Posted on 02/15/2025 1:27:15 PM PST by ransomnote
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in September of 1973. Section 504 of that act codified the civil rights of persons with disabilities. “No otherwise qualified individual” can be, simply because of their disability, “denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination" in any program or activity that receives federal funds.
That law has turned out to be hugely important in education, offering an even broader definition of students with special needs than the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Now 16 states have joined Texas in a lawsuit asking the court to declare Section 504 unconstitutional.
On the surface, the lawsuit appears to be one more battle over the rights of transgender citizens. Under the Biden administration, the Section 504 definition of disability was expanded to recognize that “gender dysphoria . . . may be considered a physical or mental impairment.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration in September 2024, saying that it was “abusing executive action” to sidestep the law. The state was suing, Paxton said, "because HHS has no authority to unilaterally rewrite statutory definitions and classify 'gender dysphoria' as a disability."
The suit spends over 30 pages objecting to the addition of gender dysphoria to the Section 504 definition. It argues against the rule’s understanding of gender dysphoria. It argues against the characterization of Olmstead, a 1999 case that found persons with mental disabilities have the right to live outside of institutions.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Forbes is out here making this sound like a bad thing.
I clicked the link. 48 pages on the PDF. Not gonna take the time to read that.
But if Texas and 16 other blue states are for it - so am I.
I don’t know how God wants us to fix this — but apparently around 90% of preborn babies diagnosed with a disability like Down’s Syndrome are aborted. In countries like Denmark or Iceland, the percentage is near total.
This is about covering the mentally ill trans movement. This will hurt those who are actually mentally disabled, who, are equal to everyone else.
Very sad.
Take away the cash cow that such declarations are for many families, and we’d probably see a significant drop in new diagnoses for many ills.
Thanks. I knew Forbes would deliberately hide the real reason for this suit.
The title is deceptive.
It’s not about taking away protections for disabled students.
It’s about Biden’s decision to cover the whole tranny thing.
Funding for gender madness actually takes away resources from kids who need special education.
“The 17 states are Texas, Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia. Many of those states have Parents’ Rights laws, but if the states win, parents of children with some special needs will have fewer rights protected by law.”
GOOD now those kid will have their own special schools again.
I said it was a bad idea years ago and the special needs kids got bullied, beat up and sometimes raped in schools by other kids. Now at least they will be in a safer place.
I’m guessing that the author is misinterpreting the lawsuit as trying to get rid of 504 altogether rather than just get rid of what they say is unconstitutional: the addition of gender dysphoria as a disability
Reading the linked article where Paxton explains the reason for the suit, it is clear that the suit seeks to get rid of Biden’s revision of 504, not the previous version.
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in September of 1973. Section 504 of that act codified the civil rights of persons with disabilities. “No otherwise qualified individual” can be, simply because of their disability, “denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination" in any program or activity that receives federal funds.Civil Rights do not need to be codified, period, full stop. Civil Rights are God given.
Every time government attempts to broaden our rights they are actually narrowing them with a manufactured category.
Adding the Trans to a BOGUS CODE is GIGO.
The FAA was actively encouraging the mentally ill to apply for jobs as Air Traffic Controllers in furtherance of DEI objectives. When you say "equal", that requires some very specific qualification.
We are talking about students regarding this article, not the FAA. Please stay on the subject.
How about disciplining those who are bullying and raping? Or is that too hard?? Segregating special needs students does more harm than good. 20 years worth of studies prove that.
They are usually abused by staff and other students.
Some students with physical disabilities can be mainstreamed but others can not.
The parties bullying and raping are "protected minorities". If you attempt to discipline them, the civil rights attorneys proclaim "disproportionate or disparate" impact. That is a damn lie. It is directly proportional to the bad behavior, but that doesn't matter. The bad actors are permitted to abuse the rest of the classroom. The solution is to extract the good students into a safe environment leaving the bad actors behind.
Dissolve the DEA and all its works and problem is solved.
I have about 50% hearing loss. I take courses ( for credit and full tuition) at my local state university.
Success in these courses would be impossible without the accommodations the university provides for those with diminished hearing.
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