Only a month in office and you’ve got thousands of Utah parents terrified for the future of their precious children. Utah joined 16 other states in a lawsuit, Texas v. Becerra, which at its simplest form attacks 504s, a learning tool used by tens of thousands of kids in our state. Mr. Brown, you stated this week Utah joined this lawsuit before you took office, yet you refuse to withdraw, instead insisting that the lawsuit is suspended. Even with this statement, provisions attacking 504s remain in the lawsuit. It feels as if you were placating constituents into thinking you have no intention of attacking 504s, yet there our state appears on the lawsuit targeting that very thing.

I’m not sure you fully comprehend what’s on the line when you play 504s like a chip in a culture-war poker game, so let me explain. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a federal law that protects people who qualify from discrimination due to their disability. It ensures equal access to education, employment and federal public services. All federal employers and organizations that receive federal funding must abide by Section 504. Part of the funding comes from the Department of Education (ED), a department Donald Trump has openly stated he wants dismantled. A.G. Brown, I’m concerned you’re not serving the children of Utah, you’re following Donald Trump’s goal of destroying ED and the funding it supplies to public schools. Our 504s are just a casualty of policy goals.

Children with both visible and invisible disabilities need 504 accommodations to receive equal access to education in a system set up for those with neurotypical learning processes. Meaning, the kid with dyslexia no longer needs to sit in the back as he/she struggles to read. Instead, under the guidance of a 504, that student can use audio books, text-to-speech or additional time to finish an assignment they process differently than neurotypical children. As for physical 504s, maybe a student with Type 1 diabetes needs to leave the room, chug a juice in class or ask for trained staff to administer insulin. The use of 504s in school is fact-based, meaning families must show documentation that there is a diagnosed issue. Some children have a processing disorder, needing more time to recall facts, figures or theorems, and 504 accommodations can allot for more time. Just because someone’s brain or body works differently doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a chance to succeed.

Section 504 will remain under attack because it’s viewed as an arm of DEI — diversity, equality and inclusion. When Joe Biden added discrimination protections for transgender human beings, calling it “gender dysphoria” in the section, it gave cultural gatekeepers the excuse to throw out the baby with the bath water. Texas v. Becerra claims the federal dollars spent for this section of a 504 as well as 504s as a whole, violate the Administrative Procedure Act, calling it unconstitutional. This means the states that signed on to this suit believe federal dollars shouldn’t be spent on any part of a 504. It is fact that transgendered human beings face discrimination in school, work and health care every single day, making the need for 504s applicable in many cases.

Mr. Attorney General, using your social media, you told parents like me that you “hear” me, followed by the proverbial pat on the head, while basically telling me signing onto this lawsuit is just for show. In reality, this just feels like a political move. If you really knew how important a 504 is to families across this state, its survival wouldn’t be on the table. Period. You claim the lawsuit is paused and will likely be resolved thanks to Donald Trump. If that’s the case, why not withdraw. You’re willing to use 504s to get what you want — removing discrimination protections of trans human beings. This is prosecuting the few to the detriment of many. Our children with disabilities are not your bargaining chip in a pointless culture war. If you “hear” me, you would not use my tax dollars on a lawsuit that’s looking to strip my little boy of the accommodations that help him reach his full potential in school.

Actions speak louder than words, but right now it seems the message is, “Do as I say, not as I do.” If you really wanted to protect 504s, you would not suspend, you would withdraw. This session, lawmakers attacked vote-by-mail, leaving many disabled adults with limited options for voting. We’re experiencing continued threats on Medicaid funding, a program that supports many families with disabled loved ones who use federally funded programs daily. Now there’s an attack on 504s. Make no mistake, the rights and protections of the disabled are slowly being stripped and it’s being done through claims of DEI, claims of wasteful spending and marginalized people like trans human beings. When explaining why Utah continues to stay involved in this lawsuit, you state, “Utah’s concern is squarely about the unlawful regulations from the Biden Administration. If the regulations were to be enforced, Utah would risk losing its federal funds that actively help Utah children in need.” This is just an excuse to use our emotions about our children with disabilities to target transgendered human beings. If the problem really was about losing funding because Utah doesn’t want to recognize the rights of marginalized people, why not just focus on that specific portion instead of targeting all aspects of a 504?

In bold letters, you write, “The Utah Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and Attorney General Derek Brown fully support the benefits and services provided by Section 504.” Yet, in the complaint of Texas v. Becerra, it states clearly in a heading, “Section 504 is Unconstitutional.” If you signed our state onto a lawsuit making that claim, and 504s are deemed “unconstitutional,” what then? There is no backup plan in place and ED is facing its demise. There will be no federal protections for our children. Furthermore, under the lawsuit heading “Section 504 is Unconstitutional,” it requests, “Issue permanent injunctive relief against Defendants enjoining them from enforcing Section 504.” This means Utah and 16 other states are seeking to stop enforcement of that section of law. What happens when the “unpause” button is hit by attorneys general?

I am angry, Mr. Brown. I am scared, Mr. Brown. Shockingly, I don’t feel heard, as I called your office several times last week and when I selected Option 1 to leave a comment, I was immediately hung up on. When I tried to reach Option 2, “Constituent Service,” no one answered; no one called back. I also find it a massive coincidence that nearly every AG from the 17 states issued word-for-word statements like yours on the exact same day. You do not “hear” me; you’re gaslighting me and thousands of other parents concerned for the future of their children with a disability. The right thing for Utah’s children is to withdraw from this frivolous, damaging lawsuit.

Most sincerely,

A worried mother

Meg Sanders worked in broadcast journalism for over a decade but has since turned her life around to stay closer to home in Ogden. Her three children keep her indentured as a taxi driver, stylist and sanitation worker. In her free time, she likes to read, write, lift weights and go to concerts with her husband of 18 years.