integrated community settings — such as schools, homes, and workplaces.
However, a June memo from the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel overturned that guidance. It asserted that neither the Americans with Disabilities Act nor Section 504 obligates states to provide services in the most mainstream setting. Although the memo does not alter the law, it indicates how federal agencies may interpret and enforce disability civil‑rights issues, potentially encouraging states or school districts to refuse to support individuals with disabilities in regular environments.
The White House has embraced a similar philosophy. Last year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on homelessness that supported civil commitment — court‑ordered involuntary hospitalization or treatment programs — and directed the Department of Health and Human Services to lower barriers to institutionalizing individuals with mental illnesses.
The Justice Department acknowledged that its interpretation of the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision diverges from the prevailing understanding. It warned that if a state begins to provide services in institutional settings, legal challenges are likely to follow.
These steps align with a worldview that the government has no obligation to support people with disabilities, said Claudia Center, legal director at Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.
\”It’s dark and awful,\” Center said. \”It contradicts the majority view in our country and feels out of touch with where our society is.\”
Families Report That Their Children Thrive in Mainstream Classes
These developments have generated profound uncertainty for students with disabilities.
Lindsey Althaus reports that home and community‑based services in northwest Ohio have been vital to her family. Her 12‑year‑old son, Whitman, has autism and apraxia, a neurological condition that hampers the brain’s ability to coordinate muscle movements for speech and other motor tasks. With appropriate support, Whitman has been able to spend much of his school day in a classroom with nondisabled peers.
Through a Medicaid waiver program, Althaus compensates her mother to care for Whitman when she is absent, enabling him to spend time in the community with his grandmother while she and her husband work or attend to their daughter.
Under the Justice Department’s new interpretation of Olmstead, states would have reduced obligations to fund and support such programs. Earlier this year, Kennedy testified before lawmakers on Capitol Hill, criticizing similar programs as prone to fraud.
\”We want Whitman to remain in the community,\” said Althaus, a disability rights advocate. \”It’s beginning to feel as though he is no longer welcome. We’re back to a notion that you must be perfect to belong.\”
For many students with disabilities, schools provide the majority of support services and foster integration among peers. At school, Nakassis found teachers and staff who understood her son’s needs and encouraged her to stop apologizing for them. A program called Fantastic Friends teaches mainstream fifth‑grade students about autism, and they spend recess with children in the autism program. Each year, a waitlist exists for participation as a Fantastic Friend.
Nakassis noted the increasing politicization of autism. She emphasized that every child is entitled to a public education, and special education addresses the additional support some children need due to their differences.
Regardless of diagnosis, his right to education is an issue of equity and access, not a medical matter, she said, reflecting a society that often marginalizes disabled individuals.
\”There are many children like him,\” Nakassis said. \”I sometimes wonder what we used to do.\” \”I cannot believe things were better before.\””