Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a pivotal law to uphold the rights of people with disabilities. The law says that all programs receiving federal funding, which is a substantial portion of programs, must provide accommodations for persons with disabilities. We believe that the law is extremely vulnerable at this time. In September of 2024, a lawsuit was brought by 17 states against the U.S. government to overturn the law; this would enable services receiving federal dollars to stop providing the necessary accommodations our community so greatly needs. For instance, medical providers could simply choose to make their online services inaccessible for blind and low-vision patients, and our population would have no legal recourse to fight back.
The first round of regulations for Section 504 was implemented by the government in 1977, four years after the adoption of the law. A new and greatly needed update to the regulations was not adopted until 2024. ACB played a role in drafting comments for the Notice of Proposed Rule-Making that was used to develop the eventual updated regulations.
ACB is deeply concerned to see the potential abandonment of all the work we have done to help advance our rights. The lawsuit, Texas v. Becerra, was brought by the following states: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. Advocates urge residents of the 17 states to contact their state attorneys general and explain why the elimination of Section 504 would be so detrimental for people with disabilities. If your state is not one of the listed 17 states, you can also contact your state’s attorney general and encourage them to draft an amicus brief for the pending lawsuit.
A coalition of disability advocates held a webinar on February 12 to outline the issue and provide advocacy suggestions. As soon as the recording is available, ACB will share it via email and online. ACB is following the issue closely and will participate in advocacy work to protect Section 504.
Posted on February 13th, 2025