(Although similar to FAPE through the IDEA, FAPE through Section 504 is an equal opportunity standard, whereas it is an educational benefit standard under IDEA.) Many mistakenly think that a Section 504 Plan is a standard checklist or form used for all eligible children. This is defined as a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE) under Section 504. The plan must provide the eligible child with an equal opportunity to succeed based on the child’s individual needs when compared to same age, non-disabled peers. The plan must include appropriate accommodations, evidence-based interventions, and/or related services that are also scientifically or research-based. If a child is determined to be eligible under Section 504, the school must develop a Section 504 Plan. Children covered under Section 504 are usually children with less serious disabilities, or children who do not otherwise qualify for services under IDEA but still have a disability that is substantially limiting in the educational setting. “Mitigating measures” includes such things as medication, assistive technology, learned behavioral modifications, psychotherapy, and/or reasonable accommodations. All determinations of substantial limitation must be made without regard to the “ameliorative effects of mitigating measures.” This means that the question of whether or not a child has a “substantial limitation” in a particular area is answered before, and not after, any intervention for that limitation is implemented. To qualify under Section 504, a child’s disability must be serious enough, or “substantially limiting,” that the child needs specialized services or accommodations. Additional major life activities added by the 2008 reauthorization of the Americans with Disabilities Act (and now called the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act ) include such things as reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating with others, and major bodily functions.

Students under Section 504 must also participate in state required assessments.Ī student is eligible for Section 504 if the child has a physical or mental condition that substantially limits a “major life activity.” Major life activities for a child in school include learning and/or activities in addition to walking, talking, breathing, caring for oneself, etc. Students who are eligible to receive services under Section 504 receive instruction through the regular education curriculum and at the same level as their peers without disabilities. Sometimes these accommodations include special services such as using a tape recorder for note taking, giving the student a quiet place to work, or access to a computer in school for written work.

These accommodations are often simple changes that can help the child with the disability. The school must also provide appropriate accommodations based on their individual needs. It says that schools that receive federal dollars must provide eligible children with disabilities with an equal opportunity to participate in all academic and non-academic services the school offers.

Section 504 is a federal civil rights statute that says schools cannot discriminate against children with disabilities.

Accommodations under a 504 plan