Federal judge rules Texas illegally put thousands of people with mental disabilities into nursing homes

A San Antonio federal judge ruled the state of Texas has unnecessarily pushed thousands people with intellectual and developmental disabilities into nursing homes over recent decades, denying them assistance services required under law, Texas Public Radio reports.

U.S. District Court Judge Orlando Garcia of the Western District of Texas on Tuesday ruled that the state deprived 4,500 individuals of “pre-admission screenings, professionally appropriate assessments of their habilitative needs, specialized services to meet those needs, and active treatment,” according to a copy of the ruling shared by the news outlet. Garcia further called the violation “severe and ongoing,” adding that it’s resulted in “irreparable injury” to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The judge issued the ruling as part of a class action suit the Center for Public Representation, Disability Rights Texas and Sidley Austin LLP filed 15 years ago on behalf of plaintiffs now living in nursing facilities, according to TPR.

“It is clear that this court cares about people who told their stories, elevated their sometimes-tragic situations and was really compassionate in understanding what sort of terrible lives people were forced into, unwittingly, unknowingly and really against their will,” Steven Schwartz, special counsel at the Center for Public representation, told the radio station.

Under the federal Medicaid Act in 1987, states are required to screen people with intellectual disabilities so they can be matched with programs to help them live independent lives.

Schwartz told TPR that his group sued Texas in 2010 after state officials ignored the federal mandate, then Gov. Greg Abbott subsequently ignored a 2013 the organization reached with the state. The radio station was unable to reach Abbott’s office for comment.

Garcia ordered Texas officials to work with the plaintiffs to iron out a remedy to the violations by Aug. 1.              

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This article appears in Jun 12-25, 2025.