If you live in Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, South Dakota, or Texas, we need you to take action to protect disability rights! ASAN’s plain language action alert explains what’s happening and how you can help. https://autisticadvocacy.org/2026/02/take-action-to-protect-disability-rights/
If you don’t live in these states, share this post with someone who does!
Update on Texas v Kennedy — advocates in Indiana convinced their state to drop out of this case!
Let’s keep going — if you live in Alaska, Montana, South Carolina, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, or Florida, take action to get your state to do the same! https://autisticadvocacy.org/2026/02/take-action-to-protect-disability-rights/
What is Section 504? What are Section 504 rules?
Section 504 is an important law that protects people with disabilities. Section 504 covers all parts of society that get money from the United States government.
Section 504 says you can’t discriminate against disabled people if you get money from the United States government. Section 504 says you cannot treat people badly or exclude them because of their disabilities. It says you must include people with disabilities in programs and provide reasonable accommodations. It says you must provide services to people with disabilities in integrated settings. This means providing services in the community instead of only in institutions like hospitals and nursing homes.
Section 504 has rules that explain what disability discrimination is. The rules say that places like schools, hospitals, and doctors’ offices have to include people with disabilities. The rules say what these places have to do to include people with disabilities. The rules say that state and local healthcare, mental health, and disability agencies have to think about people with disabilities and make sure they can get services in the community and not just in institutions.
The United States government finished the first Section 504 rules in 1977. Many disabled people protested so that the government would make the rules strong.
The United States government updates the Section 504 rules over time. The government did an update in 2024. Many disability advocates wrote to the government about what to put in the rules. The updated rules are stronger and have more examples about what disability discrimination is. The updated rules gave more explanation about how state and local agencies must make sure that people with disabilities can get services in the community and not be forced into institutions.
Just gonna leave this succinct explanation of what is at stake with this case here.
If the States stay and win this case: all disability protections and accommodations in public events are going to be unenforceable. This is the step ahead of the ADA takedown. Which would send all Healthcare back to the age of abusive asylums from the 50s-80s, and revoke all rights of disabled individuals in self advocating and dignity while receiving care.
Unless your state has codified both section 504 and the ADA in the state constitution; if you are in any of the listed states: you need to act fast to prevent further degradation of rights and protections. Urge your state to pull out of this court case. If you're not in any of the listed states in the case, make sure your state has codified section 504 to the state constitution, petition for it, if it is not.
All people are one bad accident, or age related inevitabile disability, away from becoming disabled permanently. You may not experience the horror of this laws reversal now. But you will in time if section 504 is tossed out.
