Washington, D.C., March 18 – This past week, reports confirmed that the Department of Education has implemented massive layoffs, cutting nearly 50% of its workforce. These cuts directly impact the Office for Civil Rights, along with the Office of Special Education. Disability Belongs™ expresses deep concern over this unprecedented move, fearing that it signals a disturbing trend aimed at dismantling an essential institution that supports American families and students, especially those with disabilities.

Disability Belongs™ recognizes these layoffs as part of a larger strategy that threatens the educational landscape for countless students. The ramifications of such drastic workforce reductions are far-reaching, directly impacting the protections afforded to public school students, particularly those facing discrimination and inequitable educational experiences. The current environment raises serious concerns about the ability of students to raise complaints and receive the necessary support to ensure their rights are upheld.  [continue reading…]

Accessibility is not just a checklist to tick off; it is an ongoing commitment to ensuring that all members, from every background and belief, feel truly valued and embraced. Every individual, regardless of ability, should have the opportunity to fully engage in worship, rituals, traditions, and community life. Creating and nurturing an accessible faith community is a profound testament to the power of inclusion, the depth of belonging, and the strength of our shared humanity.

While some may assume accessibility improvements are costly or complex, many meaningful steps can be taken with little to no financial investment. A mindset of inclusion, intentional planning, and proactive communication can transform any faith community into a place where everyone is welcome and supported. [continue reading…]

Under current law, more than one million Americans with lifelong disabilities who receive benefits as ‘Disabled Adult Children’ (DACs) lose their Social Security and Medicare benefits if they marry a non-disabled person. This can severely limit disabled individuals from having access to lives of their choosing, including marriage. People shouldn’t have to choose between marriage to the person they love and losing their benefits.

What Does the Bill Do?

The Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act includes the following key provisions:

• Eliminates the requirement that a DAC beneficiary remain unmarried to receive Social Security benefits
• Ensures that DAC benefits are not revoked upon marriage
• Modifies Social Security’s rules regarding common law marriages
• Protects Supplement Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid eligibility for DACs who marry a non-disabled person

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We recognize the importance of authentic representation and how our interactions with others are often shaped by our experiences with popular culture, media, and the news. Unfortunately, this frequently leads to harmful narratives and stereotypes that can foster division and even fear of our community. Recent and far-reaching rhetoric has brought to light yet again some of the most popular misconceptions about autism. In line with Disability Belongs™’ mission to fight stigmas and advance opportunities, we want to ensure that harmful language and misunderstandings about disability, neurodivergence, and autism do not continue to spread unchecked in society.

Here are some common myths about autism, a type of neurodivergence and commonly considered a disability, and some of the facts you should know. [continue reading…]

Film Takes Home Two Slamdance Awards, Underscoring Relevance of Film Today

Cameron S. Mitchell’s documentary feature Disposable Humanity premiered during the 2025 Slamdance Film Festival in Los Angeles. This film took home the 2025 Slamdance Unstoppable Feature Honorable Mention as well as a 2025 Audience Award, voted on by Slamdance attendees, underscoring the relevance of the film today.

Disposable Humanity examines the Nazi-run Aktion T4 program, which began in 1939. By 1945, Nazis had murdered more than 300,000 disabled people. [continue reading…]

“I have pain in every part of my body.”

Filmed over the course of seven years, Complicated is a documentary directed by Andrew Abrahams that follows several young people living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a connective tissue disorder that causes the body to produce faulty collagen. Karen, one of the film’s subjects, explains it this way:

“Say you have to build a sturdy Popsicle stick house. You’re better off using a hot glue gun than Elmer’s glue—because with Elmer’s glue, your Popsicle stick house will surely fall apart. Whereas with a hot glue gun, once it’s together, it stays together. I’m built with Elmer’s glue—not strong glue—that falls apart easily. So, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is when connective tissue is defective and so your whole body falls apart.”

Complicated is an unflinching window into what it means to navigate life with a complex chronic illness, not just for those diagnosed but for their families as well. The stories in the film are deeply interwoven—just as they were in real life. Many of the young people featured in Complicated connected with each other through the shared challenges of living with EDS. [continue reading…]

In 2020, filmmaker and disability advocate Juliet Romeo reached out to Slamdance Film Festival co-founder Peter Baxter, stressing the need for a program by and for disabled filmmakers. Conversations turned to action, and Slamdance Unstoppable was born. In 2021, Slamdance featured a showcase of disability-inclusive short films at its virtual festival, and by 2023, Slamdance Unstoppable had grown to include short and feature films, screening both in-person and virtually.

Uplifting and amplifying stories by disabled filmmakers is vital. Representation of disability in the entertainment industry, both in front of and behind the camera, continues to be disproportionately low. A recent USC Annenberg study revealed that only 2.2% of all speaking characters in the top 100 highest-grossing films of 2023 were portrayed as disabled— far below the 25% of the U.S. population that identifies as disabled. By showcasing a collection of disability-inclusive films and/or films created by disabled filmmakers, the Slamdance Film Festival is helping to change these statistics.

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Expertly crafted by a seasoned team of trailblazers comes Contours, a truly beautiful short film about two people feeling the weight of time lost and the invisible distance forming between them.

Viewers are welcomed into an art gallery where Spirit (Lauren Ridloff) and Van (John Autry II) are in their own emotional experiment to find each other, causing a spark and igniting passion. Their energy blends seamlessly with the thought-provoking images around them, taking them from a place of chance meetings and subtle smiles to the reality of life passing and devotion diminished, as if the meanings of the paintings somehow dripped off the canvas and played it out in front of them, harmonizing their vulnerabilities. The art that adorns the walls of the museum, combined with the artistry in the chemistry between the characters, creates an intimate narrative mix of sincerity and excitement, longing and meaning between two people and their purpose to one another. [continue reading…]

The short film Witness opens with a ringing phone, just as a wedding ceremony “nikah” is about to take place in a masjid. The groom, Saleem, gives a sheepish grin as the call goes to voicemail—his witness is unavailable. The imam, the bride, and the bride’s father exchange exasperated glances before Imam Mustafa steps away to find their second male witness.

In the kitchen, his daughter, Miral, and her friend, Shams, are preparing donation boxes. When Imam Mustafa asks Shams to step in as the second male witness, he hesitates. His reluctance is clear, but the imam brushes it off. Miral and Shams share a weighted glance before he follows the imam back to the ceremony. [continue reading…]