The push by Republican Attorney Generals in 17 states to break down some federal laws protecting people with disabilities from discrimination has prompted protests from advocates, parents and local officials.
The GOP-led lawsuit covers specific protections for transgender people. However, some experts have warned that it could undermine federal protections for all people with disabilities.
Texas GOP Attorney General Kenpaxton I sued In September, the federal government over the addition of gender identity-related disorders by the Biden administration, which added gender identity-related disorders to disorders protected under sections of the federal law of 1973.
Republican attorney generals from 16 other states took part in the lawsuit: Alaska, Alabama, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah; West Virginia.
If protection for disabled children can be eliminated, who will be next?
– Charlotte Clavins, parent of a child with disabilities
However, the AGS faces public backlash caused by conflicting messages about what the lawsuit actually does. He has Down syndrome and is blind in one eye.
Cravins and other parents and supporters point to part of the lawsuit that plaintiffs seek to find the court unconstitutional in the entire section of the law. If the court agrees, they believe they will allow schools, workplaces, hospitals and other organizations to refuse to provide accommodations that have been provided for the past 50 years.
“It’s going to affect so many people, everyone in our state — really, our country — should be concerned,” Clavins said. “If we can erase protection for disabled children, who will be next?”
Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the provision in question, prohibits entities receiving federal funds from discriminating on the basis of disability. For example, the law prohibits hospitals from refusing to transplant organs due to disabilities. Schools need to enable hearing impaired students to use speech-to-text technology. The law covers a wide range of disorders including vision and hearing impairment, autism, diabetes, Down syndrome, dyslexia and ADHD.
Last May, the Biden administration issued rules that added “gender discomfort” to targeted disorders. Psychological pain People may experience when gender identity does not match the gender assigned at birth. Gender discomfort is It is defined In the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Recently, national rights organizations for people with disabilities – American Council of the Blinds, National Down Syndrome Association, Hearing Impaired Association and Disabled Rights Education and Defense Fund – It sparked a surge in social media activity and a call for state legislators, encouraging the public to speak out.
AG responds
Despite public backlash, AGs in some states are digging their heels.
Georgia Republican Attorney General Chris Kerr argues that the lawsuit will not affect existing disability protections. Instead, he said he just aims to reverse the Biden administration’s gender discomfort into a legal protective disorder.
“The constitutionality of the 504 was never an issue,” Kerr said in a statement in Statary. “We are fighting one awakening policy added by Biden for virtue signals.”
He said most Georgians do not believe that gender discomfort should not be treated as a qualified disorder.
Arkansas Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin published statement Last week, it argued that if the state wins the lawsuit, “regulations go back to what they are” before gender discomfort is added to the law. He said the Section 504 Unconstitutional Declaration only means that the federal government cannot revoke funds for failing to comply with some laws protecting gender discomfort.
However, constitutional expert and UC Berkeley Law Dean Irwin Kemerinsky wrote in an email that the lawsuit asks the court to declare Section 504 in full unconstitutional. He called the request “really amazing.”
The lawsuit is now Pending. Shortly after President Donald Trump took office on January 20th, the parties involved in the incident agreed. Pause Litigation during the new administration It will be reevaluated Federal government position. The status report comes from a judge later this month. Some of the AGs involved in the lawsuit, including Georgia Kerr and West Virginia Republican Attorney General JB McCasky, are I said They hope that the Trump administration will reverse Biden’s rules. This could result in the withdrawal of the AGS lawsuit.
Meanwhile, as public pressure escalates, some AGs are keeping their distance from suits.
South Carolina Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson said last week in a statement on January 20th of Trump. Presidential Order “It is a US policy to recognize two genders, male and female.” Resolved his concerns. “Our mission is complete,” Wilson said. Some Supporters I understood his statement, meaning he might withdraw South Carolina from the lawsuit.
However, a spokesman for his office said that while South Carolina will not withdraw from the lawsuit, he notified the court this week to clarify that the state has not requested Section 504 to be declared unconstitutional. He told Stateline he would submit it.
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Utah Republican Attorney General Derek Brown said statement Utah joined the lawsuit before taking office and doesn’t think that Section 504 will be void as “the Trump administration will immediately withdraw restrictions.”
Ags Make a claim Established federal law does not consider gender identity disorder to be a disorder. They say that allowing Biden’s rules to stay appropriately means that unless transgender students are allowed to compete in sports or use locker rooms that suit their gender identity, the government is not allowed to They say they will allow federal funds to withhold from.
Grassroots effort
Louisiana lawyer and mother Clavins wrote a letter this week to Louisiana Republican Attorney General Liz Maryll, asking him to drop Louisiana from the lawsuit.
Maryle A statement has been issued On Wednesday, she expressed support for people with disabilities, saying that her office is “actively seeking a resolution with the Trump administration,” retracting Biden’s rules while still retaining previous protections in the law. I will.
Cravins said her son relies on Section 504 protections to access specialized treatments, and will rely more on those protections as he approaches the grade. Section 504 helps ensure access to vision-related support, treatment and other accommodations in schools.
Cravins believes that the AG signing the lawsuit is not honest about its potential impact on the protection of all people with disabilities.
“A lawsuit that says something else and says something else can’t be imagined except that they are dishonest towards their members,” she said.
Ryan Renault, the school board representative for one of Alabama’s largest public school districts, also contacted him last week after reading about Alabama Republican Attorney General Steve Marshall. I said. There were more calls soon.
“We’ve heard from dozens of parents over the last few days,” Renault told Stateline. Without Section 504 protection, students could lose access to a wide range of accommodation, he said, until the extra time they would take a test from classroom aides.
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The impact could extend beyond what most people think when thinking about special education, he said.
“This includes students with ADHD, heart disease, depression, visual impairment and diabetes,” Renault said. “Accommodations with these health concerns are also under the planning protection of 504.
“If students do not have those accommodations, the classroom is less safe and teachers cannot manage the classroom.”
He also worries that if federal law stops asking for them, funds from the U.S. Department of Education that helps pay for those accommodations could disappear. Trump vowed to dismantle the agency.
“We spend an average of $30 million a year on special education, with over a quarter of that being provided by the federal government,” he said. “if [accommodations] The federal government is not protected, and the Department of Education has no authority to pay the funds. You should assume that you must pick up that sagging through local or state funds.
“And it’s hard to believe Alabama will spit out tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars to make up for these costs.”
Last year, the US Department of Education reported that. 1.6 million students Disability was provided under Section 504 nationwide from 2020 to 2021.
(Stateline) It is a nonprofit news network that is part of the state newsroom and supports a coalition of grants and donors as a public charity of 501C(3). Stateline maintains editorial independence. For questions, please contact editor Scott S. Greenberger. [email protected]. )
