<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div>Good afternoon NFBI,</div><div><br></div>Many of you have likely seen the emails regarding a lawsuit attacking Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. We need everyone to please contact the Iowa Attorney General regarding this matter, and please encourage your friends and family to do the same. Contact info, as well as a sample letter and talking points are below.<div><br></div><div>What is the issue?</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The lawsuit is asking the court to rule that Section 504 is unconstitutional. If this happened, the Section 504 protections that we depend on for certain access in school, medical and other settings would no longer exist.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Iowa Attorney General reports that this lawsuit has nothing to do with disability, and that it is only contesting an attempt by the Biden administration to include gender dysphoria as a protected disability. This claim is not true. Regardless of what we think about gender dysphoria, this lawsuit ought to be concerning because it could impact all of us.</div><div><br></div><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><font size="4"><b>Here is a link to a Frequently Asked Questions document written by another organization that contains more information about the case. Note that this is the same link I shared the other day.</b></font></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M-hsySF3s3-Hf9Y_dDn1hCxlcc9AO11uM68mfNGjV5s/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M-hsySF3s3-Hf9Y_dDn1hCxlcc9AO11uM68mfNGjV5s/edit?usp=sharing</a></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="4"><br><b>Please take a moment to contact Attorney General Brenna Bird's office by phone and email, and urge her to withdraw Iowa from the lawsuit. </b></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="4"><b><br></b></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="4"><b>Talking Points:</b></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="4"><b>1. Introduce yourself and provide your address, or at least your hometown so that they know you are an Iowa resident and not just a random person from out of state.</b><br><b>2. Share why Section 504 is important to you. Such as:</b></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="4"><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If you had a 504 plan in high school. Note, this does not relate to IEPs.</b></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="4"><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If you have ever needed an accommodation at the doctor’s office or for accessing medical information. This includes the online portals that many of our doctors have. Section 504 is what requires those web sites to be accessible.<br>3. Politely but firmly request that the Attorney General's office drop out of the lawsuit.</b><br><br></font><b><font size="4"><font color="#2d2d30">By email: </font><a href="mailto:webteam@ag.iowa.gov" style="color:rgb(4,61,142);background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;border-bottom:1px dotted rgb(7,61,142);font-family:LatoRegular,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:20px" target="_blank">webteam@ag.iowa.gov</a> <span style="color:rgb(45,45,48);font-family:LatoRegular,Arial,sans-serif"> (</span><br style="color:rgb(45,45,48);font-family:LatoRegular,Arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(45,45,48);font-family:LatoRegular,Arial,sans-serif">By Phone: 515-281-5164</span><br style="color:rgb(45,45,48);font-family:LatoRegular,Arial,sans-serif"></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><span style="color:rgb(45,45,48);font-family:LatoRegular,Arial,sans-serif"><br></span></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><span style="color:rgb(45,45,48);font-family:LatoRegular,Arial,sans-serif">Sample email:</span></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><span style="color:rgb(45,45,48);font-family:LatoRegular,Arial,sans-serif"><br></span></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><span style="color:rgb(45,45,48);font-family:LatoRegular,Arial,sans-serif">Dear Attorney General Bird,</span></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><span style="color:rgb(45,45,48);font-family:LatoRegular,Arial,sans-serif"><br></span></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><span style="color:rgb(45,45,48);font-family:LatoRegular,Arial,sans-serif">I am writing to request that you withdraw Iowa from the </span></font></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; white-space: pre; background-color: rgb(243, 246, 252);">Texas v. Becerra</span><b><font size="4"><font color="#2d2d30" face="LatoRegular, Arial, sans-serif"> case because Section 504 is important to me and all Iowans with disabilities. As a blind person, Section 504 makes sure that doctors and other medical providers provide me equal access and don<span style="caret-color: rgb(45, 45, 48);">’</span>t discriminate. If you have specific concerns about one minor aspect of how the federal government is choosing to implement Section 504, there are other ways to address it than by attacking the whole thing.</font></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><font color="#2d2d30" face="LatoRegular, Arial, sans-serif"><br></font></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><font color="#2d2d30" face="LatoRegular, Arial, sans-serif">Thank you very much for considering my concern</font></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><font color="#2d2d30" face="LatoRegular, Arial, sans-serif">Name</font></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><font color="#2d2d30" face="LatoRegular, Arial, sans-serif">Address</font></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><font color="#2d2d30" face="LatoRegular, Arial, sans-serif"><br></font></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><font color="#2d2d30" face="LatoRegular, Arial, sans-serif"><br></font></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><span style="color:rgb(45,45,48);font-family:LatoRegular,Arial,sans-serif">Thank you all for your help with this,</span></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><b><font size="4"><span style="color:rgb(45,45,48);font-family:LatoRegular,Arial,sans-serif">Helen</span></font></b></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div>Helen Mejia, President</div>National Federation of the Blind of Iowa<br>hmejia@nfbi.org<br>(570) 983-7867</div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>