Seventeen states joined together to file a lawsuit, Texas v. Becerra, that threatens long-established rights for persons with disabilities covered under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. This 1973 law bars discrimination on the basis of disability at any entity, program or activity that receives federal funds such as schools and hospitals. The lawsuit, initially filed to challenge a Biden administration regulation, also asks the court to declare Section 504 unconstitutional in its entirety. Since such a ruling would be devastating for people with disabilities, there has been a public outcry urging the seventeen state Attorneys General to remove their states from the lawsuit. A new court filing from the 17 states on February 19 declared that they did not mean to have Section 504 declared unconstitutional. However, as explained at the link below, the lawsuit was not changed, and the very real risk of losing the civil rights protections in Section 504 remain. Read the whole press release PDF.
