Washington State House Bill 1566 - Nothing About Us Without Us

Nothing About Us Without Us Act– HB 1566

Originally published by Disability Rights Washington

Ensuring people with disabilities have a seat at the decision-making table.

The Nothing About Us Without Us Act was created in response to the Ruckelshaus workgroup, to ensure that people with disabilities have full and meaningful participation in decisions that impact them. People with disabilities have historically been excluded from conversations about all aspects of their lives, and have had to fight to be heard. This bill would ensure that PWD have a seat at the table when decisions are being made about us.

What will it do?

1. Any group established by the legislature whose activities are related to PWD will be required to have at least three members with direct lived experience to the issues being addressed.
2. The Governors Committee on Disability Issues and Employment (GCDE), The Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC), and The Office of Equity must:

●     Identify barriers to access and meaningful participation.

●     Identify accommodations and changes to stakeholder engagement that is consistent with the ADA and universal design

●     Ensure that relevant training or guidance for the legislature

3. Training material and guidance provided to the legislature must describe the membership requirements, strongly encourage the inclusion of PWD, and the types of accommodations available.

Who will it help?

The idea for this bill came from the developmental disabilities community but the bill will help all PWD - particularly Black, Indigenous, people of color with disabilities - in Washington State.

Contact:

Darya Farivar, Disability Rights Washington, daryaf@dr-wa.org (c) 206-471-9425