Ability Youth Peer Lucy Galarus to Introduce Disability Education Bill to 2025 Montana Legislature
Posted on: Jan 03, 2025
As a person with a disability living in Butte, Montana, Lucy Galarus has faced her share of challenges, but it’s her passion for advocacy and education that drives her to make lasting change. Currently, she is working on a bill to propose to the Montana Legislature during the 2025 session—a bill aimed at ensuring Montana high schools teach the culture and history of people with disabilities. It’s a mission that stems from Lucy’s own experiences growing up as a wheelchair user, navigating a world that wasn’t built for her needs.
The bill aims to highlight the rights and history of disabled people—a group often left out of high school history books.
According to Lucy, "It’s important to know where your rights come from. Most people can refer to the Constitution, and that’s taught in school. But for people with disabilities, our specific rights come from the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973." But as she points out, "If you don’t know what documents to look for, how would you know your rights?"
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The Importance of Teaching Disability Rights in Montana Schools
This bill, which would make disability history and rights a part of Montana’s high school curriculum, is crucial for raising awareness and empowering disabled students. "As a disabled person, you have specific rights. But a lot of disabled people don’t know their rights," says Lucy. "A lot of disabled people don’t even know they’re disabled. Often, they don’t know what an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a 504 is."
These are foundational tools that can help students with disabilities access the accommodations they need to thrive in the classroom. Lucy believes that without education about these rights, students may never understand the resources available to them.
For Lucy, the inspiration for this bill came from her own experience in school. "I was sitting in my history class and thinking, 'Where’s my people?' I’m a reader, so I found my history by myself. But it shouldn’t be like that," she says. The bill aims to ensure that future generations of disabled students don’t have to search for their history in isolation.
The Path to Introducing the Bill to the Montana Legislature
Lucy’s journey toward bringing this bill before the Montana Legislature in 2025 has been a learning process. "I had no idea how any of this worked," she admits. "At [Montana Youth Leadership Forum], we went to the capital in Helena and debated a fictional bill similar to this one. I took it and I was like, 'I’m going to do this.'"
Now, as a Youth Peer at Ability Montana, Lucy is no stranger to advocacy work. She recalls how Ability Montana helped her family navigate resources when she was young. "We had a lawsuit against the school I attended, and Ability helped us advocate for ourselves and connect to legal resources," she says. This support has been invaluable throughout her life, and it’s part of what motivates her to take part in advocacy work.
The next steps for the bill include working with legislative drafters and getting feedback from key organizations. "The drafters will call me, and we’ll meet about what the bill is going to say," Lucy explains. Then the bill goes to house committee meetings, the senate, a floor vote, and to the governor. But there are many steps where it could be voted out, or it could be paused and the body could ask for time for research.
How to Stay Updated and Support the Bill
To join the effort, you can email Lucy at lgalarus@abilitymt.org and join the Disability Action Network, which discusses bill updates and community action.
Additionally, people can sign up for email updates by emailing Cassie Weightman at cweightman@abilitymt.org.