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Disability Laws in Postsecondary Education
Text Only Version
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.
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Central Ohio Technical College
The Ohio State University at Newark
