Amendment to Tennessee’s Katie Beckett Bill
This afternoon, sponsors of HB0498/ SB0476 filed an amendment to the bill that would define a Katie Beckett Program for Tennessee. The amendment replaces all language after the caption in the bill’s current form.

Before 13-year-old Yasmeene Ahmad experienced a traumatic brain injury, she was a “loving, strong, responsible, humble, courageous and friendly girl.” The injury significantly impacted her daily life. 

Yasmeene fell in a school gym one afternoon. Upon waking, she seemed disoriented and began experiencing radiating pain in her head. Christen, Yasmeen’s mother, arrived to pick her up.

“Soon after returning home, Yasmeene started throwing up, so I rushed her to the hospital,” she said. 

Right now in Tennessee, legislative session is happening! While it’s important to advocate year-round for disability employment, now is a great time to meet with your legislators. Plus, the governor will be giving his State of the State address and budget proposal in early March. It’s important to pay attention to how the governor talks about disability employment and whether there is state funding to support further disability employment initiatives. 

On this historic occasion of the inauguration of Tennessee's 50th Governor Bill Lee, the Tennessee Disability Coalition would like to share an open letter to our new Chief Executive.

January 18, 2019

Dear Governor Lee,

On behalf of the Tennessee Disability Coalition, we would like to extend our sincere congratulations on your inauguration as the 50th Governor of the great state of Tennessee. We hope that your first days in office are smooth as you begin to tackle the many important issues facing our state.