In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the civil rights of people with autism and other disabilities.
Anni Layne Rodgers at ADDitude:
Texas v. Becerra is a lawsuit filed by 17 states against the United States government that could effectively end 504 Plans for millions of students across the country.
The lawsuit was filed in late 2024 by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against the Biden administration, which changed Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to include gender dysphoria as a protected disability. Notably, the lawsuit also argues that “Section 504 is unconstitutional.” The lawsuit says that “Section 504 is coercive, untethered to the federal interest in disability, and unfairly retroactive” and it asks for “permanent injunctive relief” that would block enforcement of Section 504.
238. Because the Act attaches its requirements universally—to all federal spending—it forces an impossible choice on the States, all of which must decide between implementing the Rehabilitation Act and accepting any amount of federal money. When spending “conditions take the form of threats to terminate other significant independent grants,” they “are properly viewed as a means of pressuring the State to accept policy changes.” Sebelius, 547 U.S. at 580. Section 504’s universal scope renders it an unconstitutionally coercive condition on federal spending. 239. Because Section 504 is coercive, untethered to the federal interest in disability, and unfairly retroactive, the Rehabilitation Act is not constitutional under the spending clause. 240. The constitutional violation posed by invalid spending legislation can be remedied by injunctive relief that precludes relevant federal officials from withdrawing funds for incompliance. Sebelius, 567 U.S. at 588.
