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
March 1, 2021—Berkeley, CA—Kathy Martinez, internationally recognized disability rights leader, joins Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) today as the nonprofit legal center’s new President and CEO. “For the last three decades my focus has been to improve social and economic justice for people with disabilities, especially concerning women and people of color. We believe this will […]
February 23, 2021—New York, NY—Yesterday the New York Supreme Court certified a class of all people with disabilities for whom the use of stairs is difficult or impossible and who are therefore unable to access over 75% of the New York City subway. Fewer than 25% of the New York City subway’s 472 stations […]
January 26, 2021 – Staten Island, NY – Today attorneys filed a major class action lawsuit challenging New York City’s segregated school system for students with disabilities on Staten Island. The lawsuit alleges that New York City’s separate school district for children with disabilities, known as District 75, denies these students an equal […]
December 3, 2020 – Indianapolis, IN – The ability to vote privately and independently is a fundamental right and an essential component of democracy in the United States. However, in Indiana, these rights are not guaranteed to all voters. In fact, Indiana has one of the most restrictive absentee voting systems in the country […]
Click here to view press release in ASL San Francisco, CA – A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit challenging discrimination against deaf Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities (“I/DD”) can go forward. The California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) had asked the court to dismiss the case. Click here to read the court’s […]
Court Decision will Dramatically Remake NYC’s Streetscape by Making Pedestrian Safety Accessible to People with Disabilities Read the decision here New York, NY – In a decision that will remake the streetscape of New York City and improve safety and accessibility for all New Yorkers, a federal court ruled today that New York City’s failure […]
In a landmark agreement, advocates for people who are blind have obtained WarnerMedia’s pledge to increase the accessibility of HBO Max—the much-anticipated online streaming platform that was launched earlier this year. Among other commitments, the agreement provides that WarnerMedia will provide audio description on at least 1,500 hours of new and existing programming on […]
October 15, 2020 – Westchester County, NY – Westchester Disabled on the Move, Inc., Disability Rights Advocates, and Westchester County have reached a settlement agreement that will result in significant improvements to the County’s emergency preparedness and response programs for people with disabilities who live in, work in, or travel to the County. The agreement was […]
October 14, 2020 – White Plains, NY – Today, Disability Rights Advocates filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of blind New Yorkers and the American Council of the Blind of New York, Inc. against New York state entities, challenging the inaccessibility of “NY-Alert,” a Mass Notification System intended to warn New Yorkers and […]
October 9, 2020 – Raleigh, NC – Last month, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina granted a motion for preliminary injunction against the North Carolina State Board of Elections (“NCSBOE”), ordering them to make their Absentee Voting Program accessible to voters with disabilities by the November election. The accessible […]