ANCOR Condemns Administration for Efforts to Erode Community Inclusion Following Final Order in Texas v. Kennedy

In June, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memo wrongly asserting—despite more than 25 years of legal precedent established in the Supreme Court’s 1999 decision in Olmstead v. Lois Curtis—that people with disabilities do not have the right to live in the most integrated setting possible.

This erroneous claim became the basis of the Trump administration’s recent proposed resolution of Texas v. Kennedy, which concluded yesterday with a final order vacating references to community integration throughout the 2024 regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

To be clear, the ruling in Texas v. Kennedy does not take away any of the legal rights of people with disabilities to access support in their homes and communities, nor does it undermine legal protections against forced institutionalization. Nevertheless, ANCOR strongly opposes the decision and condemns the Trump administration’s continued effort to deny the rights of people with disabilities affirmed in Olmstead.

“The fundamental problem here runs far deeper than Texas v. Kennedy.” said Barbara Merrill, ANCOR’s chief executive officer. “The administration’s continued reliance on its wholly unfounded interpretation of federal law is a dereliction of its duty to uphold the rights of all Americans. This is particularly dangerous at a time when states may look to home- and community-based services to find the cost savings needed to overcome budgetary shortfalls triggered by $1 trillion in cuts to federal Medicaid spending included in last year’s budget reconciliation law.”

ANCOR continues to call upon the administration to abandon its harmful and erroneous interpretation of the integration mandate. We also reaffirm our dedication to locking arms with community providers across the country to honor our nation’s commitment to the civil rights of people with disabilities.

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