When Secretary of Education Linda McMahon fumbled with what IDEA stands for, even as she defended the layoffs of more than 1,300 Department of Education employees, it spoke to how little thought is given to educating people living with disabilities.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures that children with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education. The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) argues that cutting funding and staff will not only harm millions of students, but also harm students with disabilities.
This is just the latest in a series of recent federal actions that threatens people with disabilities. For example, conversations around eliminating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI)initiatives in the United States impacts services, jobs, education, funding, and access to essential resources for people with disabilities.
Accessibility and support for people with disabilities are often included within DEI initiatives or explicitly referenced under Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA).
While accessibility advocates and researchers have called for the inclusion of accessibility within DEI policies and initiatives, accessibility is now targeted alongside DEI, with fears regarding the future of funding for people with disabilities.
As a university professor researching the design of computer and mobile-based applications for and with people with disabilities, I am immersed in this work daily. In recent weeks, many friends and colleagues I have spoken to have lost, or are at risk of losing, funding for initiatives supporting individuals with disabilities or neurodiverse individuals—many of them children.
As the term “accessibility” is thrown around and “disabilities” and “disability” appear on a list of forbidden National Science Foundation words, it’s important to reflect on what accessibility truly means and why it matters.
Accessibility removes barriers by adapting environments, products and technologies to ensure they can be used by everyone, including people with disabilities.
“Many individuals have reported the termination of their accessibility services, specifically interpreters,” Bobbie Beth Scoggins, CEO of the National Association of the Deaf, reported recently, “which seems to stem from the misconception that these services are merely DEIA activities, rather than essential legal accommodations.”
Accessibility benefits everyone, not just individuals with disabilities. For example, video captions support people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but they also assist anyone watching in a different language or in a noisy environment. Further, ensuring accessibility is an ethical responsibility that promotes equal opportunities, a legal requirement, under laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and a societal necessity that fosters innovation, usability and inclusivity for all.
To be sure, there are threats to whether these legal requirements will hold, with laws protecting people with disabilities at risk. For example, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which protects people with disabilities from discrimination in health care and other services, is facing challenges. This is seen in Texas v. Becerra, a lawsuit from 17 states pushing back against federal enforcement of updated anti-discrimination rules in healthcare. While the lawsuit initially focuses on arguments against gender dysphoria being considered a disability, it later argues that Section 504 is coercive and unconstitutional.
With accessibility initiatives facing opposition, colleagues and students have approached me with concerns about the future of accessibility research and whether we should move forward. What once felt like a promising field with steady progress now seems at risk of moving backward. Despite these challenges, we must keep moving forward, stay committed to what we are passionate about, and make the world a little better.
I have heard colleagues and advocates brainstorm potential solutions to secure new funding, such as exploring non-federal sources or reframing our work under new terminology. While these ideas may offer a little relief, the reality is that without adequate resources and support, individuals with disabilities, the very people these efforts are meant to support, are the ones who suffer the most. They are losing access to essential accessible services, resources, and opportunities in daily life, education, and the workplace.
Researchers are growing increasingly frustrated and discouraged, fearing not only for their jobs, but also for the future of their work and, most importantly, the people who rely on it.
It is now more essential than ever to keep accessibility at the forefront of both our dialogue and our priorities. We must advocate for accessibility policies, integrate accessible practices in classrooms and research, and ensure equitable opportunities for all.