ACTION NEEDED - FLORIDA

FLORIDA

Call the Florida Attorney General at 850-414-3300

In September 2024, Texas and 16 other states filed suit against the federal government to strike down the rule that protects people with disabilities’ right to community-based services rather than institutionalization. Fourteen states have withdrawn from the suit because of pressure from their constituents. Only Texas, Florida and Alaska remain.

Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999) is the 1999 Supreme Court ruling that set the standard that people with disabilities had the right to choose to live outside institutions, and determined that not providing the option to receive state-funded services in community settings was unjustified isolation and discrimination under the ADA..

The United States Department of Justice helped enforce the Olmstead ruling until an Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memo was issued on June 18, 2026, stating the the law never promised community services in the first place. This is a reversal of the Department of Justice’s long-standing support for community-based services.

On July 15, 2026, the Trump administration filed papers backing the states that want the rule gone. In other words, they sided with Texas, Florida and Alaska and against people with disabilities.

Now is the time to call and ask the Florida Attorney General to withdraw from this suit. Florida has a long history of supporting our citizens with disabilities to live full and meaningful lives in community-based settings of their choice. We can not go back to the days of institutional placement because appropriate supports and services are not funded. For most people with disabilities, community-based living is the least restrictive environment, is less expensive for tax payers, and provides the person with a disability a better quality of life surrounded by people they love. Florida needs to be on the right side of history and honor the dignity of choice by withdrawing today.

CALL NOW 850-414-3300