disabled persons
Everyone deserves equal access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities.
Meg will advocate for:
Eradicating discrimination based on age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, immigration status, income, national origin, race, refugee status, religion or sexual orientation.
Education
Ensuring fair wages for special education teachers
Reducing inequities of resources between school districts
Accessible early childhood intervention programs
Making sure that disabled students remain a top priority for schools during the COVID-19 pandemic
Improving higher education opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities, autism, and other developmental disabilities
Pushing for disability history to be taught in the public school curriculum
Fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and fighting for similar legislation at the state level
Healthcare
Guaranteeing comprehensive coverage for disabled people under universal healthcare policies.
Offering low or zero-interest loans to disabled people and elders to purchase assistive devices and services.
Distributing used durable medical equipment to disabled people, seniors, and veterans.
Improving remote access to services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ensuring fair wages for personal care attendants and adequate funding for residential communities.
Mental Health
Ensuring mental health insurance coverage for disabled people.
Preventing insurance discrimination for people with mental health issues.
Greater transparency in behavioral health coverage.
Increasing funding for organizations that tackle mental health issues in the disability community.
Increasing funding for substance abuse treatment and recovery programs.
Advocating for mental health resources and education in public education.
Ending the stigma around mental illness and addiction.
Employment
Advocating for Massachusetts to hire more disabled people as public employees.
Funding and accessibility for work programs.
Providing support for disabled employees.
Expansion of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Ending the stigma against disabled employees.
Accessibility
Funding to improve accessibility in public spaces.
Ensuring that ADA policies are properly enforced.
Ensure that students needs are in compliance with their IEP/504
Guaranteeing vote by mail access for all eligible citizens
Voting Access
Implement universal vote-by-mail permanently (with the option to vote in person) for all eligible voters, including pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelopes
Ensure that ballot requests can be made and tracked online
Allow electronic marking of ballots
Waive signature match requirements for disabled voters
Expand training for poll workers on how to accommodate disabled voters
Implement accessible election websites
Print all ballots in large-print format
Intersectionality and Equity
Recognizing the gap in access to education and healthcare that impact low-income and POC with disabilities, and working to bridge that gap.
