Brief History

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, passed in 1973, provided that “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the U.S., as defined in section 706(8) of this title, shall, solely by reason of her or his handicap, be excluded from participation, be denied the benefits, of or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency or by the U.S. Postal Service …” – 29 U.S.C. § 794(a) (1973).

In §504, the focus is on non-discrimination. As applied to the schools, the language broadly prohibits the denial of public education participation, or enjoyment of the benefits offered by public school programs because of a child’s disability.
(from “An Overview of §504” by Richards. Lindsay, and Martín, L.L.P.)

Definition

To be eligible under §504, one must be a resident of the school district between the ages of 3 and 22 that is “handicapped” (After the Americans With Disabilities Act was passed, “handicapped” has been replaced with “disabled.” TEA still refers to “handicapped.”) “Handicapped persons” means any person who:

1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities.
2) has a record of such impairment, or
3) is regarded as having such an impairment.

Major life activities include such things as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, caring for oneself, and performing manual tasks.

Examples of §504 Accommodations

• Extended time for testing
• Oral testing
• Small group administration of test
• Assistance in note-taking
• Shortened assignments
• Reduced pencil and paper tasks
• Behavior management plan
• Preferential seating
• Dyslexia services
• Tutoring (both during and after school)
• Mentors (both PALS and teachers)
• SAC/Content Mastery

Examples of Potentially Handicapping Conditions

• dyslexia
• communicable diseases such as AIDS
• temporary handicapping conditions such as injuries, short-term illnesses;
• behavior disorders;
• chronic asthma and severe allergies
• physical handicaps such as spina bifida
• other chronic and/or life-threatening diseases such as diabetes or cancer

(Note: In some cases the disability may be severe enough for the student to qualify under IDEA, i.e. dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]. In other cases, a student who has a disability that is protected under §504 but who has no educational need and can function in the regular learning environment does not have to be evaluated.)

Section 504 Links

Texas Education Agency

US Department of Education