When was section 504 implemented

We set up committees to take on different tasks such as rally speakers, media, fund-raising, medics, monitors, publicity, and outreach. The outreach committee was very successful in garnering broad community support: from churches, unions, civil rights organizations, gay groups, elected politicians, radical parties and others. The work of that committee proved to be invaluable once we were inside the building. Those organizations built support rallies outside the building and the breath of the support made it more difficult to move against us.

The International Association of Machinists facilitated our sending a delegation to Washington. Politicians sent mattresses and a shower hose to attach to the sink.

Glide Memorial Church and the Black Panther party sent many delicious meals that nourished us between days of coffee and doughnuts. The other committees also continued inside the building. The media committee met regularly to review the coverage and discuss how to make our purpose more clear, how to use the press to get particular issues across. It directed reporters to appropriate spokespeople, called news conferences and so on. The committees had a great deal of work to do and kept many people involved.

This was good, because the conditions were physically grueling, sleeping sometimes three or four hours a night on the floor and everyone was under stress about their families, jobs, our health, the fact that we were all filthy and so on. All the participants met daily to make tactical decisions. These were flowing, creative meetings but they often went on for hours, which meant very little sleep. But they were important in developing consensus and arriving at a course of action.

We learned about sit ins from the civil rights movement, we sang freedom songs to keep up morale, and consciously show the connection between the two movements. We always drew the parallels. A congressional hearing was held in the building that was extremely dramatic. Congressman Phil Burton leapt up and ran after him and kicked on the door insisting he come out.

After about two weeks, a contingent was chosen to go to Washington to lend the moral authority and the leadership of the sit in to the efforts there to pressure the administration. We really wanted to break open the East Coast press and we wanted some more demonstrations that would mobilize people, and we were striving to get a meeting at the White House. The machinists union, the IAM rented a large U-Haul truck with a lift on the back, and all the demonstrators who were wheelchair riders were transported in that vehicle.

For example, the ADA contains specific exemptions for religious entities. Therefore, if a faith-based organization receives federal funds, it is prohibited from discriminating against an individual with a disability. Title I of the ADA prohibits employment discrimination which is also prohibited with regard to the entities covered by Section However, the enforcement procedures for the two statutes are somewhat different. Administrative procedures do not have to be exhausted prior to filing suit in federal court.

Generally, although there are some differences regarding K schools, the Department of Education ED has interpreted the Section compliance standards for schools to be the same as the basic requirements of IDEA. Section 's coverage of education was a subject of discussion during the passage of the ADA Amendments Act, and the Senate Statement of Managers observed:. We expect that the Secretary of Education will promulgate new regulations related to the definition of disability to be consistent with those issued by the Attorney General under this Act.

The implications of the changes in the definition of disability under Section and the ADA for the coverage of children in K schools is not entirely clear. Perry Zirkel, a Lehigh University education and law professor, argues that the ADAAA would result in more students in K education being given Section plans, especially students with diabetes, asthma, food allergies, dyslexia, and attention deficit disorder ADD. Title V of the Rehabilitation Act contains other sections relating to disability discrimination law.

Section , 29 U. The Rehabilitation also contains provisions authorizing the federal government to make grants to states and territories to provide vocational rehabilitation VR services to persons with disabilities who are interested in seeking and retaining employment.

This report focuses on section ; a discussion of these provisions is beyond its scope. The National Council on Disability, the independent federal agency tasked with making recommendations to the President and Congress to enhance the quality of life for all Americans with disabilities and their families, stated: "Section of the Rehabilitation Act is acknowledged as the first national civil rights law to view the exclusion and segregation of people with disabilities as discrimination and to declare that the Federal Government would take a central role in reversing and eliminating this discrimination.

Grove City College v. Bell , U. See also Consolidated Rail Corp. Darrone , U. For a discussion of the purpose of the amendment see S. June 5, , reprinted in U. Code Cong. News 3 These requirements include the provision of a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive setting. See 34 C. Part , Appx. A, Subpart D.

Topic Areas About Donate. Section of the Rehabilitation Act of Prohibiting Discrimination Against Individuals with Disabilities in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Assistance June 13, — September 29, RL Section of the Rehabilitation Act of prohibits discrimination against an otherwise qualified individual with a disability solely by reason of disability in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by an executive agency or the U.

Download PDF. The Section regulatory provision at 34 C. The regulatory provision does not set forth an exhaustive list of specific diseases and conditions that may constitute physical or mental impairments because of the difficulty of ensuring the comprehensiveness of such a list.

Major life activities, as defined in the Section regulations at 34 C. This list is not exhaustive. Other functions can be major life activities for purposes of Section In the Amendments Act see FAQ 1 , Congress provided additional examples of general activities that are major life activities, including eating, sleeping, standing, lifting, bending, reading, concentrating, thinking, and communicating. Does the meaning of the phrase "qualified student with a disability" differ on the basis of a student's educational level, i.

At the elementary and secondary educational level, a "qualified student with a disability" is a student with a disability who is: of an age at which students without disabilities are provided elementary and secondary educational services; of an age at which it is mandatory under state law to provide elementary and secondary educational services to students with disabilities; or a student to whom a state is required to provide a free appropriate public education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act IDEA.

At the postsecondary educational level, a qualified student with a disability is a student with a disability who meets the academic and technical standards requisite for admission or participation in the institution's educational program or activity. Does the nature of services to which a student is entitled under Section differ by educational level? Public elementary and secondary recipients are required to provide a free appropriate public education to qualified students with disabilities.

Such an education consists of regular or special education and related aids and services designed to meet the individual educational needs of students with disabilities as adequately as the needs of students without disabilities are met.

At the postsecondary level, the recipient is required to provide students with appropriate academic adjustments and auxiliary aids and services that are necessary to afford an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in a school's program. Recipients are not required to make adjustments or provide aids or services that would result in a fundamental alteration of a recipient's program or impose an undue burden.

Once a student is identified as eligible for services under Section , is that student always entitled to such services? Yes, as long as the student remains eligible.

The protections of Section extend only to individuals who meet the regulatory definition of a person with a disability. If a recipient school district re-evaluates a student in accordance with the Section regulatory provision at 34 C. Are current illegal users of drugs excluded from protection under Section ? Generally, yes. Section excludes from the definition of a student with a disability, and from Section protection, any student who is currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs when a covered entity acts on the basis of such use.

There are exceptions for persons in rehabilitation programs who are no longer engaging in the illegal use of drugs. Section 's definition of a student with a disability does not exclude users of alcohol. However, Section allows schools to take disciplinary action against students with disabilities using drugs or alcohol to the same extent as students without disabilities.

At the elementary and secondary school level, determining whether a child is a qualified disabled student under Section begins with the evaluation process. Section requires the use of evaluation procedures that ensure that children are not misclassified, unnecessarily labeled as having a disability, or incorrectly placed, based on inappropriate selection, administration, or interpretation of evaluation materials.

Tests used for this purpose must be selected and administered so as best to ensure that the test results accurately reflect the student's aptitude or achievement or other factor being measured rather than reflect the student's disability, except where those are the factors being measured.

Section also requires that tests and other evaluation materials include those tailored to evaluate the specific areas of educational need and not merely those designed to provide a single intelligence quotient. The tests and other evaluation materials must be validated for the specific purpose for which they are used and appropriately administered by trained personnel.

At the elementary and secondary education level, the amount of information required is determined by the multi-disciplinary committee gathered to evaluate the student. The committee should include persons knowledgeable about the student, the meaning of the evaluation data, and the placement options. The committee members must determine if they have enough information to make a knowledgeable decision as to whether or not the student has a disability.

The information obtained from all such sources must be documented and all significant factors related to the student's learning process must be considered. These sources and factors may include aptitude and achievement tests, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social and cultural background, and adaptive behavior. In evaluating a student suspected of having a disability, it is unacceptable to rely on presumptions and stereotypes regarding persons with disabilities or classes of such persons.

Compliance with the IDEA regarding the group of persons present when an evaluation or placement decision is made is satisfactory under Section What process should a school district use to identify students eligible for services under Section ? Is it the same process as that employed in identifying students eligible for services under the IDEA? School districts may use the same process to evaluate the needs of students under Section as they use to evaluate the needs of students under the IDEA.

If school districts choose to adopt a separate process for evaluating the needs of students under Section , they must follow the requirements for evaluation specified in the Section regulatory provision at 34 C. May school districts consider "mitigating measures" used by a student in determining whether the student has a disability under Section ? As of January 1, , school districts, in determining whether a student has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits that student in a major life activity, must not consider the ameliorating effects of any mitigating measures that student is using.

This is a change from prior law. In the Amendments Act see FAQ 1 , however, Congress specified that the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures must not be considered in determining if a person is an individual with a disability. Congress created one exception to the mitigating measures analysis.

The ameliorative effects of the mitigating measures of ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses shall be considered in determining if an impairment substantially limits a major life activity. Does OCR endorse a single formula or scale that measures substantial limitation?

The determination of substantial limitation must be made on a case-by-case basis with respect to each individual student. Are there any impairments which automatically mean that a student has a disability under Section ? An impairment in and of itself is not a disability.

The impairment must substantially limit one or more major life activities in order to be considered a disability under Section Can a medical diagnosis suffice as an evaluation for the purpose of providing FAPE? Staff consisted of one coordinator, an assistant and a typist clerk. The quality of life for thousands of our talented and intelligent fellow Americans was enhanced exponentially as a result of our society choosing to work against discrimination and barriers to equal access.

The Disability Resource Center considers it a privilege to be a part of implementing Section , as well as the more recent Americans with Disabilities Act of It is our goal to continually find ways to improve universal access at UC Santa Cruz, and through that, fulfill the dreams of students who otherwise would never have had the chance to participate in a crucial rite of passage so many of us take for granted.

Last modified: November 26, UC Santa Cruz. Disability Resource Center. It read: "No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States. At the same time the fight for meaningful regulations was brewing, UC San Diego had commissioned Mark Hyman Rapaport in December to evaluate the UC campuses for physical accessibility.

In his report, Rapaport commented:.