Parent and Educator Resource Guide to Section 504 in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools
Introduction
Every year, public school teachers, leaders, parents, students, and other interested parties contact the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) asking questions about the educational and civil rights of students with disabilities who are enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools.
In this resource guide, the term parent includes guardians and others with the authority to act on behalf of and in the interest of a student.
During these exchanges, OCR often hears (1) uncertainty about the Federal civil rights obligations of public schools and individual school employees in a wide range of situations involving students with disabilities; (2) a lack of awareness of required processes and procedures for securing services and access to programs and opportunities for students who have or may have disabilities; or (3) confusion about student rights under the applicable Federal disability laws. As a result, some school officials may violate the Federal civil rights laws that are designed to protect students with disabilities. Similarly, some parents do not know what services and protections their children with disabilities may be entitled to receive or how to appropriately initiate or follow the process and procedures for securing disability services for their children from the school.
To facilitate efforts to eliminate discrimination against students with disabilities, OCR offers this resource guide to provide answers to questions that OCR has received and increase understanding among parents and members of the school community of the Federal civil rights laws that protect students with disabilities in public schools, and in particular, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504).1
Imbedded in the discussion of key provisions of Federal law, the resource guide repeatedly asks parents, teachers, and others to think about how they might respond in different scenarios. For example:
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What should parents do when their child appears to need extra help in school, and they believe their child may have a disability?
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What kinds of assistance are available?
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Who should parents speak with about their concerns and questions?
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What are teachers, administrators, and other school employees required to do for a student who has or may have a disability?
Section 504 is a Federal law that prohibits disability discrimination by recipients of Federal financial assistance.2 All public schools and school districts, as well as all public charter schools and magnet schools, that receive Federal financial assistance from the Department must comply with Section 504.
Section 504 provides a broad spectrum of protections against discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, all qualified elementary and secondary public school students who meet the definition of an individual with a disability under Section 504 are entitled to receive regular or special education and related aids and services that are designed to meet their individual educational needs as adequately as the needs of students without disabilities are met.3 Section 504 also requires, among other things, that a student with a disability receive an equal opportunity to participate in athletics and extracurricular activities, and to be free from bullying and harassment based on disability.
Specifically, this resource guide:
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Highlights key requirements of Section 504 in the area of public elementary and secondary education, including available services and complaint procedures;
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Explains how Section 504 applies in various hypothetical situations within public elementary and secondary schools;4 and
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Discusses two other Federal laws that address the rights of students with disabilities: (1) Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II);5 and (2) Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).6
You can go to page 40 for information about key differences among Section 504, Title II, and the IDEA.
1 29 U.S.C. § 794; 34 C.F.R. pt. 104.
2 Id. All references to schools, public schools, and districts in this resource guide mean recipient public schools and school districts. Also, the terms schools, school districts, and districts are used interchangeably.
3 34 C.F.R. § 104.33.
4 Although Section 504 covers a larger age range than the typical age of students in kindergarten through 12th grade, this resource guide focuses on the timeframe from kindergarten through high school graduation.
5 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-12134; 28 C.F.R. pt. 35.
6 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400-1419; 34 C.F.R. pt. 300. Part B of the IDEA addresses the obligations of States and school districts to provide special education and related services to eligible children with disabilities. The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in the Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) administers the IDEA. For information about the IDEA, please see osep.grads360.org and www.ed.gov/osers/osep/index.html.
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