Able SC, Attorney General react, as lawsuit threatens to end “Section 504”

Able SC reacts as lawsuit threatens to end “Section 504”

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — A court case is seeking to end a law that has protected people with disabilities for over 50 years.

One local organization here in SC says without that law in place, thousands of lives will be negatively affected.

“Section 504” is a national law that went into effect in 1973, initially protecting students with disabilities from being discriminated against.

But the law covers much, much more. Not just education, but healthcare, employment, and daily life activities, says Able SC President Kimberly Tissot.

“It allows us to have access to healthcare, which means having doctors offices accessible, hospitals be accessible, women with disabilities can now have mammograms because now they have people who can lower to short stature or use wheelchairs,” says Tissot.

Last year, SC joined 17 other states, signing onto a lawsuit called “Texas v Becerra” after the Biden Administration added gender dysphoria to the list of disabilities included in Section 504.

Tissot says gender dysphoria is only mentioned in the preamble of the law. She points out that there may be people who experience gender dysphoria who are disabled, but they have to go through the proper channels of proving their disability just like everyone else.

“I think it has been taken out of context a little bit more,” she says.

The lawsuit asks the courts to get rid of not only updated parts of the law they don’t agree with, but all of “Section 504.”

“The language is very, very dangerous, it does say that they want to deem “Section 504″ as being unconstitutional, that’s all of 504, so that means taking away millions of rights for people with disabilities,” Tissot says.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for Attorney General  Alan Wilson’s Office says they believe the lawsuit has been paused, also releasing a statement, saying:

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson assures parents whose children rely on “Section 504” accommodations in school that nothing is changing, and your child’s accommodations are not going away.

“My grandfather was wounded in World War II and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair, so there’s no way I would ever do anything to take away accommodations for anyone with a disability,” Attorney General Wilson said.

Section 504 is a law that protects school accommodations for children with disabilities such as ADHD or diabetes. When Congress passed it, the law excluded “gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments, or other sexual behavior disorders.”

When President Biden was in office, he signed an executive order adding “gender identity disorders” into the law. South Carolina then joined a 17-state lawsuit, led by Texas, challenging that executive order. The Attorney General’s Office joined the lawsuit with the sole intention of removing “gender identity disorders” and restoring Section 504 to what Congress passed originally. There was no intention to throw out Section 504 entirely.

On January 20th, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that undoes President Biden’s order. President Trump’s order removes “gender identity disorders” from Section 504.

Attorney General Wilson supports President Trump’s executive order and believes it resolves his concerns, so our mission is complete.”

But Tissot believes the law is still in danger, saying, “I really urge the attorney general to drop this case immediately. There is a rumor going out that it has been dropped, it has not been dropped. I just got off the phone with attorneys that are a part of this lawsuit and they confirmed that it has not been dropped.”

She also says there are also South Carolinians who are intersex, who require hormones for their livelihood.

“They’re truly being discriminated right now because of they way they were born and had no control over,” she says.

According to Able SC one out of four Americans and one out of three South Carolinians are disabled.