The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on December 19, 2025 geared toward revising regulations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973–the federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability in federally assisted and federally conducted programs and activities, including educational institutions. 

The new rule developed by President Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services will clarify the definition of “disability” to exclude “gender dysphoria not resulting from physical impairments.” 

Doing this will reverse ambiguity from a non-binding preamble statement made by the previous presidential administration in a 2024 HHS Final Rule that suggested gender dysphoria might qualify as a protected disability. 

The intended revision better aligns with the original 1990 statutory language from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which Section 504 references. 

HHS is accepting public comments through January 20, 2026 to address the Department’s reliance on prior, faulty legal interpretations and any potential impacts on individuals with disabilities – like students. 

Without clear regulations, education programs might extend protections beyond congressional intent, and dilute necessary supports for students with actual physical or mental impairments that substantially limit major life activities. Doing so interferes with those students’ access to an equal education. 

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