Legislatures consider bills on changing tables, Disability Rights transparency, disability history in schools
If passed, the Alabama, Arkansas and Florida legislation could expand access and transparency
Medical Motherhood’s news round up
Snippets of news and opinion from outlets around the world. Click the links for the full story.
• From The Alabama Reflector: “Alabama Senate bill would require adult-size changing tables in some new buildings”
June Wilson approached Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, with an issue that parents of children with disabilities face: She had nowhere to change her 4-year-old son’s diaper.
That led to SB 83, a bill that passed the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee on Wednesday that would require powered, height-adjustable, adult-size changing tables to be installed in newly constructed or renovated public buildings starting in 2028.
“The bill is about dignity, accessibility and inclusion,” Wilson said to the committee Wednesday. “Right now, thousands of Alabamians, children and adults with disabilities, those with medical conditions and their caregivers face an impossible challenge. Many public spaces lack proper facilities to accommodate individuals who cannot safely or comfortably use a standard restroom. As a result, caregivers are often forced to change loved ones on bathroom floors and unsafe conditions or leave events early because there’s simply nowhere to go.”
[…]The requirement would be limited to new buildings and complete renovations of existing structures costing $500,000 or more.
According to a fiscal note with the bill, the changing tables would cost $15,000 each, and the responsibility to pay would fall on the state and local entities installing the tables. The legislation authorizes grants for installation to public entities that meet high traffic demands, should the Legislature appropriate money to do so. […]
• From the Arkansas Times: “Bill targeting disability rights nonprofit narrowly passes House”
The state House on Thursday narrowly passed a bill that would impose legislative reporting requirements on the nonprofit organization that serves as Arkansas’s federally mandated “protection and advocacy” agency for disabled children and adults, Disability Rights Arkansas.
If House Bill 1382 becomes law, the group’s internal documents would also be open to public scrutiny under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, which generally applies only to state and local government offices, agencies, employees and elected officials.
[…]Subjecting a specific private nonprofit to legislative oversight and public records law is highly unusual, if not unprecedented. HB1382, sponsored by Rep. Jack Ladyman (R-Jonesboro) only targets Disability Rights Arkansas, or DRA, one of 57 protection and advocacy agencies in the United States and its territories. Congress created the protection and advocacy system in 1975 afterGeraldo Rivera exposed horrific conditions for disabled children at Willowbrook State School on Staten Island, New York.
[…]Arkansas’s FOIA would also apply to DRA, a requirement that is legally dubious. It is unclear whether DRA would face consequences should it not comply with a records request. However, the governor does have the authority to transfer the P&A designation to another organization.
Similar legislation has passed in Ohio and North Carolina.[…]
• From Florida Politics: “Disability awareness could become part of Florida’s school curriculum”
Florida school students could be given instruction on disabilities as part of their curriculum if a new bill intended to raise awareness is passed in the upcoming Legislative Session.
The bill (SB 540) was filed by Tampa Republican Sen. Jay Collins and is titled the “Evin B. Hartsell Act.” The bill aims to amend current legislation to require, rather than authorize, disability history and awareness instruction to students in public K-12 schools.
If passed, the bill would mandate a specific two-week period each year during which students would receive intensive instruction to expand their knowledge, understanding, and awareness of individuals with disabilities, the history of disability, and the disability rights movement.
[…]Instruction for grades K-3 would include conversations around bullying — including what a student should do if they are being bullied, what they should do if they witness someone else being bullied, and what bullying looks like and its different types. Instruction could also incorporate the school’s own anti-bullying policy.
Activities teaching about physical disabilities would also be in the instruction for K-3, including having students try to complete tasks using only one hand, taking turns using a wheelchair, or having students’ complete tasks while blindfolded with other students acting as their guides.[…]
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