State Schools Settlement Agreement Only a Start

Courtesy of CTD--

This year, Texas officials signed a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to improve conditions at state schools for people with disabilities. The five-year agreement followed a four-year federal investigation into civil rights violations at Texas’ 13 state schools as a response to years of reports about abuse and neglect inside the facilities.
The 61-page agreement provides numerous definitions of how services and conditions in state schools are to be evaluated and monitored, but fails to address the human factor of unnecessary institutionalization.

Disturbingly, even while negotiations for the agreement were concluding, news agencies reported further violations of human safety and dignity as evidenced by the operation of a "fight club” at the Corpus Christi State School, the March homicide of a resident at the Denton State School, the May suicide of a resident of the San Angelo State School, and the June death of a resident of the Lubbock State School during an incident with staff members.

Disability advocates said that the measure tries to fix a system that is fundamentally broken, and will do little to move institutionalized people into more integrated community settings. “We’re not here to impede this settlement,” said Dennis Borel, executive director for the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, “but we are interested in ensuring nobody stays in an institution who is able and wants to get out.”