Standing Against Hate: Our Commitment to Respect at LADDC

At a recent Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council meeting, someone who joined online made comments that were very hurtful and unacceptable. We are truly sorry to our Council members, staff, and the disability community who were affected by these comments.

We want to be clear: hate speech is not allowed at our meetings.

Everyone has the right to speak and be heard, but we must always treat each other with respect. It is never okay to use words that attack someone because of their race, disability, gender, religion, or any other personal trait. This includes name-calling, threats, or anything that makes others feel unsafe.

Anyone who uses harmful or hateful language will be removed from our meetings and not allowed to return.

We are currently looking into what happened and working to find out how we can prevent this from happening again.

The Council has been, and always will be, here to support people with developmental disabilities and their families. We are committed to making our meetings safe and respectful for everyone.