Nebraska joined 16 other states last week in a lawsuit against Section 504, a federal law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination. The suit, initiated by Texas last year, asks that Section 504 be declared unconstitutional.
The Biden administration expanded the language of the law last fall to include protections for people who experience gender dysphoria. The law states that the Department of Health and Human Services will “approach gender dysphoria as it would any other disorder or condition. If a disorder or condition affects one or more body systems, or is a mental or psychological disorder, it may be considered a physical or mental impairment.”
Section 504 has historically provided protections for Americans with disabilities and is the foundation for key moments in disability rights issues such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to Edison McDonald, executive director at The Arc of Nebraska.
“It's monumental, and all of those following pieces that really depend on Section 504 as an underpinning are also under attack in this,” McDonald said. “It could mean major things that could be stuff like not ensuring that a kid with a disability has an adequate voice in a hospital setting, which is what we saw during COVID, and the main protection there was section 504.”
The 17 states involved in the suit submitted an updated filing Feb. 19 to specify that they weren’t demanding the Rehabilitation Act, which protects people with disabilities from discrimination, be ruled unconstitutional. Instead, the focus was on the language concerning gender dysphoria.
But parents like Shonda Knop still have concern over Nebraska’s involvement with the lawsuit. Knop is a nurse at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Her 17-year-old son, Jacoby Knop, has spina bifida, which affects his spinal cord. He has been in a wheelchair all his life.
Jacoby has visual impairments and needs a wheelchair and service dog to help him navigate the halls of his high school. In classes, he has printed materials and computer screen fonts in larger print.
Shonda said these resources have an impact not only on her son, but on his peers, too.
“All of those things have been so instrumental in helping him be successful and being taught to his capability all through school,” Shonda said. “Jacoby functions with his peers. They are used to a kid in a wheelchair in their class. They're used to being able to move out of his way, or help move a chair or something. So, it also teaches them respect for someone in a wheelchair.”
Though Hilgers clarified he’s only planning to go after the language of the law that includes gender dysphoria, Shonda said she still worries about the state being attached to a lawsuit that could impact people like her son.
“The appropriate thing, for me to feel safe with this, would be to withdraw Nebraska from the lawsuit, or to just go into the lawsuit and amend it and focus on the specific part you don't like without hindering the protections of everyone else in education and healthcare,” Shonda said.
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said in a clarification Thursday that the law’s expansion “hijacks Section 504 for political purposes and threatens the way Nebraska provides mental health services.”
The statement said that Hilgers is reevaluating Nebraska’s involvement in the suit and will take “other appropriate action if the legal protection and funding provided by Section 504 becomes threatened.”