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A lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that could end federal protections for certain special needs students has been paused.
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 because a portion of Section 504 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.”
The lawsuit has been paused since President Donald Trump has been back in office.
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.