Section 504

Section 504

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a broad base civil rights law administered by the Office of Civil Rights, which protects the rights of persons with disabilities. The purpose of the Act and these procedures is to prohibit discrimination and to assure that disabled students have educational opportunities and benefits equal to those provided to non-disabled students.
Based on evaluation data gathered from a variety of sources, a Section 504 Committee will meet to answer the following questions to determine a student’s Section 504 eligibility:

1. Does the student have a physical or mental impairment? This is an educational determination only, and not a medical diagnosis for purposes of treatment.
2. Does the physical or mental impairment affect one or more major life activities?
3. Does the physical or mental impairment substantially limit a major life activity?
4. Does the student need Section 504 services in order for his/her educational needs to be met as adequately as those of non-disabled peers?

If all four questions are answered “Yes,” the student is eligible for a free, appropriate public education under Section 504, and an Accommodation Plan should be developed. If any answer is “No,” the student is not eligible for Section 504 services.

If you have questions concerning Section 504, please contact the Section 504 Coordinator (Counselor) at the campus your student attends or Cliff Mathes, Director of Special Programs at 972-872-7053.

The term “disability” means, with respect to an individual, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual; a record of having such impairment; or being regarded as having an impairment.

An impairment as used in Section 504 may include any disability, long-term illness, or various disorder that “substantially” reduces or lessens a student’s ability to access learning in the educational setting because of a learning-, behavior- or health-related condition. Section 504 regulations do not specify a list of specific diseases and conditions that constitute physical or mental impairments because of the difficulty of ensuring the comprehensiveness of such a list. Some of the most common conditions include: dyslexia, ADHD, cancer, diabetes, asthma, severe allergies, auto-immune disorders, epilepsy, learning disabilities, neurological impairments, etc.

There is no legal definition of “substantial limitation”. That determination should be left to the District and Section 504 committee’s review of appropriate data.

Major life activities include, but are not limited to: Caring for Oneself, Performing Manual Tasks, Seeing, Hearing, Eating, Sleeping, Walking, Standing, Lifting, Bending, Speaking, Breathing, Learning, Reading, Concentrating, Thinking, Communicating, Working.

A teacher or parent should refer a student for a 504 evaluation if he/she suspects a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, but does not require “special education.” With regard to eligibility determination, the Section 504 regulations state: “In interpreting evaluation data and in making placement decisions, a recipient shall ensure that the placement decision is made by a group of persons, including persons knowledgeable about the child, the meaning of the evaluation data, and the placement options.

Individualized accommodations should be determined by the Section 504 Committee. The accommodation plan should provide a road map for students to be educated along with their peers with the services, accommodations, or educational aids they might need to receive equal access to educational programs.

Common Accommodations include but are not limited to:

• Accommodations based on the student’s disability and the 504 Committee’s evaluation to allow equal access to the educational environment.
• Accommodations on STAAR testing based on daily accommodations that are routinely and effectively used in the general education classroom and allowable by TEA.
• Accommodations to the school environment as required by the disability.
• Behavioral accommodations when appropriate.
• Medical/Physical accommodations based on the student’s individual health plan.
• Homebound services for general education students when appropriate.

Other services as appropriate and allowable determined by the Section 504 Committee.

Email: cliff.mathes@ennis.k12.tx.us
Website: ennis.k12.tx.us
Phone: (972) 872-7053