(ORIGINAL PDF FILE, CLICK HERE) Parent and Educator Resource
Guide to Section 504 in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools
U.S. Department of Education
Office for Civil Rights
December 2016
400 MARYLAND AVE. S.W., WASHINGTON, DC 20202-1100 www.ed.gov
The Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. … Read the rest
Introduction
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Education (ED).
Discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin is prohibited by Title VI of the CivilRights Act of 1964. … Read the rest
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights(OCR) today issued guidance clarifying the obligation of schools to provide students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with equal educational opportunity under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504). The guidance—in the form of a Dear Colleague Letter and accompanying Resource Guide—provides a broad overview of Section 504 and school districts’ obligations to students with ADHD, including appropriately evaluating and providing services to such students, and ensuring due process. … Read the rest
The “Dear Colleague” letter from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education explains that all students, regardless of their sex, must have equal access to the full range of career and technical education (CTE) programs offered. The Dear Colleague Letter includes an overview of the legal requirements most relevant to ensuring gender equity in CTE programs and provides examples of ways schools can prevent or remedy inequity. … Read the rest
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Educational Opportunities Section, and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders issued a fact sheet that includes examples of forms of discrimination that members of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) and Muslim, Arab, Sikh, and South Asian (MASSA) communities commonly face. … Read the rest
The “Dear Colleague” Letter from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice summarizes a school’s Title IX obligations regarding transgender students and explains how the Departments evaluate a school’s compliance with these obligations. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education issued a companion document, Examples of Policies and Emerging Practices for Supporting Transgender Students, which summarizes key components of policies on transgender students from school districts and state education agencies across the country. … Read the rest
The “Dear Colleague” letter is accompanied by a letter to Title IX coordinators that provides them with more information about their role and a Title IX resource guide that includes an overview of Title IX’s requirements with respect to several key issues. The “Dear Colleague” letter, the letter to Title IX coordinators and the Title IX Resource Guide are available on the Title IX Coordinators page. … Read the rest
The Fact Sheet addresses how school officials can implement recommendations and resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) related to protecting children and their families from measles without discriminating on the basis of disability, particularly in the case of students who are medically unable to receive a vaccine because of a disability, and explains what school officials must do to ensure continuity of learning if a student is legitimately excluded from school. … Read the rest