Accessibility in the News — 3/21/2025.

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Feature Stories

As Education Department Slashes Nearly Half Its Staff, Special Ed Worries Mount

March 14, 2025 | Source: Disability Scoop

Parents Sue Trump Administration for Allegedly Sabotaging Education Department’s Civil Rights Division

March 14, 2025 | Source: ProPublica

Trump will order a plan to dismantle the Education Department, advancing a campaign promise

March 20, 2025 | Source: AP

Trump signs order aiming to close the Education Department

March 20, 2025 | Source: NPR

Shutting the Education Department won’t change curriculums — but it could impact funding of programs

March 20, 2025 | Source: Market Watch

The U.S. Department of Education is firing almost 1,400 employees raising questions about how the federal government will uphold its obligations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and other laws. The agency said that with the layoffs announced late Tuesday, its workforce will be roughly half the size it was when President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January. Nearly 600 employees have already resigned or retired since that time…

National News (U.S.)

Here are 8 photography winners with disabilities who show the world their perspective

March 15, 2025 | Source: Goats and Soda- NPR

A little boy balancing precariously on a rope, a colorful bird perched on a tree, and fishermen at twilight all have one thing in common: They caught the attention of a photographer with a disability. The resulting images were among the winning entries in this year’s Global Ability Photography Challenge, organized by Youth4Jobs, a nonprofit organization in India working to help people with disabilities access education and employment. Now in its third year, the photography competition — run through Youth4Job’s digital platform NotJustArt with help from U.N. India and UNESCO — received 320 entries from 14 countries…

To End Car Dependency, We Must Change Who Has A Seat At the Table

March 14, 2025 | Source: PubliCola

“If you could change one thing to make our communities less car-dependent, what would it be?” That’s a question I get asked a lot in rooms full of climate and family-bike advocates, transit agency staff, and elected leaders working to build more affordable, dense housing. They are eager for checklists of steps they can take to make our communities more accessible for people who can’t, can’t afford to, or choose not to drive. They want to know what the solution is…

Woman Says She Won’t Attend Sister’s Nuptials Because Her Wedding Venue Is Not Wheelchair Accessible

March 14, 2025 | Source: People

The sister of a bride is asking the internet for their thoughts after her sibling picked a wedding venue that is not wheelchair accessible. In a post on Reddit’s “Am I the A——?” forum, a 24-year-old woman wrote that her sister — who she has “no issues” with — is getting married soon, but apparently did not consider her when planning the wedding festivities. The ceremony is set to take place at a venue that is “not accessible to wheelchairs,” the Reddit user wrote, as she asked others if she’d be in the wrong for missing the ceremony altogether, instead giving a gift to her sibling and spending some quality time with her at another point…

Judge Orders Chicago to Speed Up Efforts to Make Crosswalks Accessible to Blind Pedestrians; Just 85 of 2,713 Intersections Upgraded

March 14, 2025 | Source: WTTW

A federal judge this week ordered the city of Chicago to make about 71% of its 2,713 signalized intersections with pedestrian crossings accessible to people who are blind or have low vision within 10 years — with the remainder made accessible within a further five years. The order comes after a 2023 ruling in federal court that Chicago’s long-running failure to protect blind pedestrians violated the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, following on the heels of a similar ruling in New York City…

Inclusive wheelchair basketball tournament unites community in Boise

March 15, 2025 | Source: Idaho News

Athletes of all abilities are taking to the court in Boise for a unique basketball tournament that emphasizes inclusivity and community spirit. The annual Chair Hoops Wheelchair Basketball Tournament invites participants, whether seasoned players or newcomers, to experience the game on wheels. “This is our chair hoops wheelchair basketball tournament which supports the adaptive recreation program called Adventure,” said Emily Kovarik, Adaptive Recreation and Youth Program Manager…

After years of advocacy, Somerville plans to build the city’s first universally accessible playground

March 15, 2025 | Source: Cambridge Day

Memorial Park Playground in Westfield Renovated for Accessibility

March 16, 2025 | Source: TAPinto

The front lot at Somerville’s John F. Kennedy School is set to be renovated in the spring of 2026 after pleas from community members to take action. The front lot, often likened to a prison yard by parents due to its lack of play equipment and cracked blacktop, is the only play space serving children in grades 3-8 at the Kennedy, at 5 Cherry St. in Spring Hill near Porter Square. Its “Tot Lot” has playground equipment but is reserved for children in pre-K through second grade; the layout has resulted in what parents describe as a dreaded “Tot Lot graduation” into the third grade…

Why police still lack training to effectively respond to people with disabilities

March 17, 2025 | Source: PBS News Hour (YouTube)

The percentage of people diagnosed with autism has more than quadrupled over two decades. Still, explicit training for law enforcement to respond to this population and people with other developmental or intellectual disabilities is rare. Misunderstandings between officers and people with disabilities can lead to tragic consequences. Judy Woodruff reports for our series, Disability Reframed…

The Eugenics Logic Behind Running a Government Like a Startup Under the Trump Administration

March 17, 2025 | Source: Disability Visibility Project

Trump’s favorite broligarch Elon Musk is attempting to run the United States like a startup. But America isn’t a startup. It cannot be “scaled up” because it is already at scale. Its people, citizens and residents alike, cannot be fired. It cannot be acquired. Yet reckless and sweeping acts of “disruption” are indeed moving fast and breaking all kinds of vital resources and systems. All the while, the despotic duo make no secret of their disdain for disabled people…

Mother with rare ALS touts ‘miracle drug’ that has stopped her disease

March 18, 2025 | Source: Fox News

Eight years after receiving a life-shattering diagnosis, a New Jersey mother credits an “amazing” new drug for stopping her disease in its tracks. Raziel Green, 52, an active runner and mother of two, was diagnosed with a rare form of ALS in 2017. The former retail manager first started experiencing symptoms more than 10 years ago, when her legs started to feel heavy during what would normally be an easy run, Green told Fox News Digital during an on-camera interview…

Alzheimer’s treatments more accessible under Murphy proposal

March 18, 2025 | Source: Illinois Senate Democratic

Treatments for Alzheimer’s disease may become more accessible thanks to a new proposal from State Senator Laura Murphy. “Early and consistent access to Alzheimer’s treatment can make a real difference for patients and their families,” said Murphy (D-Des Plaines). “No one should be denied care that could slow the disease’s progression.” The measure would require group or individual health insurance plans to cover all medically necessary FDA-approved treatments or medications to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease…

Complaint Filed Against Intuit and HireVue Over Biased AI Hiring Technology That Works Worse for Deaf and Non-White Applicants

March 19, 2025 | Source: ACLU and Complaint and LFLegal

The American Civil Liberties Union, Public Justice, Eisenberg and Baum, LLP, and ACLU of Colorado filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against financial software company Intuit, and HireVue, a vendor of human resources assessment software using artificial intelligence (AI), on behalf of D.K., an Indigenous and Deaf woman, who was denied a promotion on the basis of her disability and her race…

A conversation about wheelchair accessibility

March 19, 2025 | Source: Greater Greater Washington

The two of us met on Columbia Road, outside Yes! Organic Market. Pete was surveying passersby for a Greater Greater Washington post. I took his survey, then suggested a post about accessibility. This co-written piece is the result. I use a wheelchair. I grew up in both South-East and East Asia, where I encountered many steep steps, few ramps, and a general lack of awareness surrounding people with disabilities. That being said, navigating these inaccessible environments was made easier by the willingness of average people to lend a hand…

City of St. Peter renews loan program promoting ADA-accessibility

March 19, 2025 | Source: Southern Minn

An increasing number of wheelchair ramps, lifts and accessible entryways have emerged in St. Peter’s downtown district thanks to a five-year loan program helping businesses make their buildings more accessible. That initiative, the Accessibility Improvement Grant Program has awarded over $167,000 in interest free loans to 23 businesses and one apartment building over the past five years, enabling building owners to renovate their property to become more disability friendly…

New stickers and guide update to help people with disabilities navigate accessible areas in Marquette County

March 19, 2025 | Source: TV6

Marquette County is continuing to make its area more accessible for people with physical disabilities. A sticker will soon be visible in the windows of many places around Marquette County to help guide people with disabilities. The new stickers are part of an update to the county’s guide to access. “We have reviewed over 100 businesses and locations around Marquette County,” Superior Alliance for Independent Living accessibility advocate Jamie Glenn said…

Justice department removes disability guidelines for US businesses

March 19, 2025 | Source: The Guardian and Disability Scoop and USA TODAY and U.S. DOJ

The Department of Justice removed 11 guidelines for US businesses on compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including some that deal with Covid-19 and masking and accessibility. The ADA was signed into law in 1990 and is the key civil rights law that protects Americans with disabilities from discrimination. Updates have already been made to the ADA.gov website to reflect the removal of the guidances. Multiple pages were removed from the ADA’s archive website, including one page that explained how retail businesses are required to have accessible features…

Trump administration’s Social Security changes could limit access to benefits for millions

March 19, 2025 | Source: PBS News Hour

Cornell experts: SSA change will disproportionately impact disabled and rural individuals

March 19, 2025 | Source: Cornell Chronicle – Cornell University

This latest move by the Trump administration will require new and existing recipients to either verify themselves online or have their I.D.s verified in person, even while more than 40 field offices are slated to be shut down by the Department of Government Efficiency. The changes are aimed at addressing the potential for fraudulent claims and improper payments, which amounted to $72 billion between 2015 to 2022. That’s less than 1 percent of all the benefits disbursed during that time period…

Medicaid Cuts Could Upend Lives Of Children With Disabilities

March 19, 2025 | Source: Disability Scoop

Jessica Pequeño of Napa has been taking breaks from watching the news lately. But when she opens her social media feeds for the support groups she frequents for parents of children with disabilities, they’re full of panicked chatter about the news she’s been trying to avoid. Medicaid — the state and federally funded program that provides health coverage for almost 15 million Californians and about half of the state’s children — could face billions of dollars in federal cuts under a budget proposal from Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives…

Olympia uncovers 28,000 sidewalk barriers, works on accessibility improvements

March 20, 2025 | Source: The Jolt News

The City of Olympia has had identified 28,000 unique sidewalk issues across 226 linear miles of streets, revealing a need for accessibility improvements. According to Max DeJarnatt, senior planner with the Community Plan and Economic Development (CPED) and Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) staff liaison, the city contracted with a walk-based firm. He said the researchers walked every mile of the sidewalk, using field mapping technology to document infrastructure issues…

Jack Fact — The U.S. federal government is one of the biggest employers of disabled people in the country. About 9.4% of the federal workforce were disabled in 2022, up from 8.9% in 2014, per federal data.

Hit The Road Jack — Elements of Byron makes luxury inclusive with accessibility initiatives and Samara Beach Unveils Retractable Walkway for Inclusive Tourism and 4 GA destinations voted among best for senior travel

International News

UK faces hard choices over soaring disability costs

March 14, 2025 | Source: Reuters- UK

Does cutting benefits work?

March 18, 2025 | Source: BBC- UK and The Guardian and Sky News- UK

What are the Pip and universal credit changes and who is affected?

March 18, 2025 | Source: BBC- UK and Sky News

The Guardian view on Labour’s cruellest trick: selling welfare cuts as compassion

March 18, 2025 | Source: The Guardian

Britain’s government wants to tame its ballooning bill for supporting people with disabilities and long-term health conditions which, despite the cost, leaves many claimants distressed or struggling to find work. Annual spending on incapacity and disability benefits already exceeds the country’s defence budget and is set to top 100 billion pounds ($129 billion) by 2030 according to official forecasts, up from 65 billion pounds now. Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned this week that the welfare arrangements he inherited from the previous government were “indefensible economically and morally” and he wanted to see more people back in work…

Disability, gender equality advocates slam Carney’s elimination of cabinet positions

March 14, 2025 | Source: CTV News- Canada

Advocacy groups are panning Prime Minister Mark Carney for eliminating the cabinet positions dedicated to people with disabilities and women and gender equality issues. Carney was sworn in as prime minister Friday, along with a slimmed-down cabinet of 23 ministers, down from 36 under former prime minister Justin Trudeau. Kamal Khera, the former minister for diversity, inclusion and persons with disabilities, is now the minister of health — and her previous position was eliminated…

Calls to make Australian beaches more accessible

March 14, 2025 | Source: ABC News- Australia

Sophie Geeves says it is widely accepted that Sydney beaches are inaccessible to people like her. She loves going to the beach, but due to her cerebral palsy it is not a simple task. Ms Geeves uses a walking frame or powered wheelchair, both of which are difficult to manoeuvre on the sand. When she goes for a swim, she needs the assistance of at least two people and has to be carried to enter the water. Ms Geeves says accessibility to Sydney beaches is very limited and she finds current options, such as beach wheelchairs, difficult to use…

Council of the Blind liaises with city on accessibility

March 14, 2025 | Source: Alberni Valley News- Canada

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Canadian Council of the Blind and the Alberni Valley Chapter is engaged in the community as “the voice of the blind,” says Jenn Collette, chapter president. The CCB was founded in 1944 by war veterans and schools of the blind. Its 65 chapters across the country provide local support and services to the low vision and blind community. In Port Alberni, the CCB meets on the first Wednesday of each month…

Disability racers on ‘thrill’ of Britcar Endurance Championship

March 15, 2025 | Source: BBC- UK

“Once I put the helmet on, my disability – my autism – almost faded away.” Bobby Trundley will be driving for the UK’s only all-disabled competitive racing team at this year’s Britcar Endurance Championship. Team BRIT confirmed its line-up last month ahead of the competition, which starts on 5 April at Silverstone. The 25-year-old from Wokingham, Berkshire, will be racing the team’s BMW M240i, which has a top speed of 180mph. The drivers’ cars are fitted with world-leading hand control technology…

Plan to freeze key disability benefit may be dropped

March 15, 2024 | Source: BBC- UK

Ministers are considering abandoning plans to freeze some disability benefits, the BBC understands. Initial reports had suggested Personal Independence Payments (PIP) would not rise in line with inflation for a year, but many usually loyal Labour MPs have voiced strong opposition in meetings in No10, as well as to party whips and ministers. The eligibility criteria for PIP will be tightened with the government expected to cut billions of pounds from the welfare budget, but dropping the freeze could avoid a potentially damaging vote in the Commons…

Enhance public transport safety and accessibility for people with disabilities

March 16, 2025 | Source: Aliran- Malaysia

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) expresses its regret over the tragic incident involving a blind man who was killed by a moving train after falling onto the tracks at the Titiwangsa Light Rail Transit station. As a state party to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) since 2010, Malaysia has an obligation to ensure that public transport is both accessible and safe for people with disabilities. While Prasarana has made commendable efforts in improving accessibility, equal emphasis on safety measures is crucial for protecting commuters with disabilities…

CIP calls for enforcing accessibility standards for persons with disabilities

March 16, 2025 | Source: Associated Press of Pakistan

The Coalition for Inclusive Pakistan (CIP) has urged federal and provincial governments to uphold their legal commitments and ensure accessible public infrastructure for persons with disabilities. Established in 2017 with support from the Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability-Free and Fair Election Network (TDEA-FAFEN), CIP advocates for the political, social, and economic inclusion of marginalized communities, including persons with disabilities, women, and transgender individuals…

Scottish comedian calls for increased disabled accessibility in Glasgow venues

March 16, 2025 | Source: Largs and Millport Weekly News- Scotland

A Scottish comedian has called on Glasgow venues to “engage directly with disabled people” and improve accessibility as part of a comedy festival. James Gardner says able-bodied comedians, audience members and venues should do more to support disabled artists and attendees as the city prepares for the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, which began on March 12 and runs until March 30. Mr Gardner, of Glasgow, is known for his comedy skits on TikTok, having amassed more than 30 million views online…

Changes could mean more Canadians with disability on the job

March 16, 2025 | Source: Edmonton Sun- Canada

As Mark Carney was sworn in a prime minister Friday, I chose to embrace the potential — key word: potential — of what Canada can become. New beginnings, with new leaders, mean things will change. Good or bad, changes are upon the horizon. People and organizations of people with disability have already thrown Carney under the bus, while his motorcade was still in rolling out of the parking lot. I don’t subscribe to their thinking. The fly in the ointment, so say the pundits, is that, in Carney’s cabinet, the cabinet portfolio on disabilities has been scrapped…

How accessible is London Book Fair?

March 17, 2025 | Source: The Bookseller- UK

If there was a London Book Fair bingo card, it might include: eating lunch while sitting on the floor; waiting in a long cloakroom queue; having to stand during a talk; trying to have a conversation with an old acquaintance above the noise of a thousand publishing professionals jostling past and only catching every other word. These are perhaps the inevitable side effects of an industry event that attracts around 30,000 visitors over its three days, exacerbated by Olympia’s ongoing renovations…

‘We’re nowhere near that’: Ontario falling short of meeting 2025 accessibility targets

March 17, 2025 | Source: CTV News- Canada

Danny Steeves said Ontario has fallen well short of making the province’s buildings and businesses accessible by the first of this year. “It is frustrating because we are supposed to be living in a barrier-free society and in many ways, people think we are – but we are not,” said the midwestern Ontario accessibility advocate. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act, signed in 2005, was supposed to ensure every Ontario building, business, goods and service was accessible to all Ontarians regardless of their ability…

Two Sault businesses gained federal funding to enhance accessibility

March 17, 2025 | Source: Sault Star- Canada

Local organizations in Sault Ste. Marie are set to benefit from federal funding aimed at improving accessibility for persons with disabilities. Terry Sheehan, Sault MP, announced that Glibota Dentistry and Therapeutic Ride Algoma have received funding through the Government of Canada’s Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF), says a release on Monday. The 2022 Canada Survey on Disability gathered that 27 per cent of Canadians aged 15 and over — approximately eight million people — report having at least one disability, with the national disability rate having increased by five per cent since 2017…

Ombudsman criticises Ealing Council over way it treated disabled resident

March 17, 2025 | Source: Ealing News- UK

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has strongly criticised Labour-run Ealing Council for its handling of a disabled woman’s request for a level-access shower to be installed in her home, highlighting repeated delays and poor communication. In a damning report, the watchdog found that the woman endured a constant battle for essential adaptations to her home, leaving her struggling without proper facilities. Opposition party Liberal Democrats said “it’s totally unacceptable about the number of vulnerable people who are treated so badly by Ealing Council”….

Smart homes a boon for accessibility, but come with a technology warning

March 18, 2025 | Source: RNZ- New Zealand

Imagine this, you come home from work and when you walk in the door the lights are already on and the blinds have closed automatically. Your dishwasher pings your phone to let you know the cleaning cycle has finished and a camera in the fridge has told you you’re low on milk before you left the office, so it’s already on the shopping list. The internet of things, a term given to devices that connect to the internet, is even able to tell you your cat is safely at home and has just used the litter box…

75% of businesses unprepared for European Accessibility Act

March 18, 2025 | Source: DIGIT- Europe and Martech News

As the June 2025 deadline looms for the European Accessibility act, many risk non-compliance, legal repercussions, and missed business opportunities. With just over three months until the EU’s European Accessibility Act’s highly anticipated implementation date, new research by Storyblok reveals that only 25% of European businesses say they are fully prepared to comply with the Act’s provisions. According to an analysis of 200 European senior professionals involved in digital accessibility, only 47.5% of companies are fully aware of the regulations and have a solid understanding of the Act…

MPs call for urgent action on transport discrimination, and tell industry: ‘Accessibility is a human rights issue’

March 20, 2025 | Source: DNS- UK and UK Parliament and CiTTi Magazine

Disabled campaigners have welcomed a “fabulous” and “validating” report by MPs that calls on the government and industry to “urgently” recognise that the “regularity and severity” of public transport access failures is a human rights issue. The long-awaited report by the Commons transport committee says that access failures are “commonplace” when they should be “vanishingly rare”. The committee says there is a “very substantial gap” between the “rights and obligations that exist in theory”, and the daily experiences of disabled people who rely on pavements, buses, taxis, trains and planes…

Met Office employee becomes world’s first digital accessibility apprenticeship graduate

March 21, 2025 | Source: Met Office- UK

Adam Keane has made history as the first person to complete an apprenticeship in Digital Accessibility in the world, marking a pioneering achievement for the Met Office, the Civil Service, and global accessibility standards. Adam who joined the Met Office in September 2022 as a Specialist Apprentice in Digital Accessibility, officially completed the apprenticeship programme this month, achieving a Distinction. He now continues his career at the Met Office, applying his specialist skills to ensure digital services are accessible to all…

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