High-stakes legal battle threatens Section 504

Right now, Nebraska’s most vulnerable children are caught in the crosshairs of a high-stakes legal battle. In September 2024, Nebraska’s Attorney General joined a Texas lawsuit (Texas v. Becerra), which, at its core, is an attack on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Section 504 has prohibited discrimination against students with disabilities for more than 50 years. It ensures schools that receive federal funding—including Nebraska’s public schools—provide assistance for students with conditions like dyslexia, diabetes, epilepsy and hearing impairments, so that they get the educational supports needed to succeed in school. Section 504 gives students access to things like speech-to-text tools, emergency medications, and visual or hearing enhancements.

On the surface, Texas v. Becerra is a lawsuit challenging the scope of Section 504 regulations. But, when you look deeper, it also asks the Court to hold the entirety of Section 504 unconstitutional. If successful, the lawsuit would strip away 50 years of safeguards overnight. Students could be denied reasonable accommodations that allow them full participation in school: things like sitting in a certain place, adjusted schedules, access to medication, or use of elevators and ramps. For thousands of Nebraska students with 504 Plans, this isn’t a theoretical debate. It’s a threat to their basic ability to participate and learn.

Our tax dollars, regardless of political affiliation, should be used to support and uplift children, not to put them at risk. Support of this lawsuit with Nebraska citizens’ tax dollars violates this fundamental principle.

In February, Nebraska’s Attorney General, Mike Hilgers, appeared before the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee and assured the Committee that there was a misunderstanding, Nebraska was not supporting the elimination of Section 504. He stated that a legal filing would be made to clarify Nebraska’s position in the suit. Indeed, later that afternoon a status report was filed with the Texas District Court. However, the filing does nothing to alleviate concerns about non-descrimination on the basis of a child’s disability. It does not amend any of the language in the original suit and, in fact, doubles down on the attack on Section 504 by stating that the state attorneys general continue to challenge Section 504 as unconstitutional because it requires states not to discriminate on the basis of disability if they accept any federal funds.

Let’s be clear, Section 504 itself generally does not grant funds to the states. It’s a mechanism that prevents states from discriminating by holding their federal funding in the balance. The attorneys general’s status report says they seek an order that says states should be able to continue to receive all federal funding, even if they ignore the non-discrimination requirements of Section 504. If this effort succeeds, effectively, Section 504 would be rendered unenforceable.

At Education Rights Counsel, we advocate for children’s education rights so that all children can access education, achieve their full potential and grow into thriving adults. The broad-based attack on Section 504 undermines Nebraska’s bipartisan legacy of supporting disability rights. We urge all Nebraskans to support investing our tax dollars in expanding opportunities for children, not in legal battles that would strip away decades of progress for our most vulnerable residents. Hilgers said, on the record, that he would not continue with this lawsuit if it seeks to have Section 504 declared unconstitutional. Thus far, these are empty words.

Nebraska needs to withdraw from this lawsuit, which is nothing more than a cynical ploy to “take the money and run.” Our children—indeed, ALL Nebraskans—deserve better.