At the heart of everything GPS Law does is a foundational belief: disability rights are civil rights. This is not just a slogan. It is a legal and moral framework that shapes how attorney Gloria Perez-Stewart approaches every case, every client interaction, and every advocacy effort on behalf of children and families with disabilities. 

The Civil Rights Framework for Disability 

The disability rights movement in the United States grew out of, and was deeply influenced by, the broader civil rights movement. Disabled people and their allies recognized that the exclusion, segregation, and discrimination that characterized their experiences in schools, workplaces, and public life were not simply unfortunate circumstances. They were civil rights violations. 

This recognition led to the passage of landmark legislation. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was the first federal law to specifically prohibit disability discrimination in programs receiving federal funding. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, later renamed IDEA, established the right to a free appropriate public education for all children with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 extended civil rights protections for people with disabilities to virtually every corner of American public life. 

Together, these laws create a framework that treats disability-based discrimination as a civil rights violation, not merely a social problem to be addressed through charity or goodwill. 

What Disability Discrimination Looks Like in Schools 

In the educational context, disability discrimination can take many forms. The most obvious is outright exclusion: refusing to enroll a disabled student, removing a disabled student from school for behavior related to their disability, or placing a disabled student in a segregated setting with no connection to the school community. 

But discrimination can also be more subtle. Providing inadequate services, refusing to make reasonable accommodations, failing to evaluate for suspected disabilities, and ignoring parent requests are all forms of discrimination that deny disabled students the equal educational opportunity the law guarantees. 

Understanding disability as a civil rights issue helps parents see their role as civil rights advocates, not just service consumers. When a school district fails your child, it is not just a service failure. It is a civil rights violation, and the law provides remedies that reflect that understanding. 

The Olmstead Decision and Its Relevance to Families 

The 1999 Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C. established that unnecessarily institutionalizing or segregating people with disabilities violates the integration mandate of the ADA. While Olmstead is technically an adult services case, its principles apply throughout the lifespan of a person with a disability. 

As attorney Perez-Stewart has written and spoken extensively, the same principles that underlie LRE in special education also underlie Olmstead in adult services. Disabled people should not be segregated from community life simply because providing the supports they need for inclusion is inconvenient or expensive. 

Parents of children with disabilities who understand Olmstead are better equipped to see the full arc of their advocacy work, from fighting for inclusion in general education classrooms today to fighting for community-based adult services in the future. 

The Threat to Disability Rights in the Current Moment 

Attorney Perez-Stewart has written about the threats posed to disability rights by current federal policy changes, including Project 2025 proposals to convert IDEA funding to block grants and DOJ memos that challenge the integration mandate. These threats are real and require parents to be informed and engaged. 

The rights our children have today were fought for by previous generations of disabled people and their families. Protecting those rights requires ongoing advocacy, both in individual cases and in the broader policy arena. GPS Law is committed to this advocacy at every level. 

Conclusion 

Disability rights are civil rights. This principle is the foundation of GPS Law's practice and the lens through which every client's situation is understood and every advocacy strategy is developed. When you work with GPS Law, you are not just hiring a lawyer to resolve an education dispute. You are joining a community of advocates committed to the principle that disabled people deserve full inclusion, equal opportunity, and the right to live meaningful lives in the community. If your family needs legal support in enforcing your child's disability rights, GPS Law is here to help.