No More Section 504 

Advocates fear that the Trump administration is discreetly seeking to expedite revisions to a major disability rights law by bypassing standard procedures. Last month, the United States Department of Energy announced plans to revoke Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which outlines what standards newly constructed and remodeled facilities must follow to be deemed accessible. 

Advocates argue that the change would remove a decades-old mandate, causing significant confusion. Furthermore, the agency’s approach to the update raises concerns.

Typically, federal agencies undergo a procedure known as “notice and comment ” to change regulations. During this process, the public is notified and given a period of time to comment, and the agency considers any comments before issuing a final rule. These steps can take years to complete.  

In this case, however, the Energy Department is taking a much faster process, known as a “direct final rule.” As a result, the notification states that the change will go into effect on July 15. However, it won’t go into effect July 15 if “significant adverse comments” are received by next week.

The move is uncommon, according to Claudia Center, who is the legal director at the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund. “A ‘direct final rule’ is supposed to be for something routine or noncontroversial,” she said. “One example I heard was changing the name of a department. I’ve never seen it before in my career, and most of my colleagues report the same.”

Center says if the Trump administration is successful, they may use the same technique to implement other significant changes. “This action could be a ‘trial balloon’ for other agencies,” she said. “There are more than 80 sets of Section 504 regulations across the federal government. This could be the first of many.”

If enacted, the Energy Department’s proposal could affect thousands of buildings that receive agency financing, including those owned by state and local governments, numerous universities, and other private organizations, according to advocates. Existing laws require facilities developed or modified after June 13, 1980 that receive federal financial aid must be “readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons.” Buildings are considered to meet that criteria if they adhere to the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards.

But now the Energy Department is calling this requirement “unnecessary and unduly burdensome.” “It is DOE’s policy to give private entities flexibility to comply with the law in the manner they deem most efficient. One-size-fits-all rules are rarely the best option. Accordingly, DOE finds good reason to eliminate this regulatory provision,” reads the agency’s new rule.

Amy Robertson, a civil rights attorney who specializes in disability rights litigation, stated that this is the first time in 57 years that a government agency has attempted to eliminate the building requirement, and doing so would have serious ramifications. “This would inevitably lead to the construction of less accessible or even inaccessible facilities,” she said. “It would also create havoc (for) the entities that receive funding from the Department of Energy, as they would no longer have to follow the (Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards), but would still be open to liability under general non-discrimination requirements.”

Furthermore, Robertson stated that many organizations that receive Energy Department financing are also subject to the current building requirement under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. They are also subject to restrictions from other federal agencies.

The Energy Department is taking comments until June 16. If this becomes part of disability rights law, it will exclude disabled people from society even more. Accessibility should never be seen as a burden.

Sources:

Diament, Michelle. “Effort to Roll Back Federal Disability Rights Protections Alarms Advocates.” Disability Scoop, Disability Scoop, 9 June 2025, https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2025/06/09/effort-to-roll-back-federal-disability-rights-protections-alarms-advocates/31484/.

Lubbers, Jeffrey. “The U.S. Rulemaking Process: Has It Become Too Difficult?” Coast Guard Journal of Safety at Sea, vol. 67, 2010. American University Washington College of Law, https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_lawrev/1071/.