Your Children’s Educational Rights

The alternative law that enables a child to have eligibility of accommodations at school is a 504 plan, which is under the rehabilitation act of 1973. This law enables any child with a disability (learning, physical, or emotional) to be eligible for accommodations for that disability in their educational setting so they are at an equal playing field as everyone else. In other words, a disability should not cause a student to have less of a chance to do well than non-disabled students at the school. Students who are eligible for services under IDEA will always meet the definition of eligibility for Section 504. However, the converse is not true. The non-categorical criteria for determining eligibility under Section 504 are generally broader, or more inclusive, than the categories of eligibility under IDEA. As a result, there are students eligible for educational program adaptations and services under Section 504 who are ineligible under IDEA. I’ll discuss the 504 plan in detail in my next article.