What's That 504 Lawsuit All About?
The implications are bad. Very bad.
I’ve heard a fair amount of discussion recently about a lawsuit brought by 17 states challenging Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The key question: What does it (or could it) mean for schools?
Courtney Waller does a very nice job of digging in to the suit and the potential impacts.
Here’s a summary of what could happen IF the suit is ultimately successful:
Yes. No matter what they say, they are trying to eradicate a fundamental protection for the disabled population that has sustained for over half a century. Yes. They are trying to remove disabled students from public education. They are trying to remove disabled workers from the workforce. Yes. They are trying to bring back schools that “best suit a student’s needs”, which is just a fancy way of saying that they are bringing back the segregated schools and institutions so many have fought for so long to eradicate.
If that happens, Congress could re-enact all or part of the protections enumerated in 504.
Or, they could do nothing.
As Waller notes, it’s not clear what will happen in the courts. It is clear, though, what’s at stake.
The 17 states suing are: Texas, Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia.
And, as Forbes notes, the suit specifically says:
But the language of the lawsuit is quite clear. The fourth item under “Demand for Relief” is
Declare Section 504, 29 U.S.C. § 794, unconstitutional
Followed by
Issue permanent injunctive relief against Defendants enjoining them from enforcing Section 504
If the lawyers had only wanted to address certain elements of the Biden Administration’s interpretation of 504, they could have left that “demand for relief” out. Instead, these Attorneys General are explicitly asking for the elimination of Section 504.