A federal judge has struck down key community-integration protections in the US Department of Health and Human Services' Section 504 regulations nationwide, in what advocates say is a major reversal of nearly 50 years of federal support for disabled people's right to live in the community rather than institutions.
The ruling came after the Justice Department, representing HHS, joined the states in asking the court to vacate the provisions, a shift from the federal government's prior position supporting community-integration requirements that had been reflected in federal regulations for nearly half a century.
