HHS finalizes Section 504 rule treating gender dysphoria as excluded from the definition of disability

A final rule amending 45 CFR Part 84 states that HHS interprets the statutory exclusion of "gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments" to encompass "gender dysphoria not resulting from a physical impairment." The text is unchanged from the December 2025 proposal (catalogued as S02-022). HHS rejected commenters' arguments that the exclusion would strip protections from transgender people, and pointed to conscience laws for clinicians.