The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) is an organization that supports left-of-center public policies focused on individuals with disabilities through education campaigns, policy advocacy, community organizing, litigation, and coalition building. ¹

History

DREDF was founded in 1979² by a group of adults with disabilities and the parents of children with disabilities. ³

Shortly after forming, DREDF received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Women’s Educational Equity Act Program for the purpose of documenting and investigating the experiences of females with disabilities, a previously understudied group. ⁴ DREDF published the resulting book, No More Stares, in 1982. Ann Cupolo Freeman, a disability rights activist who appeared in the 2020 documentary Crip Cramp, assisted in producing the book. The documentary was produced by Higher Ground Productions, a company owned by former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. ^{5 6}

Activism

DREDF receives funding from the U.S. Department of Education to run its Parent Training and Information Center. In this capacity, DREDF connects families of children with disabilities with community resources and helps disabled children to obtain a fulfilling education. ⁷

DREDF also advocates for policy initiatives that benefit people with disabilities, using legal advocacy in an attempt to change laws it deems harmful to the disabled community. DREDF is a member of the left-of-center Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the largest left-progressive civil rights coalition in the United States. ⁸

Finance

DREDF reported more than $1.8 million in total revenue in 2017 and over $1.9 million in total expenses. ⁹ The year prior, the organization reported more than $1.6 million in revenue and over $1.7 million in expenses. ¹⁰

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Education awarded DREDF a $500,000, five-year grant to provide information centers for the parents of children with disabilities. ¹¹

Leadership

Susan Henderson is currently the executive director of DREDF and has worked in the role since 1997. Henderson began a number of DREDF projects, including the Foster Youth Resources for Education project and the Disability and Media Alliance project. ¹²

Claudia Center works as the organization’s legal director. Center previously worked at a number of left-of-center organizations, including her position as a senior staff attorney within the Disability Rights Program of the ACLU Foundation. Earlier in her career, Center worked for the Legal Aid Society, the predecessor of Legal Aid at Work, as the director of the disability rights program. After earning her law degree at the University of California—Berkeley, Center worked as a staff attorney at NARAL Pro-Choice America, a pro-abortion advocacy organization. ¹³

Kati Pugh is the DREDF president and board chair. Before her role at DREDF, Pugh worked as pro bono counsel for an international law firm. Pugh also previously sat on the Council of the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities (IRR) of the American Bar Association (ABA). Pugh has sat on a number of left-of-center boards in the past, including those of the ACLU of Northern California and Equal Rights Advocates. ¹⁴

1. “Timeline.” Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, April 6, 2020. https://dredf.org/about-us/timeline/.
2. “About Us.” Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, April 6, 2020. https://dredf.org/about-us/.
3. “Family Advocacy.” Children and Family Advocacy. Accessed November 4, 2020. https://dredf.org/programs/family_advocacy.shtml.
4. “No More Stares.” Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, April 4, 2020. https://dredf.org/no-more-stares/.
5. “No More Stares.” Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, April 4, 2020. https://dredf.org/no-more-stares/.
6. Alm, David. “The Obamas’ New Film ‘Crip Camp’ Tells A Story Of Civil Rights You May Have Never Heard Before.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, March 26, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidalm/2020/03/26/the-obamas-new-film-crip-camp-tells-a-story-of-civil-rights-you-may-have-never-heard-before/?sh=2076df8e7d30.
7. “Special Education.” Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, October 30, 2020. https://dredf.org/special-education/.
8. “The Coalition.” The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, October 6, 2020. https://civilrights.org/about/the-coalition/.
9. Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2017, Part I Summary
10. Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2017, Part I Summary
11. “U.S. Department of Education Announces $2.5 Million in Grants to Operate Centers for Parents of Children with Disabilities.” U.S. Department of Education, August 31, 2016. https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-announces-25-million-grants-operate-centers-parents-children-disabilities.
12. “Susan Henderson – Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.” Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, June 10, 2020. https://dredf.org/about-us/people/susan-henderson/.
13. “Claudia Center – Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.” Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, April 7, 2020. https://dredf.org/about-us/people/claudia-center/.
14. “Kathi Pugh.” Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, May 6, 2018. https://dredf.org/about-us/people/kathi-pugh/.