Disability Rights

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We continue to strive for an America free of discrimination against people with disabilities, where they are valued, integrated members of society with full access to education, homes, health care, jobs, voting, and beyond.

The Latest

Press Release
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ACLU and Disability Law Center File Lawsuit to Block Creation of New Restrictive Guardianships for Utahns with Disabilities

SB199 creates a separate guardianship system for those with a “severe” intellectual disability. But for a court to agree to use this guardianship, a physician or psychologist must merely describe an intellectual disability as “severe.”
Issue Areas: Disability Rights
Press Release
Graphic for ACLU of Utah with the words "veto letters" and a legal letter in the background.

Veto Letter to Governor Cox on SB199

The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah (ACLU of Utah) strongly urges Gov. Spencer Cox to veto SB199, Guardianship Amendments, a sweeping and damaging bill that threatens to strip critical rights from Utahns with disabilities.
Issue Areas: Disability Rights, State Advocacy
News & Commentary
Disabled worker in a wheelchair typing at keyboard while looking at two computer screens.

Rights of Federal Employees with Disabilities, Explained

The Trump administration has issued a number of directives affecting federal employees with disabilities, but laws protecting these workers remain.
Press Release
Graphic for the ACLU of Utah that reads "press release".

SB199 Leter urging the House to vote no on this expansive and harmful bill

The undersigned disability and civil rights organizations write to express our grave concerns about S.B. 199, “Guardianship Amendments” and urge the House to vote no on this expansive and harmful bill.
Issue Areas: Disability Rights
Legislation
Feb 09, 2026

HB495 (Capital Felony Case Amendments)

HB495 modifies and streamlines competency proceedings, removing important protections for individuals with intellectual disabilities by: requiring initial IQ tests and penalizing defendants who object to them, changing the criteria and process for automatic review of death sentences, creating expedited review timelines, and creating bars for appeal / ineffective assistance of counsel challenges. This bill risks turning thoughtful competency proceedings into a reckless sprint towards execution.
Status: Introduced
Position: Oppose