Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

What is Section 504?

In 1973, the Vocational Rehabilitation Act was signed into law. As part of the Act, Congress enacted Section 504.  Section 504 states that “no otherwise qualified individual with disabilities in the United States...shall solely by reason of his/her disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal Assistance...”  School districts have the responsibility under Section 504 to identify, refer, evaluate and if eligible, provide a free, appropriate public education to disabled students.