In 2016, the American Diabetes Association joined a family in California as the organizational plaintiff in a lawsuit alleging the United States Army's Child, Youth & School Services (Army CYSS) program discriminated against children with diabetes because its policy did not allow staff to administer insulin or glucagon, or to assist with carbohydrate counting for children participating in its programs. This policy effectively excluded children with diabetes from participating in Army CYSS programs, which include summer camps, childcare programs, and before/after school care programs on Army bases.
In 2017, the Army revised its policy so that staff members are no longer explicitly prohibited from providing certain types of diabetes care. However, Army CYSS has established a process for considering requests for accommodations that is so long, multi-tiered, and burdensome that it still discriminates against children with diabetes. As such, in July 2017 we filed an Amended Complaint to address the revised policy.
The Army responded to the Amended Complaint with a Motion to Dismiss, arguing that neither the Association nor its co-plaintiff, M.W., have the right to bring the lawsuit (under the legal requirement of “standing”) and that even if we did, we had not stated enough facts to show a plausible case of discrimination. We opposed this motion, but the Court granted it on the grounds that the Association and M.W. did not have standing. The Court did not rule on the question of whether discrimination occurred.
In 2018, the Association appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 32 organizations filed friend of the court briefs to indicate their support and agreement that the Association is the appropriate party to advocate for affected Army families and that Association member families have been injured by the Army. This page will be updated with case documents and other important information as they become available.
Army Child, Youth & School Services lawsuit documents
- Complaint against Defendants United States Department of the Army (PDF)
- Amended Complaint (PDF)
- Army CYSS’s Motion to Dismiss (PDF)
- Opposition to the Motion to Dismiss (PDF)
- Declaration of Hope W. (PDF)
Army Child, Youth & School Services appeal documents
- Appellate brief (PDF)
- Brief of the Pediatric Diabetes Community (PDF)
Filed by Michael Greene, Greg Paul, and John Griffin on behalf of the American Association of Diabetes Educators, Children with Diabetes, Endocrine Society, International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes, Pediatric Endocrine Society, and Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) Exchange. - Brief of the Civil Rights Community (PDF)
Filed by the Impact Fund on behalf of the AARP, AARP Foundation, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Bay Area Legal Aid, Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, Legal Aid Association of California, Legal Aid at Work, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, National Women’s Law Center, Public Interest Law Project, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Worksafe, Inc. - Brief of the Disability Rights Community (PDF)
Filed by the law firm Jones Day on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Child Care Law Center, Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, Epilepsy Foundation of America, Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, National Association of the Deaf, National Disability Rights Network, National Federation of the Blind, and The Arc of the United States.
Army Child, Youth & School Services policy documents