Why It Matters
This lawsuit is part of a broader effort to weaken disability rights in Texas and across the nation. Disability rights advocates, including The Arc of Texas, warn that if this case succeeds, it
will make it harder for people with disabilities to exercise their right to live in the most integrated setting and access already limited home and community-based services. The likely result would be increased, unnecessary institutionalization for people with disabilities and fewer opportunities to live independently and fully integrated into their communities.
Decades of advocacy have strengthened civil rights protections that support independence, community living, and self-determination for people with disabilities, and those hard-won gains must not be rolled back.
Protecting the right of people
with disabilities to live and thrive in their communities relies on strong, enforceable federal civil rights protections. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is abandoning our state’s values of independence, self-determination, family and community, and eroding civil rights core to what it means to be Texan.
Three Ways You Can Help Today
The Arc of Texas encourages all Texans to contact Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately to demand the state’s withdrawal from the Texas v. Kennedy lawsuit and to stop the attacks on Section 504. People with disabilities are
in every community, every family, and every political party — so this impacts all of us. Take the actions below:
Sample Language
“My name is [NAME] and I live in [CITY, Texas]. I am [WRITING/CALLING] to ask Attorney General Ken Paxton to withdraw Texas from the Texas v. Kennedy lawsuit. People with disabilities
should be able to live in the community with needed supports and services, and Texas should not be part of a lawsuit that puts that at risk. Our state should keep people with disabilities connected to their communities and families, rather than force them into the isolation of institutions. Thank you.”
