Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) prohibits discrimination based on disability in programs or activities of entities that receive federal financial assistance. It is an unfunded federal mandate that helps ensure students with disabilities have equal access to educational opportunities. Section 504 is enforced by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), a federal agency within the DOE.
Recent Executive Orders, the reduction in workforce and closing of offices at OCR, and related litigation against the DOE have called into question the future of the DOE and Section 504.
Executive Order: Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities
On March 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Education Secretary to facilitate the closure of the U.S. Department of Education (DoE), returning the DoE’s “main functions” to the states. The order also directs the Education Secretary to ensure that any allocation of DoE funds is contingent on “compliance with Federal law and Administration policy, including the requirement [to] terminate illegal discrimination obscured under the label ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion,’ or similar terms and programs promoting gender ideology. Bills dismantling the DoE have also been introduced in the House and Senate.
OCR Reduction in Workforce and Related Litigation
Around that same time, there was a significant reduction in workforce at the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and the Education Secretary closed seven of the twelve OCR regional offices, including the Midwest Regional office in Chicago. In response, a group of parents and students, represented by the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates and other organizations, filed a lawsuit against the DoE in federal district court in Washington D.C. The complaint argues that the reduction in force, closing of regional offices, and freezing of complaint investigations would prevent OCR from fulfilling its obligation to enforce civil rights laws in schools, including Section 504, Title IX, and Title VI.
On March 2, 2025, the Plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary injunction. The motion asks the Court to order the DoE to “restore the investigation and enforcement capacity of OCR” so that OCR may “process complaints promptly and equitably, as required by law.”
Lawsuit Challenging Constitutionality of Section 504
A different lawsuit against the federal government also caught the attention of parent advocates and disability rights advocates. In 2024, the Biden Administration revised the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)’s Section 504 regulations. The definition of “disability” in the regulations excludes “transvestism, transsexualism … gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments, or other sexual behavior disorders.” Although the Biden Administration’s changes to the regulations did not eliminate or modify these statutory exclusions per se, the preamble to the final rule stated that gender dysphoria does not fall within those statutory exclusions and may qualify as a disability under Section 504.
In response, 17 states filed a lawsuit against HHS. Although the complaint focused on the final rule’s inclusion of gender dysphoria as a potentially protected disability under HHS’s Section 504 regulations, the Plaintiffs asked the Court to declare Section 504 unconstitutional in its entirety.
On April 11, 2025, the Trump Administration’s HHS issued a document to “clarify the non-enforceability” of the language in the preamble regarding gender dysphoria, stating it does not have the force or effect of law. The same day, the parties to the lawsuit filed a joint status report. In the report, the Plaintiff states clarified that “they have no intention to seek any relief from this Court on Count 3 (Section 504 is Unconstitutional) of their Complaint.” This case is a reminder that even lawsuits filed on a narrow issue under Section 504 may have broad implications for school districts.
President Trump’s “Skinny” 2026 Fiscal Year Budget
On May 2, 2026, President Trump provided his recommendations on discretionary funding levels for fiscal year 2026 to the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The budget proposes significant cuts to DOE funding, including a $49 million, 35% reduction in funding to OCR. The explanation of the recommended reduction states:
To refocus away from DEI and Title IX transgender cases, the Budget provides OCR with $91 million, a reduction of $49 million, or 35 percent, compared to the 2024 enacted level. After clearing through a massive backlog in 2025, this rightsizing is consistent with the reduction across the Department and an overall smaller Federal role in K-12 and postsecondary education. At this funding level, OCR would continue to ensure that schools and other institutions that receive Federal financial assistance for education programs and activities comply with Federal civil rights laws and Presidential Executive Orders while removing their ability to push DEI programs and promote radical transgender ideology.
Recommendations
Without an avenue for parents and students to promptly resolve Section 504 disputes through OCR complaints, we anticipate that school districts may see an increase in due process hearing requests under Section 504 and/or lawsuits filed by parents in federal court. Training school staff is critical in order to avoid 504 hearings and federal litigation. In particular, school staff should be trained on the following 504 issues:
- Coverage and eligibility
- Referrals and evaluations
- Nondiscrimination requirement
- FAPE requirement and standard
- 504 teams and meetings
- Developing and implementing 504 plans
- Relationship between 504 and the IDEA
In the meantime, we will keep you advised of any significant developments in the litigation and Executive Order discussed above.
