Office of the Utah Attorney General Expresses Support for Section 504 Accommodations
In May 2024, the Biden Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) finalized regulations adding “gender dysphoria” to the definition of “disability” in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. These regulations also imposed ill-defined requirements on states that went well beyond existing law.
Concerned about the impact these new regulations would have on Utah children and existing state programs, and the substantial costs of compliance, Utah joined a lawsuit in September 2024. The lawsuit argued that the regulations exceeded DHHS’s authority granted by Congress and would place nearly impossible burdens and substantial costs on Utah. Failure to comply with the Biden DHH’s new regulations and policy preferences would have put the state at risk of losing all federal funding, not just disability related federal funds. Utah could not afford to let this policy go unchallenged.
Fortunately, the case is now paused while the newly inaugurated Trump Administration reviews the regulations.
The Utah Office of the Attorney General (OAG) believes the Department of Justice’s new leadership will soon agree to vacate the unlawful regulations. Importantly, Section 504’s existing benefits and protections have not been affected by the lawsuit, nor will they be by its expected resolution. Section 504’s benefits will remain to help and protect students who need them. Section 504 is an important law that helps many children in Utah. And the OAG supports Section 504 accommodations for Utah students who need these services.
“I am committed to protecting Section 504, which helps so many children in the state. Utah joined the lawsuit before I took office to challenge an unlawful regulation from the Biden Administration, adding gender dysphoria as a covered disability under Section 504,” said Attorney General Derek Brown. “The case is paused and I believe that the Trump Administration will soon withdraw the regulation. For that reason, I do not believe there is a risk Section 504 will be invalidated.”
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