June 22, 2026

Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities Strongly Condemns Attacks on the Integration Mandate

On the anniversary of the Olmstead v. Lois Curtis decision, the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities strongly condemns the memo released by the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice attacking the integration mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Twenty-seven years ago today, the Supreme Court ruled in Olmstead v. Lois Curtis that the ADA prohibits the “unnecessary institutionalization” of people with disabilities. Instead of using this time to celebrate the Olmstead v. Lois Curtis decision and reaffirm the rights of people with disabilities, the Justice Department is undermining disability rights and the integration mandate of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

The integration mandate is the right of people with disabilities to live and receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. In its memo, the Department said that neither the ADA nor Section 504 contain an integration mandate. The Department’s memo flies in the face of decades of law, including the Supreme Court’s Olmstead v. Lois Curtis decision, and the will of Congress. It would take us back decades.

The Department’s position is simply wrong and is inconsistent with virtually every court decision that has considered the integration mandate in the years since the Olmstead v. Lois Curtis decision. The Department’s memo does not change the law. It has not been accepted by a court. The rights of people with disabilities to live in their own homes and communities are well established by law and cannot be changed by an agency. This effort to nullify the civil rights of people with disabilities must be soundly rejected.

Learn more about CCD’s efforts: www.c-c-d.org