Coercive & Untethered

The undoing of disability rights is picking up steam and this is the right SCOTUS to make it happen. Be worried.

Texas v. Becerra was filed in late 2024 by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The lawsuit asks the court to issue a permanent injunction against Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 enforcement. Paxton, joined by sixteen other AG’s asserts that “Section 504 is coercive, untethered to the federal interest in disability, and unfairly retroactive.”

Is your state involved?

What prompted this filing? Gender dysphoria. Section 504 was recently expanded to include gender dysphoria as a recognized disability. Which fired up the MAGA cult. But Texas v. Becerra doesn’t ask the court to toss that inclusion out as unconstitutional. The suit intends to repeal the entire law.

I’ve written about the impending attack on disability rights before and after twenty years of delivering human services in Florida, I am not surprised Florida is in the mix. In fact, I’ve been sounding the alarm bells since 2013. But until Trump mocked the journalist in 2015, I don’t think many folks thought the roll back of disability rights was even possible in America. Well it is and it’s just one of the many reasons I created the Association of Vocational Rehabilitation Service Providers.

It is also why I filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights in 2018. The Office for Civil Rights is responsible for investigating complaints of discriminatory practices within schools. The OCR will, of course, be collateral damage under Trump’s plan to dismantle the Department of Education.

ICYMI -

Trump has tapped Kimberly Richey, formerly Senior Chancellor of the Florida Department of Education to lead the Office of Civil Rights. In response to that appointment, Liz King of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights said “We’re watching daily updates as the office is weaponized to tear down the racial progress, the disability justice work, the gender justice work …”

Kimberly Richey replaced Henry Mack at the Florida Department of Education. Mack, whose real name is Maklakiewicz, has bounced around from job to job since leaving the Department until last week when he was named Trump’s choice to lead the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. I’ll be writing more on that soon. 😉

Okay, So Who Cares About 504 Plans?

If you have a school age child who has been diagnosed with a physical or mental disability that “substantially limits one or more major life activity,” including learning and working, the short answer is YOU DO.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act codified the civil rights of persons with disabilities and protected them against discrimination while ensuring their equal access to education, employment, healthcare, and public services. It established rules regarding the treatment of people with disabilities by any entity that receives federal funds, including all public schools.

504 Plans offer civil rights protections to over eight million public school students across the U.S. Furthermore, the are a vital support for students whose disability doesn’t qualify them for IDEA Individualized Education Program (IEP)

According to ADDitude, the “most common disability covered by 504 plans is ADHD, which can significantly impact a student’s ability to learn and regulate attention and emotion in the classroom.” And the most common accommodations include “extra time on assignments, preferential seating, movement breaks, written and verbal instructions, and organizational tools like planners and daily report cards.”

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.

ADDitude Magazine

Remember When I Said, It’s Time To Get Loud?

Yah, I meant that.

The first round of legal briefs is due to the courts next Tuesday, February 25. If you live in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, or West Virginia; the time to raise hell with your legislators is NOW.

If you aren’t sure what to communication, The National Council on Independent Living has you covered with sample language for contacting elected officials.

Advocacy groups are asking people to also contact their Attorney General as well but that seems like a waste of energy to me. I mean if you’re a big enough asshole to join the suit in the first place, you’re a big enough asshole to not care what anyone thinks about your assholeness.

Still, you can find sample letters to send to your AG on the Council for Exceptional Children website or the National Down Syndrome Society here.

If you’re in Florida, where approximately 75,000 students are protected by 504 Plans, Billy Townsend took the time to gather relevant information.

Coercive and Untethered? Really?

● Schools must educate students who have been diagnosed with a disability to their highest potential.

● Sign language interpreters available.

● Doctors must provide clear medical advice to people regardless of disability.

● Websites accommodate individuals with visual and auditory disabilities.

● Healthcare providers can’t refuse healthcare to people who have a disability.

These are a few examples that the AG’s of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia find “coercive and untethered to the federal interest in disability.”

Wait…Why Is This Happening?

Well, the AG’s are taking advantage of the public’s fear of and confusion over gender dysphoria. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), gender dysphoria is defined as a significant distress or impairment related to gender incongruence. It is a recognized diagnosis provided by practicing mental health professionals after extensive evaluations and only when specific conditions are met.

Across America, about 42,000 people under eighteen years old are diagnosed with gender dysphoria. To say that they are vulnerable super minority population is an understatement but that’s not relevant to the AG’s who want to shoot their shot while the Supreme Court is packed with far right radicals willing to provide an assist from the bench.