On August 8th, Governor Bill Lee called upon the General Assembly to convene for a special session on the topic of “public safety”. The call for the special session was made, in part, in response to the March 27th school shootings at the Covenant School in Nashville. His special session proclamation set the bounds of appropriate legislative topics that could be discussed and debated, from resources for mental health to juvenile justice to records and reporting requirements.

We have heard from countless TennCare members and their families that their services, care and lives have been upended by the numerous issues they’ve faced in attempting to navigate the transition to Consumer Direct Tennessee. It's past time for these issues to be fixed and for these members and families to get some accountability. Please consider joining us in our advocacy.

July is Disability Pride Month, a time to celebrate the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and our Disability Identity, Culture, Community, and Pride. Here at the Coalition, we will be celebrating all month long! 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has requested public input on a new rule they have proposed that would widely benefit people receiving Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS). Your voice is vital to this process, because changes to CMS rules don’t occur often. Thus, it is very important that CMS receive as much public feedback as possible on the proposal to ensure that the final rule is the best and most comprehensive version possible.

Well, it’s finally, mercifully over – the Tennessee General Assembly adjourned Sine Die on April 21st, 2023. This year saw expulsions, resignations, dirty laundry in the national spotlight, protests, some legislation or whatever, and lots and lots of drama. Now that we’ve had some time to decompress and reflect, I wanted to wrap up the year for the disability community. And it was a good year at that.

And, of course, ‘twas another wild week down at the Tennessee General Assembly as our elected officials sprint towards the exits. We had some high-profile resignation drama, some long days/nights in chamber, daily protests (in and out of chamber) and (probably) one much-needed adjournment Sine Die. Despite the goofiness up on the hill, I want to reiterate again that the Tennessee disability community had a pretty darn good session this year.