ATLANTA -- The phones inside the Georgia Attorney General's office keep ringing with questions about Texas v. Becerra.
The AG's office says the federal lawsuit -- filed by 17 Republican attorneys general last September -- aims to challenge a Biden-era policy that adds "gender dysphoria" as a protected disability under Section 504.
Parents fear it could take away much more. Ellen Popov's twin boys both rely on Section 504 accommodations to succeed in school.
"My children receive repeated directions. Sometimes they have to be read aloud because he's dyslexic," Popov said. "We saw a huge jump from C grade to A's... If that goes away, what does that mean for our children?"
The lawsuit demands several relief measures, including one declaring "Section 504, 29 U.S.C. § 794 unconstitutional." Legal experts say that refers to revised policy.
"What this lawsuit is really about is stopping the inclusion of gender dysphoria as a disability because it's inconsistent with the read that has been given by the U.S. Congress," said Alicia Hughes, a visiting assistant professor of practice at Emory University's School of Law.
The Americans With Disabilities Act specifically excludes certain diagnoses from its disability definition, including "transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments."
Hughes said that changing that would require an act of Congress -- not a presidential executive order -- which is why the states are suing.
"In order to amend the Civil Rights Act of '64 to include sex as a protected class, there had to be an amendment passed by the United States Congress to get that included," she said. "These AGs are saying if this rule is implemented and we decide that we are not going to enact this provision, this puts our funding in other areas in jeopardy and we're not standing for that."
In a statement, Attorney General Chris Carr told 11Alive the constitutionality of 504 was never in question.
"We are fighting one woke policy added by Biden for virtue signaling," he said. "The vast majority of Georgians -- Rs and Ds -- agree that so-called 'gender dysphoria' should not be treated as eligible for federal funds, as if it's the same as Down syndrome or dyslexia or autism."
His office said it's arguing that Biden's interpretation of Section 504 is unconstitutional and that they joined the lawsuit to protect the state's existing 504 program and the funding it receives.
"Thankfully, the case is stayed at this time, and the rule is not currently in effect," a spokesperson said. "We expect the new administration will reverse Biden's actions that put funding for children at risk in the first place."
Section 504 ensures people with disabilities have equal access to programs and services provided by entities receiving federal funding. That includes schools -- but also transportation, healthcare and more.
"Parents, in my humble opinion, should not be concerned. I don't think anyone is wanting to upset Individual Education Planning for students with special needs and defined abilities consistent with what is written in the Americans with Disabilities Act," Hughes said. "That's not what this lawsuit is geared at doing. "