Overview
Since 1950, The Arc has played a key role in establishing federal disability rights laws, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Arc has also, throughout its history, fought tooth and nail to establish, expand, and maintain critical federal programs such as Medicaid, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, and the Affordable Care Act. These laws and programs make community living possible for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), and litigation is a vital tool to ensure their promise is fully realized. Through its Legal Advocacy Fund, The Arc participates in individual and systemic litigation and amicus (friend of the court) briefs in jurisdictions around the country to advance the rights of our constituents in all aspects of life, including community integration, fair housing, employment, education, criminal justice, parenting, self-determination, and more.
Why It Matters
Through litigation, The Arc seeks to ensure that there is robust enforcement of disability and civil rights laws at all levels of state and federal courts, so that people with disabilities can live, work, and learn in the communities of their choice — free from discrimination. Individual lawsuits, system-change litigation, and amicus briefs provide opportunities to advance the rights of people with I/DD nationwide in all aspects of life. Throughout its history, The Arc has been involved in seminal disability rights lawsuits leading to the enactment of the IDEA and paving the way for the deinstitutionalization movement. By working to enforce disability and civil rights laws, The Arc empowers the members of our community to not only fight against injustice, but to choose the lives they want and to live in a world that protects their civil rights and human dignity.
What The Arc Is Doing
The Arc participates in litigation in jurisdictions throughout the country in multiple ways, including as counsel, as a party, and as amicus. The Arc’s litigation work covers a wide range of issues pertaining to the rights of people with I/DD in all aspects of life for the purpose of advancing the principles embodied in our organizational mission and position statements to promote and protect the civil and human rights of people with I/DD and actively support their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.
Cases
Learn more about current and past cases The Arc is and has been involved in.
Amicus Briefs
Learn more about The Arc’s amicus work. Amicus briefs are submitted to the court by people and organizations who are not parties to the case itself, but who want to offer their expertise on the matters involved to assist the court in making a decision.
The American Constitution Society Recognizes The Arc’s Shira Wakschlag
The Arc’s Senior Director of Legal Advocacy and General Counsel, Shira Wakschlag, is the recipient of the 2022 David Carliner Public Interest Award. This prestigious award honors a mid-career public interest attorney whose work best exemplifies David Carliner’s legacy of fearless, uncompromising, and creative advocacy on behalf of marginalized people.
How You Can Help
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VIEW OUR PUBLICATIONS
The Arc has contributed to several pieces related to disability legal advocacy.
Legal Advocacy Committee
The Arc’s Legal Advocacy Committee is appointed by the President of our Board of Directors and serves as an advisory council to inform The Arc’s expertise and help The Arc make decisions about litigation it participates in. Learn more about our current Committee members below.
- Jasmine Harris (Committee Chair) | Professor of Law | The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School | Philadelphia, PA
- Michael Breeskin | Counsel, AdvocacyDenver Center for Special Education Law | Denver, CO
- Natalie Chin | Associate Professor of Clinical Law & Co-Director, Disability and Aging Justice Clinic | City University of New York School of Law | Long Island City, NY
- Ernest Galvan | Partner, Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP | San Francisco, CA
- Lisa Greenman | Attorney, Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel | Washington, DC
- Thomas Judd | Attorney, Morrison Sund PLLC | Minneapolis, MN
- Stacy Kray | Partner | Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP | San Francisco, CA
- Ruth Luckasson | Chair, Department of Special Education, University of New Mexico College of Education | Albuquerque, NM
- Jamelia Morgan | Professor of Law | Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law | Chicago, IL
- Katherine Perez | Visiting Professor of Law & Director, Loyola Law School Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, & Innovation | Los Angeles, CA
- Torin Togut | Attorney, Law Office of Torin D. Togut | Lawrenceville, GA
The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.
