Section 504 was enacted by Congress more than fifty years ago as the landmark civil rights protection for disabled people. People with physical disabilities literally risked their lives and occupied federal buildings to demand that implementing regulations be issued, as directed by Congress. Those 504 regulations, originally issued in 1977 and recently updated in May 2024, protect veterans with service-related disabilities, children needing educational accommodations in school, and older adults who want to age at home, among others. The updated rule ensures, among other protections, that people with disabilities are not denied life-saving treatment, as many were during the COVID-19 pandemic, that new kiosks are accessible, and federally funded programs are equally available to people with disabilities. For any state to try to cancel this historic civil rights statute, or to deny the disability community its basic rights under the updated regulation, in unacceptable. We want to be clear: our essential civil rights are not negotiable.
Case Documents:
CPR News Stories:
- February 21, 2025: CPR and Partners Issue Update on the Texas v. Becerra Lawsuit
- February 13, 2025: CPR Defends Section 504 Against Attack by Seventeen States
Related Media:
- Washington Post: Disabled Americans fear losing protections if states’ lawsuit succeeds
- Disability Scoop: Lawsuit Filed By 17 States Threatens Disability Protections, Advocates Say
- Time: A Lawsuit Threatens the Disability Protections I’ve Known My Whole Life
- Star Tribune: Why are Republican states trying to overturn a pillar of disability rights?
- Des Moines Register: Brenna Bird’s legal action could hurt thousands of Iowans with disabilities
- ABC25:Able SC, Attorney General react, as lawsuit threatens to end “Section 504”
- Alabama Reflector: GOP-led lawsuit that could dismantle disability protections draws public backlash
- Post and Courier: South Carolina AG backs away from lawsuit challenging disability civil rights
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