Red state haters

The Silent Attack on Disability Rights in Our Schools

This is bullshit: Republican officials in 17 states are trying to obliterate one of the most fundamental civil rights protections in American education. And they're hoping you won't notice.

Most Americans have never heard of Section 504. I hope we close that ignorance loop now. This law is key to educational justice for students with disabilities and has been so for half a century. It's why the girl with her service dog can attend class. Why the teen who uses a wheelchair can make it to the chemistry lab. Why the kid with dyslexia gets the support they need to thrive.

Think these are just feel-good stories? Hardly.

Before Section 504, schools could - and did - slam their doors on students with disabilities. Kids were warehoused in seriously inhumane facilities, denied basic accommodations, and told they didn't belong. The law changed that with a revolutionary premise: if you take federal money, you cannot discriminate. Period.

Today, 17 states happily take federal education dollars while trying to destroy the very law that ensures those dollars don't fund discrimination.

The scope of Section 504 is precisely what makes it powerful. It protects anyone with a physical or mental impairment that "substantially limits major life activities." This means the student with diabetes, the teen with severe anxiety, and the wheelchair user - all have a legal right to equal educational opportunity. Not because of charity. Because of civil and human rights in a nation with something approximating a heart.

When schools provide "504 Plans" - whether it's extra time on tests, sign language interpreters, or accessible buildings - these aren't special privileges. They're basic rights that ensure students with disabilities can access the same education as their peers. Rights that 17 red states now want to eradicate.

Here's the crappiest part: While these states cynically claim they're just challenging regulatory updates made by the Biden administration, their lawsuit asks the court to declare the entire law unconstitutional. They're not trying to adjust the rules - they're trying to burn down the whole house of educational equity.

As Chloe Rothschild, a 32-year-old autistic self-advocate and board member of The Arc, testifies: "I really enjoy being a part of my local community. I like having the same opportunities as everyone else does... I need Section 504. And so do other individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who really want to be a part of our local communities."

The choice before us isn't complex: Will we defend half a century of civil rights progress?

Or will we allow 17 red states to drag us back to an era of legally sanctioned discrimination?

This isn't about politics. We should all understand that accommodating disabilities isn't special treatment—it's about ensuring equal access to education. Section 504 makes our schools better for everyone by fostering inclusion (I know, red hats don’t like us using that suddenly impermissible word) and understanding.

As this case moves through the courts, we must speak up.

The time for polite concern is over.

Contact your state's Attorney General. If your state is involved in this lawsuit, demand that it withdraw. If not, ask it to defend Section 504. Our children's right to education is at stake.