Protect Section 504

From the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF):

Texas v. Becerra is a court case in Texas. A group of 17 states have sued the United States government. The states are asking the court to get rid of Section 504 and its new rules that protect people with disabilities from discrimination in health care and human services.

What is Section 504?

Section 504 is an important law that protects people with disabilities. Section 504 says you can’t discriminate against disabled people if you get money from the United States government. To discriminate means to treat people badly because of who they are. Section 504 says you cannot treat people badly because of their disabilities.

Section 504 has rules that explain what disability discrimination is. The rules say that places like schools, hospitals, and doctors’ offices have to include people with disabilities. The rules say what these places have to do to include people with disabilities. Anyone who gets money from the United States government to serve the public or do business has to follow the rules.

The United States government finished the first Section 504 rules in 1977. Many disabled people protested so that the government would make the rules strong.

The United States government updates the Section 504 rules over time. The government just finished updating the rules in 2024. Many disability advocates wrote to the government about what to put in the rules. The updated rules are stronger and have more examples about what disability discrimination is.

What is the suit about?

The 17 states suing the government have asked the court to get rid of Section 504. The states disagree with a few things in the updated Section 504 rules. But the lawsuit asks the court to get rid of all the updated rules – and to get rid of Section 504 itself, not just the rules they disagree with. The lawsuit says that Section 504 goes against the United States Constitution. The lawsuit says that no one should have to follow any part of Section 504. If the dying states win, this would be a disaster for people with disabilities.

The states are Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina  South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. 

There are action items for residents of all 50 states. For more details and a link to email and mail templates, call scripts, and more visit https://dredf.org/protect-504/