Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act:
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states that … "No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States … shall, solely by reason of … disability, be denied the benefits of, be excluded from the participation in, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."
A person with a disability includes … "any person who (1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities [including walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, caring for oneself, and performing manual tasks], (2) has a record of such an impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment."
A "qualified person with a disability" is defined as one … "who meets the academic and technical standards requisite to admission or participation in the education program or activity."
Disabilities covered by legislation include (but are not limited to) AIDS, blindness, cancer, cerebral palsy, diabetes, epilepsy, head injuries, hearing disabilities, specific learning disabilities, loss of limb(s), multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, emotional disabilities, speech disabilities, spinal cord injuries, and vision disabilities.
Under the provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 … the College may not discriminate in the recruitment, admission, educational process, or treatment of students. Students who have self-identified, provided documentation of disability, and requested reasonable accommodations are entitled to receive approved modifications of programs, appropriate academic adjustments, or auxiliary aids that enable them to participate in and benefit from all educational programs and activities.
A college or university may not:
- Limit the number of students with disabilities admitted
- Make pre-admission inquiries as to whether or not an applicant has a disability
- Use admission tests or criteria that inadequately measure the academic level of students with visual, hearing or other disabilities because provisions were not made for them
- Exclude a student with a disability from any course of study solely on the basis of his/her disability
- Counsel students with disabilities towards a more restrictive career than students without disabilities, unless such counsel is based on strict licensing or certification requirements in the profession
- Measure student achievement using modes that adversely discriminate against students with disabilities
- Institute prohibitive rules that may adversely affect the performance of students with disabilities
Modifications and accommodations for students with disabilities include:
- Architectural barrier removal
- Services such as readers for students with blindness, low vision or learning disabilities, qualified interpreters and note-takers for students who are deaf or hard or hearing, and note-takers for students with learning disabilities or orthopedic disabilities
- Modifications or substitutions of courses in major fields of study or degree requirements on a case-by-case basis (such accommodation need not be made if the institution can demonstrate that the changes requested would substantially alter essential elements of the course or program)
- Extra time to complete exams
- Exams individually proctored, read orally, dictated, or typed
- Alternative formats and methods for students to demonstrate course mastery
- Computer software programs or other assistive technological devices to assist in test taking
- Availability of such learning aids as tape players and word processors
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 contains more specific information about compliance issues in post-secondary education than the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The ADA did extend the law to cover private institutions of higher education as well as those receiving federal funding. Colleges and universities have experienced more rigid enforcement of the law with the passage of the ADA due to an increased awareness of people with disabilities about their rights to equal access to programs and services.
Notice Concerning The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008
On September 25, 2008, the President signed the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 ("ADA Amendments Act" or "Act"). The Act emphasizes that the definition of disability should be construed in favor of broad coverage of individuals to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA and generally shall not require extensive analysis.
The Act makes important changes to the definition of the term "disability" by rejecting the holdings in several Supreme Court decisions and portions of EEOC's ADA regulations. The effect of these changes is to make it easier for an individual seeking protection under the ADA to establish that he or she has a disability within the meaning of the ADA.
The Act retains the ADA's basic definition of "disability" as an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. However, it changes the way that these statutory terms should be interpreted in several ways. Most significantly, the Act:
- directs EEOC to revise that portion of its regulations defining the term "substantially limits";
- expands the definition of "major life activities" by including two non-exhaustive lists:
- the first list includes many activities that the EEOC has recognized (e.g., walking) as well as activities that EEOC has not specifically recognized (e.g., reading, bending, and communicating);
- the second list includes major bodily functions (e.g., "functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions");
- states that mitigating measures other than "ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses" shall not be considered in assessing whether an individual has a disability;
- clarifies that an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active;
- changes the definition of "regarded as" so that it no longer requires a showing that the employer perceived the individual to be substantially limited in a major life activity, and instead says that an applicant or employee is "regarded as" disabled if he or she is subject to an action prohibited by the ADA (e.g., failure to hire or termination) based on an impairment that is not transitory and minor;
- provides that individuals covered only under the "regarded as" prong are not entitled to reasonable accommodation.
EEOC will be evaluating the impact of these changes on its enforcement guidance and other publications addressing the ADA.
Effective Date: The ADA Amendments Act is effective as of January 1, 2009.