As a 4th Special Session is underway with the goal of creating a school voucher program, also known as an Education Savings Account, a diverse coalition of disability rights advocates, organizations and individuals committed to advancing the rights and well-being of...

Senators Wyden (D-OR), Brown (D-OH), and Cassidy (R-LA) reintroduced the bipartisan SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act. In the House, Representatives Higgens (D-NY) and Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced a companion bill (S. 2767/ H.R. 5408). This bill would update SSI asset...

The Coalition for Autism Research and Education (“CARE” or “Autism Caucus”), the first-ever Congressional Membership Organization dedicated to autism advocacy on Capitol Hill, was founded in 2006 and is co-chaired by Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX)  and...

Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Ann Kuster (D-NH) introduced the bipartisan Preparing and Retaining All (PARA) Educators Act. This legislation authorizes grants to states to support the recruitment and retention of paraprofessionals. Paraeducators include...

Senator Casey (D-PA) is planning to reintroduce the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Centers to Establish National Training (AACCENT) Act soon; however, he is first seeking additional co-sponsors. This bill would establish three national resource centers...

On February 27, 2023, the bipartisan Transformation to Competitive Employment Act was reintroduced in the Senate by Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Senator Steve Daines (R-MT). The house also introduced the bill with the sponsors being Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Cathy...

On Wednesday, April 26th, Senator Kaine reintroduced the Supporting Our Direct Care Workforce and Family Caregivers Act (S. 1298), a bill that would authorize grant funds through the Administration on Community Living to support the recruitment, training, and retention of...

Many college students with disabilities are denied the support they need because their IEPs or 504 Plans are not accepted as proof of their disability. The Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower (RISE) Act addresses this problem by amending the Higher Education Opportunity...

On January 26, Senator Casey (D-PA) re-introduced the Better Care Better Jobs Act (S. 100) in the new Congress. The bill, strongly supported by the Autism Society, is cosponsored by Senators Wyden (D-OR), Duckworth (D-IL), Hassan (D-NH), and Brown (D-OH). The bill...

People with Autism leverage the services of direct support professionals (DSPs) in order to live and work in their homes and communities. However, low wages due to stagnant reimbursement rates have led to high turnover and vacancy rates in the DSP workforce. The loss of...

On April 27th, on World Autism Day, Representatives Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), and Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) reintroduced the bipartisan Autism Family Caregivers Act. An identical bill was introduced in the Senate by Senators Bob...

The Keeping All Students Safe Act (KASSA) has been introduced in both the House and Senate by Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA), Don Beyer (D-VA), Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT). This bill would make it illegal for any school that receives...