Section 504
What is Section 504?
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a federal civil rights law designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education. The Section 504 regulations require a school district to provide a "free appropriate public education" (FAPE) to each qualified student with a disability who is in the school district's jurisdiction, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability. The FAPE provided by the district to students with disabilities are required to meet the individual needs of such students to the same extent as the needs of students without disabilities are met.
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The law says the following:
"No otherwise qualified individual with handicaps in the United States...shall, solely by reason of his or her handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance...." 29 U.S.C. §794(a).
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Who qualifies under Section 504?
To be protected under Section 504, a student must be determined to: (1) have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or
(2) have a record of such an impairment; or
(3) be regarded as having such an impairment.
Section 504 requires that school districts provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to qualified students in their jurisdictions who have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
What is the Section 504 process at NZISD?
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Contact Jennifer Andrus, the district Section 504 coordinator.
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Parents or school personnel may initiate a referral.
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If a physical or mental impairment and the need for services is suspected, the campus moves to evaluate.
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In the Section 504 context, “evaluation” does not necessarily mean testing, but rather a gathering of information from a variety of sources, including, but not limited to, parent input, teacher input, special education records, aptitude and achievement tests, disciplinary records, early intervention data, mitigating measures, grade reports, school health information, medical evaluations, and state test information.
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Parents receive notice of the referral and a consent for evaluation, along with a copy of the notice of rights and procedural safeguards.
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Once the information has been gathered, the Section 504 committee will determine Section 504 eligibility.
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If eligible, the committee will determine the services necessary to meet the individual needs of the student.
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