Plain Language Policy Fact Sheets
New Disabled South Rising provides these fact sheets to give everyone easy-to-understand information about the policies, regulations, laws, and programs that are impacting the lives of people with disabilities and their families and caregivers across the South and the United States. Please check back for new fact sheets, and reach out to us here if there is a topic you’d like us to break down in plain language.
This fact sheet explains what Home and Community Based Service (HCBS) waivers are how they work. Find out what you can and should be receiving from waivers, and what to ask for from your legislators to ensure disabled people in the South receive support.
In this document, NDSR experts break down the barriers disabled voters face in the South, including inaccessible polling places and new laws that are make voting harder. We also clearly outline what states must do to protect disabled voting rights.
Disabled students’ right to a public education is under attack all across the South. Programs like private school vouchers are taking money away from students who live in low-income areas and need the most support. This fact sheet explains what is happening and what you can do to help.
This fact sheet explains how elections work, details who can vote, and describes the many existing and emerging barriers that keep disabled voters from being able to vote. New Disabled South Rising experts also cover what candidates, voter outreach organizations, and policymakers can do to make voting more accessible for disabled people.
In July 2025, Congress passed a budget bill that will cut $1 trillion from Medicaid, currently the only healthcare insurance program that pays for the services that allow disabled people to live in their communities instead of institutions. Here’s how those cuts could lead to disabled and older people in the South losing access to the community care and healthcare services they need to survive.
This fact sheet covers the history of voting rights, and the ways those rights are being removed and rewritten to make it harder for people with disabilities to vote. Find out what is happening to the legal rights of all voters, including those with disabilities, and how individuals and organizations like NDSR are fighting to protect those rights.