AG Jackley: Section 504 lawsuit will not affect disability funding

South Dakota’s top prosecutor says suit targets gender dysphoria categorization

As more than a dozen states receive blowback for signing on to a lawsuit about language in a federal law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley is going on the offensive about what exactly the litigation is fighting.

In press releases sent over the course of a week, the Republican prosecutor said the lawsuit does not intend to rule all of Section 504 unconstitutional. Instead, he says, the lawsuit only pertains to the section that lists gender dysphoria as a disability.

“This lawsuit … will (not) cause parents of disabled children to lose needed funding,” Jackley said.

South Dakota was one of 17 states who joined a Texas lawsuit in 2024 challenging the Biden administration’s categorization of gender dysphoria as a disability under Section 504. The categorization aimed to protect transgender people from being discriminated against.

Jackley attacked the Biden administration for that decision, which Jackley said was “forcing” boys into girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms.