Presented for dedication to protecting and furthering the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families through legislative service and action.
Leslie Seid Margolis, Disability Rights Maryland
Leslie Seid Margolis has devoted her career to advancing the rights, dignity, and inclusion of people with disabilities across Maryland. Through her leadership at Disability Rights Maryland, she has been a tireless advocate for students with disabilities, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and families seeking equity, access, and justice.
Leslie is widely respected for her thoughtful, strategic, and persistent advocacy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she became a leading voice for students with disabilities and their families, working to ensure access to special education services, compensatory education, and meaningful educational supports during prolonged school closures and remote learning. She helped lead statewide advocacy efforts, developed guidance and resources for families, and was relentless in her advocacy with Maryland education leaders to better support students with disabilities during an extraordinarily difficult time.
Leslie has also been one of Maryland’s most influential advocates in the effort to eliminate the use of restraint and seclusion in schools and to ensure students with disabilities are treated with dignity, safety, and respect.
For years, Leslie has worked alongside families, advocates, educators, and policymakers to expose the harmful and traumatic impact that restraint and seclusion can have on students, particularly students with disabilities. Through her leadership at Disability Rights Maryland, she helped advance some of Maryland’s earliest legislative and policy efforts governing restraint and seclusion practices in schools.
Leslie’s advocacy helped bring statewide attention to the issue, including sharing evidence and testimony with lawmakers that demonstrated the urgent need for reform and accountability. She also served in a leadership role within statewide coalitions that helped shape Maryland’s evolving regulations, guidance, reporting requirements, and implementation efforts aimed at reducing restraint and largely eliminating seclusion practices in public schools.
Leslie Seid Margolis has made an enduring mark on Maryland’s disability rights landscape. From advancing inclusive education and protecting access to services during the pandemic, to championing the reduction of restraint and seclusion in schools and supporting the movement away from institutionalization toward community inclusion, Leslie’s work has transformed systems and improved countless lives. Her thoughtful, strategic, and unwavering commitment to civil rights has helped make Maryland safer, more equitable, and more inclusive for people with disabilities and their families.