Our Mission
With offices in California and New York, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) is one of the leading nonprofit disability rights legal centers in the nation. Its mission is to advance equal rights and opportunity for people with all types of disabilities nationwide.
Contact for Press Inquiries
Email: communications@dralegal.org
Phone: (510) 665-8644
Links
DRA General Information Brochure (PDF)
June 16, 2025 – New York, NY – The Legal Aid Society, Disability Rights Advocates, and Winston & Strawn LLP secured a court ruling granting class certification and denying the State’s motion to change venue in a landmark lawsuit challenging the unlawful use of solitary confinement on incarcerated New Yorkers with disabilities in state prisons. … Continue reading “Court Rules that Lawsuit Challenging Solitary Confinement of Incarcerated New Yorkers with Disabilities Can Proceed in Brooklyn as a Class Action”
Following Years of Litigation, Chicago’s Streets will be Safer for Blind Pedestrians June 2, 2025—Chicago, IL—A federal court ordered Chicago to install thousands of accessible pedestrian signals (APS) over the next 10 years, a historic win in the years-long legal battle by blind and low vision pedestrians for safe and equitable streets. APS are devices … Continue reading “Court Orders Chicago to Install Thousands of Accessible Pedestrian Signals”
May 29, 2025—Washington, D.C.—Today, three leading legal civil rights defenders, Disability Rights Advocates, Relman Colfax PLLC, and The Washington Lawyers’ Committee, have joined forces to file a critical public safety class action lawsuit against the District of Columbia on behalf of the DC Council of the Blind (DCCB) and five named plaintiffs. The complaint highlights … Continue reading “Class Action Lawsuit Filed in D.C. to Ensure Equity and Safety for Blind Pedestrians”
May 22, 2025—Boston, Massachusetts—Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) and Nichols Kaster, PLLP (NK), filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Harvard University for its systematic discrimination against students with mental health disabilities. DRA and NK bring this suit on behalf of Students 4 Mental Health Justice (S4MHJ), a … Continue reading “Harvard University Systematically Violates the Rights of Students with Mental Health Disabilities”
May 5, 2025—Oakland, CA—A group of wheelchair users represented by nonprofit law firm Disability Rights Advocates has filed a class action lawsuit against nationwide airport transportation provider SuperShuttle Express for failing to provide services to wheelchair users. Read the complaint. SuperShuttle advertises itself as “the leader in airport transportation serving over 70 airport locations worldwide.” … Continue reading “Leading Airport Transportation Shuttle Provider Sued for Excluding Wheelchair Users”
April 10, 2025 – Chicago, IL – Patients with mobility disabilities will soon have improved access to MRI services, as a result of a settlement agreement reached this week between Chicago resident Ramon Canellada and Preferred Open MRI, Ltd., d/b/a Preferred Imaging Centers, a provider of MRI services with seven locations throughout Chicagoland. This settlement agreement resolves a … Continue reading “Settlement Agreement with Local MRI Provider Improves Access to Healthcare Services for Chicago Residents with Disabilities”
April 3, 2025—Baltimore, MD—The City of Baltimore and a class of pedestrians with mobility disabilities have reached a milestone settlement to increase access to the City’s curb ramps and sidewalks. The settlement, in the form of a partial consent decree, is the first big step in resolving claims brought on behalf of a class of … Continue reading “Accessibility Improvements for Pedestrians with Mobility Disabilities Result from Partial Consent Decree with City of Baltimore”
Brooklyn Resident Sues for Illegal Exclusion From Grand Jury Participation Due to Blindness March 25, 2025 – Brooklyn, New York – Today, Brooklyn resident Albert Elia and the National Federation of the Blind – New York filed a federal lawsuit against the New York State Unified Court System and the Kings County Commissioner of Jurors … Continue reading “Lawsuit Alleges That New York Courts Systemically Discriminate Against Blind Jurors in Grand Jury System”
March 18, 2025—Chicago, IL—Blind and low vision pedestrians in Chicago are one step closer to being able to navigate the City’s streets safely and independently, as a federal court has issued a proposed remedial plan order in the years-long litigation to make Chicago’s signalized intersections accessible. Highlights of the Court’s Proposed Remedial Plan Order Under … Continue reading “Court Proposes Plan for Chicago to Install 1,700+ Accessible Pedestrian Signals Over the Next 10 Years”
March 13, 2025 – New York, NY – The Legal Aid Society, Disability Rights Advocates and Winston & Strawn LLP today secured a court order to compel the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) to make transparent which provisions of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act (HALT) they have … Continue reading “Legal Aid, Disability Rights Advocates, and Winston & Strawn LLP Secure Court Order to Compel DOCCS to Account for Suspension of HALT Solitary Law in NY State Prisons”