The Rehabilitation Act and Education for Disabled Students.

What is the purpose of the Rehabilitation Act?

The Rehabilitation Act was passed to allow full participation in society by individuals with disabilities. The Rehabilitation Act, along with other federal laws such as the Civil Rights Law of 1964, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), guarantees equal access to education for disabled students.

What schools are subject to the provisions of the Rehabilitation Act?

Any school–private or public–that receives federal financial assistance is prohibited by the Rehabilitation Act from discriminating against students on the basis of their disabilities. The provisions of the Rehabilitation Act apply to elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools.

A school accepts federal funding not only in the form of direct funding, but also in the form of grants, assistance programs, materials, or school lunch subsidies. If a private school does not receive or accept any federal funding, it is truly private and, therefore, does not have to comply with the anti-discrimination provisions of the Rehabilitation Act. Even if a private school accepts federal funding for just one program, it is considered to be a recipient of federal financial assistance.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act provides: “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, 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.”

A “504 plan” is the plan that a federally funded school must develop to assist its students with disabilities.

The language of § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act applies to private schools. Section 504 requires that private schools only have to make “minor adjustments” for students with disabilities. The requirements of § 504 are less stringent that those of the ADA, which requires that a school provide “reasonable accommodations.”

A private school is obligated under § 504 to admit students with disabilities only if the student is otherwise qualified to participate in the school’s program, either with or without minor adjustments. For example, if an applicant who is blind is qualified to attend a private school, the school must amend its “no pets allowed” rule in order to allow the blind student to bring her service dog to school.

In contrast, the provisions of § 504 that apply to public schools are different than those applicable to private schools.

What is considered a disability under § 504?

Under § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, a student is considered to have a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more or his or her major life activities. In addition, the student must have a record of the impairment or must be regarded as having such impairment. Physical or mental impairment is defined very broadly; this means that it includes most substantially limiting physical or mental disorders. Major life activities include functions such as self-care, manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, working, and, notably, learning.