Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) provides referrals, technical assistance, advocacy, and legal support services to parents and other interested parties in the area of disability rights. DREDF is the parent training center and information center for parents of children with disabilities in 30 Northern California counties. Those in other counties may call to inquire about services in their area.
Services include:
- Training and educating people with disabilities and parents of
children with disabilities about their rights under state and federal
disability rights laws so they can use the laws as tools to challenge
exclusion and discrimination, and advocate effectively for full
participation in the lives of their communities
- Educate lawyers, service providers, government officials, and many others about disability civil rights laws and policies
- Operating a disability rights legal
clinic in collaboration with law schools in the San Francisco Bay Area
including Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California,
Berkeley
- Representing clients in leading edge disability rights litigation
- Serving as co–counsel and prepare amicus curiae briefs on
behalf of parties that include disability community representatives and
members of Congress in disability rights cases heard by the U.S. Supreme
Court
- Advocating for the legal rights of individuals and families
- Designing and carrying out strategies that strengthen public policy and
that lead to the enactment of federal and state laws protecting and
advancing civil rights for people with disabilities such as the
Handicapped Children’s Protection Act, the Civil Rights Restoration Act,
the landmark 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, and the IDEA Amendments Act
