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)
March 25, 2020 — RIVERSIDE, Calif. –– Early this morning, a group of civil rights legal organizations and their pro bono law firm partners filed an emergency application for a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California seeking a court order requiring that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) … Continue reading “Civil Rights Organizations Seek Emergency Court Ruling for Immediate COVID-19 Protections for People in Immigration Detention Centers”
On March 6, 2020, Judge Jeffrey White of the Northern District of California preliminarily approved a class action settlement with Mobility Works, one of the country’s largest providers of wheelchair accessible vans for sale or rent, and a major installer of adaptive devices for drivers with disabilities. If you are a driver with a disability … Continue reading “Court Preliminarily Approves Nationwide Settlement With Mobility Works, One Of Country’s Largest Providers of Wheelchair Accessible Vans”
In early 2018, the MTA and then-New York City Transit President Andy Byford announced a plan to study the feasibility of making every New York City subway station ADA accessible. The study was announced as a major component of the MTA’s accessibility efforts and eventually cost the MTA nearly $18 million. In October 2018, DRA … Continue reading “DRA victory for transparency, MTA surveys reveal nearly every subway station could be accessible to all”
Ruling affirms and holds NYPD accountable for broad inaccessibility of police precinct stations Police department must include disability community as it works to eliminate barriers NEW YORK – A federal judge has issued a major ruling holding the New York City Police Department (NYPD) liable for discrimination against people with disabilities by shutting them out of police … Continue reading “Judge Finds NYPD Liable, Must Provide People with Disabilities Access to Police Stations”
Disability Rights Advocates calls out shocking disregard for community, seeks to force library to fix this unjust and discriminatory situation NEW YORK (November 26, 2019) – Today, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) filed a class action lawsuit against Queens Borough Public Library, The Board of Trustees of the Queens Borough Public Library, and the City … Continue reading “Queens Borough Public Library Sued for Excluding Persons with Disabilities from Full and Equal Access to Hunters Point Library”
Ruling comes after Uber tried to avoid its legal responsibility to provide transportation accessible for all PITTSBURGH, PA (November 13, 2019) – Yesterday, a federal court in Pittsburgh ruled that plaintiffs suing Uber for failing to provide transportation accessible to people with disabilities cannot be forced into arbitration and must have their claims heard openly … Continue reading “Federal Court Rules That Civil Rights Claims Against Uber Must Be Heard in Court”
October 21, 2019 – New York, NY – Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), the leading national nonprofit disability rights legal center, honors three outstanding advocates for the disability community in 2019. Loreen Arbus, Bank of America, and Jill Houghton + Disability:IN will each be presented with Eagle Awards at DRA’s New York Gala on October 21, 2019. Additional … Continue reading “Disability Rights Advocates Presents Eagle Awards to Loreen Arbus, Bank of America, and Jill Houghton + Disability:IN”
Settlement is most comprehensive ever to protect college students with mental health disabilities from unnecessary exclusion Palo Alto, CA—October 7, 2019—A coalition of Stanford students and Stanford University have reached a groundbreaking settlement agreement that will result in significant changes to Stanford’s leave of absence policies and practices, all of which will help ensure … Continue reading “Stanford and Students with Mental Health Disabilities Reach Landmark Settlement”
Chicago, IL—September 23, 2019—Today, Disability Rights Advocates (“DRA”) and the Proskauer law firm (“Proskauer”) filed a class action lawsuit against the City of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Transportation (“CDOT”) in order to challenge the systemic lack of accessible pedestrian signals at intersections all over the city. The lawsuit, which has been filed … Continue reading “Blind Pedestrians Sue About Exclusion from Chicago’s Pedestrian Safety Program”
August 29, 2019 – Chicago, IL – Today, Legal Council for Health Justice (“Legal Council”) and Disability Rights Advocates (“DRA”) filed a class action lawsuit against Chicago Public Schools (“CPS”) challenging CPS’s policy of denying free nutrition programs to students whose disabilities require them to attend non-public schools. The named plaintiff – the guardian … Continue reading “Chicago Public Schools Sued for Excluding Students with Disabilities from Their Free Breakfast and Lunch Programs”