AUCD - Public Policy

AUCD, a leading national disability organization that has a direct impact at the local, state, national, and international levels to advance policy and practice. Current national legislation and advocacy activities have significant impacts on the nature and extent of services and supports for persons with disabilities and their families at the state and local level.

Connect with AUCD's policy activities

Love policy? We do too! AUCD Policy offerings
Public Policy Committee - Meets on the 2nd Tuesday of every month working to build the capacity of the AUCD office and network for legislative advocacy, promote collaboration with the disability community to advance public policy, and develop new opportunities for member programs to promote the independence, productivity, and full participation of people with developmental and other disabilities.
Disability Policy Seminar
Check out AUCD Disability Policy Priorities 2022!

AUCD Policy Initiatives

AUCD is committed to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities in the following areas:

16th Congress (2019-21)

Position Statement on the RESPONSE Act
Position Statement to Congress from Disability Community on mental health and gun violence
Position Statement from Disability Community and Allies on mental health and gun violence
Press Release on HHS OCR Child Welfare Case of ID

Developmental Disability Act: The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (DD Act) is the fundamental law supporting and enhancing the lives of people with developmental disabilities and their families.

Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act: Reinforcing protections afforded in the ADA, the Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act (H.R.1235) would prohibit using an individual's mental or physical disability as the sole basis of determining their eligibility for an organ transplant.

Full text of H.R.1235.
AUCD Policy Talk post on discrimination in organ transplantation.
Organ Transplant Protections for People with Disabilities by state

Education: Students with disabilities face many challenges in obtaining a quality education. While there have been some significant legislative victories, there are still many barriers to receiving a proper education - resulting in students leaving school unprepared for adult life in the community.

Employment: For most people, work provides a pathway to engage in our society's economic and social institutions; however, employment of people with disabilities continues to lag significantly behind those without disabilities.

For the People Act of 2021:The For the People Act of 2021 (H.R.1, S.1) would require all states to offer mail-in voting and early voting, institute nationwide automatic voter registration, curtail voter ID laws, limit partisan gerrymandering, and overhaul campaign finance laws.

Full text of H.R.1.

Healthcare: People with disabilities need universal access to high quality, affordable health care. While progress has been made, there is more work to be done to improve health care access and outcomes for people with disabilities.

Budget and Appropriations: The nation's budget priorities must include funding for programs that promote the independence and self-determination of people with disabilities. Federal and state revenue must be sufficient to fund the programs that people with disabilities rely on to be healthy participants in work, school, and their community.