Rights and Advocacy
Attorney Takes On the State of California and SB277: First Amendment Rights Have Been Clearly Violated
On June 30, 2015, Governor Brown of California signed SB277 for mandatory vaccines which has been set to go into effect on July 1, 2016.The bill was prompted by the 2014 Disneyland measles outbreak and historically low levels of vaccination in some California schools. This law removes all exemptions: religious, medical, and philosophical. However, attorney T. Matthew Phillips believes the first amendment allows parents to exercise religion in the face of state-mandated vaccinations. He also says that children have a constitutional right to go to school, regardless of medical procedures. Ultimately a judge will decide which is more important: educating kids or vaccinating them.
JFK’s Nephew Slams Mandatory Vaccinations: Political Insider Shares What He Knows
Robert F. Kennedy Jr, nephew of president John F. Kennedy and son of Robert F. Kennedy, has strongly reiterated his position against the mandatory vaccination of children.
The State of California recently passed a law (SB 277) which requires all school children in California who wish to attend public school to receive all of the recommended vaccinations by the U.S. public health authorities.
Currently working as an environmental lawyer and activist, he addressed a large audience at a Sacramento, California screening of the documentary Trace Amounts, which raises concerns over multiple vaccine ingredients.
Congress to 'Combat' Autism No More
In a win for self-advocates, lawmakers said this week that they will no longer seek to include the term “combating” in the title of the nation’s primary autism legislation.
A bill to reauthorize hundreds of millions of dollars in federal spending for prevalence tracking, research, early identification efforts and other autism initiatives will move forward under a new name — the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support Act, or Autism CARES.
Every Child Achieves Act of 2015
The bill ends the federal test-based accountability system of No Child Left Behind, restoring to states the responsibility for determining how to use federally required tests for accountability purposes. States must include these tests in their accountability systems, but will be able to determine the weight of those tests in their systems. States will also be required to include graduation rates, one measure of postsecondary education or workforce readiness, and English proficiency for English learners. States will also be permitted to include other measures of student and school performance in their accountability systems in order to provide teachers, parents, and other stakeholders with a more accurate determination of school performance.
Diagnosis and Access to Care in Minority Populations
The Color of Autism Foundation's Camille Proctor spoke about the difficulties faced by minority populations when it comes to autism diagnosis and care during the 2015 Autism Speaks Leadership Summit.