Right now, eight state attorneys general are asking a federal court to strip away a protection that millions of Americans with disabilities depend on every day. If they succeed, states would no longer be required to provide the services that allow disabled people to live at home, go to school with their peers, and be part of their communities. Instead, states could direct them to institutions — hospitals, nursing homes, and group facilities — and families would have little legal recourse to fight back.

This protection is part of a federal law called Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which was signed by President Richard Nixon in 1973. It was one of the first civil rights laws in the country to protect people with disabilities. A 1999 U.S. Supreme Court ruling — Olmstead v. L.C. — affirmed that states must provide services in people's communities whenever possible, rather than in institutions. That ruling helped transform the lives of disabled people across the country for more than 25 years.

The lawsuit now threatening these protections started in 2024, when Republican-led states challenged a rule related to gender dysphoria. Nine states stayed in the lawsuit even after that issue was resolved — and they have since changed what they're asking for. They now want the court to strike down the integration mandate entirely, which would affect every person in America who relies on Section 504.

Charlotte Cravins, a mother and attorney in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has watched this unfold with alarm. Her 2-year-old son, Landry, was born with Down syndrome and receives publicly funded therapies that have helped him learn to crawl, stand, and communicate. "Landry is a part of our family, a part of the community," she said, "and to present his involvement in our family and in our community as a burden is unconscionable."

Disability can happen to anyone, at any time. For decades, protecting the rights of disabled Americans was something both parties agreed on. That consensus is now under serious threat.

We are calling on the attorneys general of Alaska, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, South Dakota, and Texas to drop this lawsuit immediately — and on Congress to stand up in defense of the integration mandate and Section 504 protections for all Americans.