SECTION 504 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973

SECTION 504 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973
Overview of Section 504
Congress Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against students with disabilities. This is a broadly worded prohibition that covers both children and adults. The principles enumerated in this section were later expanded and serve as the basis for the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Additionally, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 amended some definitions under Section 504. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination by local education agencies (LEAs) receiving federal assistance against students with disabilities. Included in the U.S. Department of Education’s regulations for Section 504 is the requirement that students with disabilities be provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). These regulations require identification, evaluation, and provision of appropriate services, as well as procedural safeguards, in every public school in the United States.
Section 504, as amended, prohibits discrimination against individuals whose physical or mental impairment substantially limits one or more major life activities, including, but not limited to:
 Caring for oneself
 Performing manual tasks
 Walking
 Seeing
 Hearing
 Speaking
 Breathing
 Working
 Learning
 Concentrating
 Standing
 Lifting
 Bending
 Eating
 Reading
 Thinking
 Communicating
The U.S. Department of Education (USDE), Office of Civil Rights (OCR) provides compliance oversight for Section 504.

Cleveland School District
Markeita Brinkley, 504 Coordinator
305 Merritt Drive
Cleveland, MS 38732
m.williams@cleveland.k12.ms.us
(662) 843-3529 phone
(662) 441-1941 fax