2025-07-24T14:58:32-07:00 2024-09-30 Crosby & Kaneda CPAs LLP 548 Market St PMB 97503 San Francisco CA 94104 990 2023-10-01 942620758 Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund Inc DISA 5106442555 3075 Adeline Street Ste 210 Berkeley CA 94703 Michelle Uzeta Executive Dir. 2025-07-24 true true Felix Gorrindo P01658413 5108352727 2023 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z Michelle Uzeta 3337059 false X www.dredf.org X 1979 CA To advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public policy and legislative development. 9 9 25 10 0 2975109 2888579 281633 258421 2456 174749 -977 3259198 3320772 37350 0 2243329 2909220 0 232509 496863 753581 2740192 3700151 519006 -379379 5195352 4803570 931513 919110 4263839 3884460 X To advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public policy and legislative development. false false 1544966 17200 237563 Legal Advocacy - DREDF litigates cases that increase civil rights and civil liberties for persons with disabilities, and represents the disability community in legislative, policy, amicus, and appellate work. In 2024, DREDF settled its years-long case against the State of California and Pittsburg Unified School District (PUSD) alleging that PUSD has maintained a separate, unequal, and illegal educational system where Black students, children of color with disabilities, and English learners have been segregated in substandard learning environments, excluded from classrooms altogether through the use of unwarranted suspensions and expulsions, and as a result, denied their constitutional right to a public education. Plaintiffs settlement with the State requires stronger monitoring and oversight of school districts to prevent systemic discrimination against Black students, students with disabilities, and English learners, including a hotline for receiving complaints of discriminatory discipline. Plaintiffs settlement with the District requires that it work with nationally recognized experts to evaluate and address deficiencies in the Districts special education literacy curriculum and discipline system. This settlement represents the first of its kind to address the unique literacy needs of disabled students who are also English learners. Also in 2024, DREDF secured an historic permanent injunction in C.B. v. Moreno Valley Unified School District et al., requiring the District to reduce its reliance on school police and security officers to respond to students with disabilities. Plaintiff C.B., a Black child with disabilities, filed a lawsuit against the District after, at the age of ten and weighing hardly 70 pounds, he was repeatedly tackled, handcuffed, taken into custody, and then referred to law enforcement for exhibiting disability-related behaviors at school. The injunction follows the Courts October 13, 2023, Order finding that the District maintained a discriminatory campus security program that disproportionately removed, restrained, and referred disabled and Black disabled students to law enforcement in violation of federal law. For example, during the 2019-20 school year, Black disabled students were 3.63 times more likely to be referred to law enforcement than their non- disabled peers. DREDF and co-counsel also prevailed in a novel arbitration brought against Kaiser on behalf of a disabled client who needed a new wheelchair. The clients qualified health plan regulated by the Affordable Care Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act capped coverage for a medically necessary wheelchair at $2,000; our client needed a $15,000 wheelchair. The arbitrator ruled that the denial violated disability nondiscrimination laws including Section 504. No tribunal had previously ruled that a health care insurer must provide coverage for a medically necessary wheelchair to comply with its obligations under federal and state nondiscrimination laws. As an IOLTA Support Center, DREDF provided significant legal training, legal technical assistance, and advocacy support to California IOLTA legal services programs on disability civil rights. We conducted statewide trainings for legal aid attorneys on the rights of disabled people, examining common disability access barriers, housing rights, and disabled students educational rights. Examples of our trainings focusing on housing rights can be found at https://dredf.org/public-policy/housing/. 523351 550 Child and Family Advocacy - DREDF provides technical assistance and training on the rights of families and children with disabilities in special education to parents, advocates and professionals. In 2024, our education advocates made 784 contacts to families across 30 counties in Northern California, directly helping parents navigate the special education system and learn their rights in the IEP process. DREDF's education advocates also presented 35 trainings and conducted outreach at 12 events across Northern California. The topics of the trainings ranged from supporting foster youth in special education, supporting tribal children with IEPs, learning the basics of special education rights and the IEP process, and supporting related professionals as experts in the IEP process. The education advocates also attended several county fairs and resource fairs aimed at special education families to increase awareness of DREDF's resources and support for families across Northern California who seek assistance in understanding their rights under special education law. 517581 19600 20858 National Disability Policy and Research - DREDF conducts research, monitors public policy development and provides technical assistance on issues affecting the civil and human rights of people with disabilities and advocates for the rights of people with disabilities. In 2024, DREDF wrote and published a number of important papers looking at topics that affect the disability community. These papers included an examination of how the growing movement toward social housing in the US could be fully inclusive of people with disabilities, a report on the importance of capturing demographic disability data can reveal health and other disparities experienced by disabled people, and two first-of-their-kind reports on the impact of private equity and corporate consolidation impacts people with disabilities in terms of education, healthcare, housing, and institutionalization, including imprisonment. We also continued to be involved with advocating for people with disabilities to have full reproductive choice as well as the freedom to marry and build families with those they love while maintaining access to vital healthcare, community supports, and other disability benefits. Our work on tracking and analyzing the increasingly ubiquitous presence of artificial intelligence (AI) also continues, with a focus on the swift emergence of state bills and laws. Many of these laws emphasize bias testing but still broadly fail to recognize the basic problem that arises when AI is trained on data that emphasizes "typical" non-disabled bodies, thinking, and reactions, without any required understanding of how legally required reasonable accommodations can change outcomes commonly associated with disability. 358380 2944278 true true false true false false false false false false true false false true true true true false false false false false false false true false false false true true false false false false false false true false false false false false false true false false false true 25 0 true 25 true false false false false false true true false 0 false false false false false false false X 9 9 false false false false false false false true true false false false true true true true true true true false CA X RBA Bookkeeping Services LLC 5109070929 1573 Bartlett Lane 6105 Sacramento CA 95815 Michelle Uzeta Deputy Director 40.00 0.00 157592 0 33323 Claudia Center Legal Director 40.00 0.00 161745 0 28701 Silvia Yee Policy Director 40.00 0.00 135912 0 41503 Mary Lou Breslin Sr. Policy Advisor 40.00 0.00 150807 0 15093 Susan Henderson Executive Dir. 40.00 0.00 X 142842 0 15656 Susan Freundlich Development Dir. 40.00 0.00 135243 0 3242 Nicole Bohn Executive Dir. 40.00 0.00 X 118618 0 967 H Stephen Kaye President/Chair 3.00 1.00 X X 0 0 0 Anne Cohen Vice-President 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Meriah Nichols Treasurer 1.00 1.00 X X 0 0 0 Hari Srinivasan Secretary 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Dorene Giacopini Board Member 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Aubrie Lee Board Member 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Sharon Lewis Board Member 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Rain Marshall Board Member 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Christina Mills Board Member 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Benita Shaw-Ayala Board Member 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 1002759 138485 9 false true false Good Carma Consulting 201 Spear St Ste 1100 San Francisco CA 94105 Human Resources 120212 1 55558 1816295 1016726 2888579 Legal Fees 541100 229342 229342 Training & publications 900099 29079 29079 258421 174749 174749 0 0 0 0 13800 55558 16287 -2487 -2487 0 0 Other 900099 1510 1510 1510 3320772 258421 173772 0 37350 37350 0 0 275897 170686 96934 8277 90990 90990 2011126 1782776 80961 147389 127880 119726 6777 1377 227297 191348 32383 3566 176030 154414 10772 10844 0 0 59441 59441 0 0 0 286395 99682 178408 8305 33888 32538 150 1200 56765 29760 17898 9107 33012 19988 5680 7344 0 160273 139850 10444 9979 39730 37964 179 1587 0 5585 4486 1099 0 0 21000 21000 14136 13053 555 528 Other expenses 33777 10784 22993 Dues & fees 9579 8883 683 13 0 3700151 2944278 523364 232509 933840 407467 0 3331 380059 188960 37388 0 0 0 0 29962 38437 63000 21000 45000 42000 3502450 3468950 0 0 0 491809 429269 5195352 4803570 210061 223116 114376 68325 607076 627669 931513 919110 X 3047773 2955634 1216066 928826 4263839 3884460 5195352 4803570 -379379 X X false true X true false X 2802565 4153947 2909271 2975109 2888579 15729471 0 0 2802565 4153947 2909271 2975109 2888579 15729471 3184175 12545296 77 87 256 2589 147244 150253 0 1672 2322 1510 5504 15885228 1621850 0.78970 0.75710 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED false false 36513 36513 3663638 3700151 335008 83752 false 269804 280194 287010 335008 1172016 1758024 31703 34443 36316 36513 138975 67451 70049 71753 83752 293005 439508 63000 21000 42000 42000 Operating lease - right of use asset 429269 429269 Funds held for others 198400 Operating lease liability 429269 627669 X 3320772 3320772 3320772 3700151 3700151 3700151 Part X : FIN48 Footnote The Internal Revenue Service and the California Franchise Tax Board have determined that the Organization is exempt from federal and state income taxes under IRC 501(c)(3) and California RTC 23701(d). The Organization has evaluated its current tax positions as of September 30, 2024 and is not aware of any significant uncertain tax positions for which a reserve would be necessary. The Organizations tax returns are generally subject to examination by federal and state taxing authorities for three and four years, respectively, after they are filed. false 41st Year Evt 69358 55558 13800 16287 69358 55558 13800 16287 16287 -2487 true 0 0 Summer intern stipends 12 37350 Grantmaker's Description of How Grants are Used We monitor the use of the grant funds - stipends for summer internships - through weekly meetings with student interns, and active supervision and review of work product produced by the interns. X X X X X X false false false false false false false false false Claudia Center Legal Director 161745 16970 11731 190446 Mary Lou Breslin Sr. Policy Advisor 150807 15093 165900 Michelle Uzeta Deputy Director 157592 15784 17539 190915 Silvia Yee Policy Director 135912 13164 28339 177415 Susan Henderson Executive Dir. 142842 15656 158498 Cheryl Theis Frmer Brd Family 90990 Compensation false Form 990, Part III, Line 4d OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 4: Public Education & Technical Assistance - DREDF continues to prioritize the accessibility of its materials when it amplifies key disability issues through its partnership with the California Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications (OCPSC). DREDF serves as a trusted messenger of OCPSC to Californians with disabilities. DREDF conducted trainings and provided technical assistance on disability access and inclusion to community-based organizations throughout California, building the capacity of over 600 community workers to effectively serve and support disabled people and their families. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 5: Media - DREDF continues to expand its strategic communications efforts to enhance outreach across traditional and social media to elevate disability civil rights. In August 2024, DREDF launched a new website, revitalizing archival materials and providing an accessible, modern platform to highlight DREDFs mission, resources, and advocacy efforts. The process took over a year due to the volume of content. The DREDF website is visited about 40,000 times per month, according to the latest analytics. DREDFs internal media inquiry tracker is maintained to manage and respond to media requests, with DREDF receiving an average of 100 inquiries per year. DREDF tracks social media follower statistics every month to monitor audience growth and currently boasts over 67,000 followers on social media and over 10,000 newsletter subscribers. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b No formal process; provided to the Executive Committee for review. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 12c The board is sent a Conflict of Interest Policy and Form at the beginning of the year and the ED follows up to collect completed forms. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 15a The board and director-level employees, with support from an executive recruiter, reviewed Form 990s, job announcements, and nonprofit salary surveys to determine the salary for the new ED hired this FY. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 15b The ED in consult with senior staff reviews Form 990s, job announcements, and nonprofit salary surveys. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 Upon verbal or written request. Form 990, Part XII, Line 2c The ED conducted a competitive search for an independent accounting firm familiar with non-profits to standardize and streamline accounting infrastructure and provide grant reporting support. DREDF Development Partnership Inc 3075 Adeline Street Ste 210 Berkeley CA CA 94703 521846283 Supporting organization of DREDF, Inc. DC 501(c)(3) 11 Type I NA false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false Related Supporting Organization There was no activity in the DREDF Development Partnership during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024. The mission of the DDP, Inc. is to support the charitable and educational work of the Organization.