An act relating to nondiscrimination concerning a parent with a disability

This Vermont bill (H 315) prohibits using a person's disability as a reason to deny or restrict parental rights, foster care, guardianship, or adoption opportunities when those decisions are otherwise in the child's best interests. It requires courts and agencies to consider "supportive parenting services" (like assistive technology) as an alternative to restricting rights, shifting the burden to prove disability harms a child to clear and convincing evidence. The bill directly affects parents, prospective parents, foster parents, and guardians with disabilities in family court and child welfare proceedings. If rights are restricted, courts must provide specific written reasons explaining why support services weren't used as a reasonable accommodation.