Lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could end accommodations for special needs students
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A lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton could end federal protections for special needs students.
More than 400,000 students in Texas benefit from
504 plans in school
, according to the Texas Education Agency.
These are federal accommodations for students who have disabilities, but do not require special education services. Disabilities include ADHD, dyslexia, visual and hearing impairment and emotional disorders.
Paxton's lawsuit could threaten that right.
Last September, Texas, along with 16 other states, filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenging the law.
Specifically, a portion that added "gender dysphoria" to the definition of "disability" by the Biden administration in may of 2024.
Gender dysphoria is the mental stress a person experiences when that individual doesn't identify with the body they were born with.
Paxton said the "HHS has no authority to unilaterally rewrite statutory definitions and classify 'gender dysphoria' as a disability."
While much of the lawsuit focuses on this change, it also asks for section 504 to be declared unconstitutional.
However in February, the plaintiffs filed a joint status report saying they don't want the court to declare section 504 unconstitutional "on its face" or at first look.
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