Advocates Rally Against Removal of Disability Rights at Capitol

Texas v. Becerra would remove rights under Section 504

By Lucciana Choueiry, 4:40PM, Wed. Mar. 5, 2025

On Tuesday, a coalition of disability rights activists gathered outside the Texas State Capitol, braving the dusty winds to send Attorney General Ken Paxton a clear message.

Organized by ADAPT of Texas, the rally opposed the September 2024 lawsuit, Texas v. Becerra, which challenges the constitutionality of accessibility protections. If successful, the lawsuit could strip some civil rights for millions of disabled Americans.

The rally dubbed “Don’t mess with 504” references Section 504, part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which makes sure that any program or service receiving federal money has to be accessible to people with disabilities. It covers things like education, housing, healthcare, and transportation. Texas and 16 other states are suing because they say recent changes – including recognizing gender dysphoria as a disability – go too far. But advocates argue that the lawsuit doesn’t just target that change; it puts all of 504 at risk.

Bob Kafka, a longtime ADAPT organizer and one of the key figures behind the rally, said he believes this is part of a broader effort to roll back civil rights. “First, they come for disability rights, then for other civil rights laws,” he said. “If we don’t stop this now, what’s next?”

Paxton and his supporters argue that the lawsuit is narrowly focused on preventing what they see as federal overreach. However, disability advocates contend that the case’s broader implications threaten the entire foundation of disability rights protections, particularly in public accommodations and federally funded programs.

Amy Litzinger, a policy specialist with Texas Parent to Parent, says the stakes are deeply personal. Litzinger uses a wheelchair and says she’s used 504 accommodations in college, work, to move around the city, and to access housing. “If they take 504 away, my world, as I know it, could be gone. I wouldn’t even be able to do my job independently. If they also take Medicaid, I wouldn’t even be able to get out of bed.”

Stephanie Thomas, an organizer with ADAPT, echoed those fears. “This law is the backbone of accessibility,” she said. “It’s outrageous that Texas is fighting to dismantle a law that has worked for 50 years. This community is better for having everyone in it.”

Before 504, Thomas recalled a world where wheelchair users had to roll through traffic in the roadway due to missing sidewalks, where people were told to crawl up courthouse steps, and where deaf students were barred from language programs.

Juliana Yllescas, who has Down syndrome and autism, lives in integrated housing thanks to Section 504, according to her caregiver and sister, Elsa. Without it, Juliana would likely have to live in a treatment facility.

“I don’t know what we will do if we don’t have it,” Elsa said.

A press release from the attorney general’s office insisted that the suit was not about harming people with disabilities but about preventing an unlawful expansion of the law.

But the lawsuit’s language is not targeted at only gender dysphoria protections. The suit states: “Because Section 504 is coercive, untethered to the federal interest in disability, and unfairly retroactive, the Rehabilitation Act is not constitutional under the spending clause.”

The parties on both sides of the Texas v. Becerra case will continue to provide the court with arguments about how the court should rule. Advocates remain vigilant, urging the public to rally and contact Paxton’s office to demand the lawsuit be withheld. Kafka says: “We refuse to be ignored.”

This article was originally published by The Austin Chronicle.