Department Of Justice, Office Of Legal Counsel Opinion: Application Of The Rehabilitation Act & Americans With Disabilities Act To State Institutionalization Of Patients With Severe Mental Illness Or Disabilities

The opinion was issued on June 18, 2026, by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel. The document is a Memorandum Opinion For The Counsel To The President. The DOJ concluded "In prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, neither section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act nor Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) imposed an integration mandate on states in their treatment of mentally disabled individuals. Nor does either statute authorize the responsible Executive Branch agencies to impose such a mandate."

Further, the DOJ concluded "In Olmstead v. L.C. ex rel. Zimring, 527 U . . .