Date: Friday, January 12, 2001 6:34 PM
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Andrew J. Imparato
President and CEO
AAPD
(202) 457-0046
ImparatoA@aol.com
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES OPPOSES ASHCROFT NOMINATION AS ATTORNEY GENERAL
(Washington, DC, January 12, 2001) The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), a national non-partisan, non-profit membership association of children and adults with disabilities, their family members and supporters, today announced its opposition to President-elect George W. Bush's nomination of Senator John Ashcroft to serve as Attorney General of the United States.
"The U.S. Attorney General has the lead role in enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other civil rights laws for children and adults with disabilities," noted Andrew J. Imparato, President and CEO of AAPD. "We in the disability community have been fortunate to be able to work with Republican and Democrat Attorneys General like Dick Thornburgh and Janet Reno, who both thoroughly embraced their responsibilities in the area of disability rights and helped to transform the architectural and telecommunications infrastructure of American society," Imparato added.
"The work begun by Thornburgh and Reno is far from completed, however," said Imparato. "The opponents of ADA have chipped away at the law in the courts and tried to weaken it in the Congress. Funding for enforcement has not been adequate, and widespread non-compliance with the law's requirements persists in many sectors. Many in the disability community are unaware of their rights or how to enforce them. We need an Attorney General who will be a disability rights leader and defender of the ADA," Imparato added.
"AAPD today takes the unprecedented step of opposing Senator Ashcroft's nomination to be Attorney General because of his disturbing record in the area of disability rights and civil rights more broadly," said Imparato. "AAPD is particularly troubled by Senator Ashcroft's lead role in trying to weaken the due process protections afforded children and youth with disabilities by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)."
In the last Congress, Senator Ashcroft introduced a bill that would have empowered public schools to remove disruptive students with disabilities without having to comply with the due process protections in IDEA. This bill was opposed by the disability rights community and the National
Education Association in part because it did not call for expelled students to be educated in an alternative public school program after the disciplinary action had taken place. In 2000, Senator Ashcroft voted twice against increased funding for IDEA.
"Senator Ashcroft's record on IDEA is important," noted Imparato, "because the 1997 reauthorization of IDEA gave the Attorney General increased authority to bring cases against school districts that are violating the civil rights requirements in that law. Also, according to a 2000 report from the National Council on Disability, every state is out of compliance with core civil rights protections in IDEA."
In 2000, Senator Ashcroft was asked by AAPD and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities to sign our "Spirit of ADA Pledge" indicating his support for full implementation and enforcement of ADA and IDEA. Senator Ashcroft did not sign the pledge. His opponent, Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan, did sign the pledge.
In 2000, Senator Ashcroft voted against the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which would have amended federal law to recognize hate crimes based on sexual orientation, gender and disability, as well as expanded federal jurisdiction over these and other hate crimes already covered under federal law.
"For the vision of ADA, IDEA and other disability rights laws to be realized, it is critical that we have an Attorney General who embraces and promotes that vision. AAPD opposes the nomination of Senator Ashcroft for Attorney General because he has demonstrated a lack of leadership in understanding and supporting disability rights," Imparato concluded.
The American Association of People with Disabilities was founded in 1995 by a group of cross-disability leaders to represent, educate and unify interests of the entire diverse disability community, family and friends as a membership organization. The goals of the organization are to promote the economic and political empowerment of all people with disabilities, educate business and the general public about disability concerns, and provide benefits such as insurance and discounts on goods and services to its members.
