Parent and Educator Resource Guide to Section 504 in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools
Physical Accessibility
School districts are required to ensure that students and others with disabilities, including parents, are not denied access to the school’s programs or activities because of inaccessible facilities, including academic buildings, walkways, restrooms, athletic facilities, and parking spaces.107 The requirements public schools must meet to ensure programs and activities are accessible depends on the date a building (or facility) was built (constructed) or altered (changes made to a building that affect its use for accessibility purposes).108
Under Section 504, for facilities constructed prior to June 4, 1977, program access is required.109 In general terms, program access means that, although the facility or parts of the facility may not be physically accessible, the public school must still make its programs and activities available to students with disabilities. For example, if stairs lead to the upper floors of a school and the school does not have an elevator, ramp, or chair lift, and a student with a disability is unable to traverse the stairs, the student will be unable to reach the upper floors. A resolution to this problem could be moving classes that the student needs (or wants) to take from the upper floors to the accessible ground floor during the time period the student with a disability takes the class.
Under Section 504, facilities (such as buildings) that were built or altered on or after June 4, 1977, are referred to as new construction.110 Specific construction and design standards apply to these facilities. The construction and design standards provide information, for example, about the required width of bathroom stalls, how steep a ramp may be, and the required height of countertops and tables. The construction and design standards have evolved over time, and the date of construction or alteration determines which accessibility requirements apply.111 For construction or alteration work that began on public schools on or after March 15, 2012, the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (2010 ADA Standards) apply.112
However, when a public school is required to meet the accessibility requirements of a specific design standard, such as the 2010 ADA Standards, compliance with the standard alone may not be sufficient to meet an individual student’s needs. When this occurs, the public school has an obligation to provide access for the student.113 For example, if the main entrance to the school has a ramp that meets all of the required accessibility standards, but a student who attends the school and uses leg braces is unable to traverse the ramp, the school would need to find another way to ensure the student has access to its program and activities. One solution could be to allow the student to use the faculty entrance that has a flat entrance and a short walkway to the entrance door.
107 34 C.F.R. §§ 104.22-104.23; 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.150-35.151.
108 34 C.F.R. §§ 104.21-104.23; 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.149-35.151.
109 34 C.F.R. § 104.22.
110 34 C.F.R. § 104.23. Under Title II of the ADA, facilities that were built or altered after January 26, 1992, are referred to as new construction, and specific construction and design standards apply under Title II. 28 C.F.R. § 35.151.
111 Examples of accessibility standards are the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards, the 1991 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, and the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design.
112 28 C.F.R. § 35.151(c)(3). For entities required to comply with Section 504, OCR will permit recipients of Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education to use the 2010 ADA Standards to meet its accessibility requirements. 77 Fed. Reg. 14,972 (March 14, 2012).
113 34 C.F.R. § 104.21.
Scenario 8 – Accessibility
Ayana recently enrolled in a school that does not have an elevator. The school was built in the early 1960s and, due to limited resources, the district has never altered the building. Ayana, who is unable to walk upstairs due to her disability, is dismayed when she discovers that the art studio is on the second floor; she had planned to take an art class the following semester. What should the school do to address this situation?
Districts are not required to make each existing facility or every part of an existing facility accessible if the facility in question was constructed before June 4, 1977; however, districts must still provide students with disabilities access to the program or activity in question. Access to programs operated by a school in older facilities that are totally or partially inaccessible may, in some instances, be provided through means other than structural change, such as relocation of programs. School districts are required to have procedures in place to ensure that parents, students, and other interested persons can obtain information about the location of services, activities, and facilities that are accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.114 The school in this scenario is an existing facility because it was built before June 4, 1977, and therefore, program access is required to ensure compliance with Section 504 and the ADA. The school may, for example, move the art studio to a room on the first floor so that Ayana has an equal opportunity to participate in the art class with her peers.
114 34 C.F.R. § 104.22(f).
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