Table of Contents
Welcome to the latest edition of TCDD Extra, a newsletter published every two months with a selection of recent disability news, resources, training, advocacy opportunities, and more. This newsletter may include TCDD-led initiatives as well as information from other organizations.
In this edition:
- share your ideas for future TCDD projects and activities;
- new ways to enhance your legislative advocacy;
- resources on school vouchers and students with disabilities;
- and more.
Share Ideas for Future TCDD Projects & Activities
What do Texans with developmental disabilities (DD) need to achieve their future goals for independence, productivity, and community living? TCDD is developing its next strategic plan, and your ideas and experiences are vital to the process.
You can connect with TCDD in several ways to share your ideas, including through an online survey and by participating in a Community Conversation on Zoom. TCDD wants input from people with DD, family members of people with DD, service providers, and anyone else involved in the disability community and interested in disability issues.
TCDD 2024 Annual Report Now Available
TCDD recently released its 2024 Annual Report, which summarizes TCDD’s impact through grant projects, leadership training, public policy advocacy, and community engagement. The report also highlights stories from TCDD-funded projects and initiatives over the past year. You can view the report in English (PDF, 12 pages, 7.9 MB) and in Spanish (PDF, 12 pages, 4.9 MB).
Raise Your Voice! Advocacy Call Series
Raise Your Voice!, an advocacy call series hosted by the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities (CTD) features discussions of policy developments and ways to take action during the 89th Texas Legislature. The calls take place on Zoom on Mondays at 2 p.m. Central time. The series continues until May 19.
Raise Your Voice! calls provide a functional understanding of the state’s legislative process while connecting emerging and experienced advocates. The calls also give CTD insight into the needs and concerns of Texans with disabilities outside of the organization’s usual circles. Visit the CTD sign-up page to find more information and register to participate.
TCDD Policy Team’s Office Hours at the Capitol
TCDD is offering in-person office hours at the State Capitol. The office hours will take place from 1-3 p.m. CT every other Wednesday throughout the legislative session. During these 30-minute meetings, TCDD public policy staff can help you with your advocacy goals for the session. This may include:
- answering questions about the legislative process;
- accompanying you to meetings with your lawmakers or their staff;
- helping you prepare legislative testimony; and
- helping you prepare a personal “elevator speech.”
The next office hours are scheduled for April 9 and April 23. Check out the online sign-up sheet to find available times and schedule a meeting.
School Vouchers and Students with Disabilities
Legislative proposals that would use public funding for private school education have sparked significant concerns from disability advocates in Texas. TCDD created a one-pager, “Private School Vouchers and Students with Disabilities” (PDF), that details potential impacts of private school vouchers on students with disabilities and shares recommendations on addressing the disability community’s concerns. You can share this resource with your elected representatives and your personal network.
It’s DD Awareness Month, But We’re Here All Year
Every March, TCDD joins the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) and disability advocates across the country to celebrate DD Awareness Month. NACDD’s 2025 theme, “We’re Here All Year,” emphasizes that community, accessibility, and opportunities for people with DD should be recognized and championed every day, all year round.
There are many ways to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with DD in all aspects of community life. Here are a few resources to get started:
- Legislative Advocacy: With the Texas legislative session now past its halfway point, TCDD has tools and tips to help disability advocates speak on public policy issues that impact the disability community.
- Self-Advocate Central: Developed through a TCDD-funded project by the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and Strategic Education Solutions, Self-Advocate Central includes resources and information for people with DD on topics such as participatory action research, peer support, mental health, and sexual assault prevention. Self-Advocate Central also created a series of videos that feature peer-support specialists talking about their experiences with living on their own, accessing reliable transportation, and finding meaningful employment in their communities.
- Supported Decision-Making: In 2015, Texas became the first state to put supported decision-making into law. This alternative to legal guardianship supports people to make their own decisions while receiving any help they need to do so. You can learn more from TCDD and find additional resources and videos from Disability Rights Texas.
Quotable
“No student should be left unprotected in a crisis.”
— Texas Sen. Judith Zaffirini on filing Senate Bill (SB) 57, which would ensure public schools develop clear, inclusive emergency plans that account for students with disabilities. SB 57 was recently featured as a TCDD Bill of the Week.
Project Spotlight: Inclusive Aging & Older Adults with DD
As part of TCDD-funded project, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston launched Age Inclusively, an initiative to address barriers to health care for older adults with DD and their caregivers. These barriers include limited access to informed health care and a lack of medical professionals who are trained to manage the health care needs of older adults with DD. In partnership with the National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia, the project is hosting workshops and developing a statewide network of telehealth centers and providing education on aging-related health care and support for caregivers and family members.
Through this project, TCDD seeks to develop new and innovative initiatives to support people with DD who are aging and their caregivers. As this population continues to grow, our system must be better equipped to serve their unique needs by providing information, resources, and support.
