Florida Policy Topics on Our Watch
Friday, March 17, 2023
Disability Rights Florida Blog
Introduction
The Florida Legislature is preparing to tackle a wide range of issues during the 2023 Regular Session which began on March 7, 2023. Many bills which have the potential to directly impact people with disabilities have been filed by lawmakers this year. Below are just a few of the issues Disability Rights Florida is focused on for this session.
School Choice
The proposed expansion of the school choice system, under House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 202, will allow all Florida students to receive vouchers by eliminating the income cap and any other eligibility requirements for the program. These vouchers could be used to help pay the cost of attending private school as well as paying costs for homeschooling. Private schools that receive these vouchers have policies that affect the rights of students; particularly students with disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees students with disabilities the right to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) tailored to their individual needs through an individualized education program (IEP) plan. But private schools do not have to follow the IDEA, so students with disabilities lose access to an IEP and other educational rights.
Additionally, private schools are allowed to discriminate against students with disabilities. They have the right to deny a child admission to the school based on their disability and are generally not required to accommodate that child. To ensure students and families are making an informed choice when considering private schools, the state must require private schools to have transparent policies and notify families of the educational rights they will lose if they exit the public school system.
Supported Decision-Making & Guardianship
Supported decision-making (SDM) is a process by which an individual with a disability chooses people to assist them in making decisions. An SDM agreement ensures that an individual with a disability retains their decision-making rights but includes trusted individuals to help them weigh their options. These agreements can be tailored to each individual, allowing them to express the areas of their lives where they want support and from whom they want that support.
SDM is an alternative to other, more restrictive options. These options can include powers of attorney, guardian advocacy, and guardianship. Each of these options either strips rights from individuals, allows others to make decisions for them, or both. Powers of attorney allow a person to substitute their own decisions for those of an individual with a disability. Guardianship and guardian advocacy both take an individual’s civil rights and gives them to another person to act on their behalf, even against their wishes. But SDM agreements allow an individual with a disability to retain the rights that these alternatives strip away and make their own decisions with the support of a trusted friend or family member.
Although an SDM bill will not be filed in this year’s legislative session, actions are still being taken to promote SDM and spread awareness about the rights-stripping characteristics of alternatives. These actions include developing SDM training and advocating for changes in already-filled bills that would promote SDM. Staying involved in current bills sets the stage for an SDM bill to be filed in future legislative sessions.
Medicaid Unwinding & Medicaid Buy-in
During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was passed in 2020 to give every state a temporary increase in Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) which is the percentage of Medicaid costs paid by the federal government. By receiving these extra federal dollars, the state has allowed Medicaid recipients to maintain their health coverage despite any eligibility changes – this is known as “continuous coverage”. These continuous coverage options have kept people insured throughout the pandemic.
When the PHE comes to an end, Medicaid officials will go through what is called a “redetermination” process in which they must reevaluate each person’s eligibility and decide if they still qualify for Medicaid. According to the Biden administration, the PHE will end May 11th, 2023, however, continuous coverage protections will end on March 31st, 2023. As a result, millions of people could lose Medicaid during this redetermination process, even if they are still eligible. For people with disabilities, Medicaid is important for people with disabilities because it provides for long-term services and supports not covered by Medicare or private insurance. Administrative barriers such as a lack of information to verify income or residency, not having enough time to complete renewal forms by the deadline, or not receiving a notice about the need for renewal will cause individuals to lose coverage even if they are technically eligible.
In addition to Medicaid redeterminations, many people with disabilities will lose Medicaid coverage if they enter the workforce. Workers with disabilities should be able to earn a fair wage and not be forced to live in poverty to receive Medicaid services. The Medicaid Buy-in Program offers health care coverage for workers with disabilities whose earnings might make them ineligible for Medicaid. However, Florida is one of only four states without a Buy-in Program. During this legislative session, there will be efforts to amend Florida’s Medicaid program to include a “Buy-in” option which would allow people with disabilities to work and not worry about losing the essential healthcare services they are receiving through Medicaid.
Voting
This session, the legislature is considering measures that may impact the accessibility of voting for people with disabilities. People with disabilities have the same right to vote privately and independently as their non-disabled peers. Laws that uphold this right will prioritize accessibility of both in-person and vote-by-mail options.
Over half of voters with disabilities vote by mail due to access barriers such as Inaccessible polling places and lack of transportation. Folks who wish to vote in person should have the option to do so and have access to accessible voting machines, also referred to as ballot marking devices. that can accommodate a variety of disabilities.
For others, receiving and sending a ballot by mail is the most accessible way to vote. In the past couple of years, the state has proposed or made changes to vote-by-mail that would make accessing the vote more difficult. One example of this is requiring additional security envelopes that might cause folks with limited fine motor skills or blindness to struggle to enclose their ballot correctly without assistance from another person. Additionally, even though remote accessible vote-by-mail is required in every county, this is still not a fully accessible process. Voters using this method can receive an electronic ballot, allowing them to use assistive technology to complete their ballot, but they are not able to return their ballots electronically, a right already granted to overseas and military voters. This means the ballot must be printed and delivered to the Supervisor of Elections office either by mail or in-person. Accessing a printer is a barrier to many people as only 10% of U.S. households have a printer and that number is even lower among people with disabilities.
There have also been laws passed in our state that limit the number of ballots that one person can return on behalf of others. In the past, it was legal for one individual to collect and return ballots for a number of folks who are unable to do so on their own. This is a concern for folks who live alone, in some congregate settings, and folks who face transportation barriers.
Disability Rights Florida will continue to fight against changes to our voting laws that would make voting more difficult for people with disabilities and to advocate for measures that would improve accessibility.
Conclusion
Disability Rights Florida will be keeping a close eye on all of these issues. If any of these topics affect you or your community, you can make your voice heard! You can participate in the legislative process by expressing your concern or support to your elected officials, talking with friends and family, and making sure you are registered and have a plan to vote next election cycle. You can look up who your elected officials are on the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate website.
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