Summary: NAD Chief Operating Officer Kelby Brick discusses the attack on Section 504 by 17 State Attorney Generals, what NAD is doing about it, and how the community can help.
February 14, 2025
Visual Description:
Black backdrop. White presenting middle aged man with a bald head and a salt-pepper beard wearing a dark gray suit jacket and a light blue collared shirt. There is an NAD pin on his lapel.
English Translation:
The threat against Section 504 has surfaced recently, with many people discussing it online, and on social media. You have also been contacting the NAD. We have received three general areas of questions, which are:
- What is happening with Section 504?
- What will the NAD do about this threat?
- What can the community do to support our work?
This video will address all three questions.
The situation began when the Attorney Generals (AGs) of 17 different states sued the Federal Government, asking a judge to declare Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act unconstitutional.
Section 504, in a nutshell, prevents anybody that receives federal funding from practicing unlawful discrimination. This is important – when my friends, family, or when I go to hospitals, schools, or any other place that receives Federal funding, they must provide us with interpreters, captioning, and other forms of accommodations and access. They cannot discriminate on the basis of disability. If they are hiring, they must treat applicants the same as non-disabled individuals.
Over 50 years ago, discrimination against individuals with disabilities was widespread. Congress recognized that this was happening in the Federal government, and also in the States. State governments and organizations refused to protect deaf and hard of hearing people (and other disabilities). As a result, Congress passed the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. One of the sections of this Act was Section 504. After passing this act, the Federal Agencies were required to develop rules which detailed specifically how to implement and follow these laws. For a number of years, the Agencies refused to develop rules – meaning that discrimination continued.
Finally, in 1977, deaf and hard of hearing people led protests, along with other people in the disability community. One of these protests took over the Health, Education, and Welfare Building (HEW) in Washington, D.C. Other protests occurred all over the United States. These protests were led by the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities, which was founded by a Deaf man, Dr. Frank Bowe. He is now known as the father of Section 504. He worked closely with the National Association of the Deaf, which at that time was led by Fred Schreiber. Fred was a valued and highly respected mentor of many deaf lawyers and advocates over the years; I was fortunate enough to be one of his mentees, and I am grateful for that opportunity.
As a result of these protests, HEW finally published rules that defined discrimination against deaf, hard of hearing, and other people with disabilities. Our deaf and hard of hearing community led this fight, we won this fight.
Over the years, the Federal government has continued to revise the definition of “disability”, in order to define who is protected by these rules. Recently, the Federal government included gender dysphoria in that definition.
As a result of this addition, 17 states objected, and they have decided to sue the Federal Government in Federal court. The court case is named Texas v. Becerra. They argue that gender dysphoria should not be included – but they also have gone one step further, and they are asking the Court to find that the entire Section 504 is unconstitutional. Needless to say, the NAD feels that this argument is without merit, and we do not support their efforts to get rid of Section 504.
If Section 504 was to go away, a number of important civil rights that deaf and hard of hearing people now enjoy would also disappear. Some have said that the Americans with Disabilities Act is “enough”, and Section 504 is not needed. However, the ADA does not apply to Federal employees, and employees of other organizations such as the United States Post Office.
A few years ago, in 2020, the National Association of the Deaf sued the White House in order to force them to make their press briefings accessible to deaf people – we needed them to make the information accessible in American Sign Language. The NAD won that lawsuit; the underlying legal argument for that was based on Section 504. There are many other examples of successful litigation for the civil rights of deaf and hard of hearing people that are based on Section 504.
At this time, we are working closely with other disability organizations. We are all encouraging our members, our stakeholders, and our allies to contact their state Attorney Generals – especially those in the states that are parties to the lawsuit – and ask them to stop attacking Section 504. We need YOU to be involved in this effort, and to write to your AG, and ask them to stop. The Becerra case is harmful to you and your community, and should be withdrawn.
You might be wondering why the NAD isn’t involved in the court case at this time. Normal legal practice is for organizations like us to not be involved until the first decision has been made; when the case is appealed, then we can get involved in the judicial process.
That does not mean we are standing idly by. We are actively engaging, collaborating, and strategizing with lawyers and advocates from other disability organizations, discussing the best strategies for preventing these Attorney Generals from taking away Section 504, which would remove a large swath of civil rights from deaf, hard of hearing, and other disability groups. All of these organizations are also mobilizing their memberships, stakeholders, and allies to contact their Attorney Generals.
It is critical that you write to your Attorney General, especially if you are in one of these 17 states. Our friends at the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) have published a webpage that has some fantastic information, including how to contact your Attorney General, and what your letter should say. We have included the link to their website below.
In addition to writing letters, the NAD needs your help. We encourage you to join the NAD, and also consider donating. An increased membership, and increased donations, will give us more resources to fight these legal challenges, and other attacks on the civil, human, and linguistic rights of deaf and hard of hearing people. You can join the NAD at www.nad.org/join .
The NAD is fighting for you. We will continue to fight. We need your help.
We will continue to communicate with you as this (and other) situations evolve.
Thank you for taking action and thank you for your support.
Links:
https://dredf.org/prot ect-504/