Gender Dysphoria Not Resulting From Physical Impairments Is Not a Disability: HHS Issues Final Rule Amending Section 504 Regulations
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on October 30 published a final rule in Washington clarifying that, under HHS regulations, gender dysphoria not resulting from physical impairments does not qualify as a disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The rule applies to all programs and activities that receive HHS funding, aligning the agency's regulations with the exclusions Congress wrote into law.
Section 504 prohibits programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance from discriminating against individuals based on their disability. HHS said several conditions were excluded from coverage when the law was written, including gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments. The 2026 final rule adds those statutory exclusions to HHS's Section 504 regulation at 45 C.F.R. section 84.4(g) and makes clear that gender dysphoria not resulting from physical impairments falls within the exclusions.
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said Congress defined which conditions qualify for protection as disabilities under federal law and HHS has a duty to faithfully apply the law as written, adding that the final rule restores clarity to the regulations, respects the distinctions Congress established, and ensures HHS administers Section 504 according to its statutory text. He noted that his uncle Ted Kennedy was the primary author of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 1978 amendments that strengthened the Rehabilitation Act.
HHS said the update resolves an ambiguity in the 2024 final rule: its preamble suggested gender dysphoria could qualify as a disability, although the regulation itself was silent on the issue. In April 2025, HHS issued a notice in the Federal Register underscoring that the preamble has no force or effect of law and that the regulation did not address gender dysphoria. HHS OCR Director Paula M. Stannard said HHS's Section 504 regulations have for decades defined disability consistently with the words Congress chose, and the rule ensures recipients of HHS funding follow those definitions.
Secretary Kennedy announced the proposed rule at an event in Washington, DC in December 2025, and HHS published the proposed rule on December 19, 2025. During the comment period, HHS received more than 380 comments from private citizens, healthcare providers, educators, disability advocacy organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, states, and members of Congress; OCR reviewed every comment and responded to the significant issues raised in the preamble to the final rule.
HHS said the rule is consistent with Executive Order 14168 and the administration's deregulatory agenda outlined in Executive Order 14219, and that the final rule has been published in the Federal Register. Anyone who believes they or someone else has been discriminated against in programs HHS directly operates or funds may file a complaint with OCR.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国卫生与公众服务部总部休伯特·汉弗莱大楼（华盛顿），ajay_suresh 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0。 / The Hubert Humphrey Building, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, by ajay_suresh, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
