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 commonplace, how will America be judged?
President Trump not too long ago moved the training of disabled Individuals from the Division of Training to the Division of Well being and Human Providers (“Trump’s actions signal a move toward institutionalizing people 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 supply community-based companies.
Transferring training of the disabled to a well being company frames disabilities as medical defects to be “cured” or “handled,” relatively than acknowledging the “social mannequin,” by 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 school rooms and lead to much less tailor-made instructional objectives. Additional, a latest Justice Division memo questioned a long time of civil rights protections underneath the Supreme Court docket’s Olmstead vs. L.C. choice, suggesting states should not required to supply the home- and community-based companies that maintain disabled Individuals out of establishments.
Trump’s insurance policies strip disabled Individuals of their rights. Los Angeles public colleges 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 essentially the most susceptible amongst us of their rights.
Thomas Keens, La Cañada Flintridge
