B. Disability Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act






29 U.S.C. § 794(a) (2002).
Section 504 provides broader protection than IDEA, in the sense that it covers more people and extends into adulthood. However,the protections are not as detailed and 504 funding is minimal. The key portion of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states:

No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States . . . 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 . . .

Wright, supra  note 15 at 291
Section 504 is a broad civil rights law. 

Randy Chapman, The Everyday Guide to Special Education Law, 77 (The Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People 2005)..
However, it is important to note that it covers only employers, programs, agencies and facilities that receive federal funding.







Hunt v. St. Peter School, 963 F. Supp. 843 (W.D. Mo. 1997)
This, of course, would include any public school.

Surprisingly, it includes a number of private schools.

Wright, supra  note 15 at  292;
42 U.S.C. § 12102(2) (2009).
“To be eligible for protection under section 504, an individual must have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits at least one major life activity,” such as walking, seeing, hearing, breathing, reading, caring for oneself,  and a number of others.

29 U.S.C. § 794(a); 42 U.S.C. § 12102(1) (2009).
If an individual has a record of having such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment, he or she meets the definition.

Wright, supra note 15 at 292.
Therefore, a child who is disabled under IDEA is also protected under Section 504. If a child has an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, but does not need special education services, the child is not protected under IDEA but is protected under Section 504.

National Children’s Law Network, In School, the Right School, Finish School , 24 (Holland & Hart and Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center 2007), citing 23 IDELR 504 (OCR 1994).
“Substantially limits” is defined by the school district.  

Although Section 504 does not define “substantially limits,” the regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 offer the following definitions.   



29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(j)(1)(i).

29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(j)(1)(ii).
A major life activity is substantially limited when a person is:
  • Unable to perform a major life activity that the average person in the general population can perform. or is:
  • Significantly restricted as to the condition, manner, or duration under which an individual can perform a particular major life activity as compared to the condition, manner, or duration under which the average person in the general population can perform that same major life activity.
www.ed.gov/about/
offices/list/ocr/index.html.
Complaints under Section 504 are filed with the Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, at the regional office in Denver.