The Issue

I am a single father raising two children, one of whom is autistic. Over the years, I have watched families face discrimination and retaliation for advocating for basic, legally protected supports. Disability civil rights exist on paper, but they are meaningless when enforcement is slow, inconsistent, or effectively optional.

Children with disabilities are among the most vulnerable students in our schools. Many cannot reliably self-advocate in real time, cannot clearly report what happened afterward, and depend entirely on adults and institutions to follow the law. When systems fail—or when families are punished for speaking up—disabled children are the ones who pay the price.

This petition is narrowly focused on disability protections as defined under federal disability law—IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. These laws address functional impairments and equal access to education through accommodations, related services, and specialized instruction. This is not a political identity debate. It is a compliance and enforcement problem with real-world consequences for children.

A child’s rights should not depend on their ZIP code, their parent’s income, or whether a family can afford legal representation. When states fail to provide meaningful oversight, the federal government must be the backstop.

We call on the federal government to strengthen disability civil-rights enforcement by:

1. Prioritizing disability discrimination and retaliation cases involving children in K–12 schools and publicly funded programs.
2. Establishing clear national standards and firm timelines for investigations, findings, and corrective action.
3. Requiring meaningful corrective action when violations occur—so problems are fixed, not repeated.
4. Increasing transparency and accountability by publicly reporting enforcement metrics (complaints received, time to resolution, findings, and corrective actions—without identifying students).
5. Creating a bipartisan, parent-inclusive advisory body so families have a safe, direct way to report systemic problems and propose solutions without fear of retaliation.
6. Parents should not have to risk retaliation, lose years of their lives, or spend thousands of dollars to obtain protections that already exist under federal law. Federal enforcement must be consistent and strong enough to change behavior.

By signing and sharing this petition, you are supporting a simple principle: disability rights are human rights—and they must be enforced through clear standards, timely action, and public accountability.

Please sign and share.