NOTE: Unnamed speakers are labeled by role or description (e.g., “Low Vision Student”) for clarity.
Kaleigh: My name is Kaleigh Brendle, and I’m a disabled graduate of Villanova University, class of 2025.
Liam: My name is Liam Holland. I’m a grad student wheelchair user with cerebral palsy.
Retired Special Ed Teacher: I’m a retired teacher of special education, and three of my grandchildren have benefited from having a 504.
Current Special Ed Teacher: Students in my class who have 504s, if they need small group instruction or small group test-taking—it literally gives them an equal opportunity to succeed.
Low Vision Graduate: Accommodations in my 504 plan like large print materials and ScreenSharing might be removed.
Low Vision Student 1: Without the legal protections people like me have right now, a company could discriminate against me during the hiring process, even if I have all of the required degrees and qualifications.
Blind Wheelchair User: It’s the law that says if I ever need an organ transplant, I can’t be pushed further down on that list just because a doctor might believe that my life is less important than someone else’s. It’s the law that says that a doctor can’t pressure me to sign a do-not-resuscitate form just because they might believe that my disabled life is less worth living.
Kaleigh: Section 504 keeps us from being segregated or placed in institutions. And disabled people have been beaten, burned, starved, and electrically shocked in these facilities, even now.
Blind Student: 17 states, led by Texas, are suing to have this law ruled unconstitutional. Worst of all, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., agrees with the 17 states.
Kaleigh: They’re all telling the media that they don’t want to strike down 504 but that’s exactly what they asked the court for in their complaint, and they refuse to take that language out.
Low Vision Student 2: We cannot lose the incredible work Judy Heumann did for us individuals with disabilities.
Student Ally: Section 504 is essential. Taking it away would destroy some of the incredibly bright futures that so many individuals with disabilities have.
Retired Special Ed Teacher: And as Cory Booker recently said, “it’s not left or right, it’s right or wrong”. And losing Something like section 504 is just wrong.
Liam: 504 isn’t just a law, it’s a lifeline. Losing it would turn back the clock on decades of hard-fought progress. We can’t let that happen. Nothing about us without us!
Disabled Student: Call your representatives today and tell them to stop the attacks on 504.
Blind Wheelchair User: Our lives depend on it.
Kaleigh (Voiceover): To learn more, visit us at judysleague.org or follow us on social media @judysleague. That’s J-U-D-Y-S, L-E-A-G-U-E.