Laws & Regulations
Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 mandates nondiscrimination in federal agencies
(Section 501) and the establishment of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board (Section 502). Sections 503 and 504 address disability discrimination
in institutions that receive federal funding.
Section 503
Section 503 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment in institutions
that receive federal funding. Section 503 is not an affirmative action statute and
does not include a requirement to give preference in employment to qualified people
with disabilities. Section 503 does, however, include a mandate to actively encourage
application and consideration for employment of disabled candidates.
Section 504
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a program access statute that is
designed to ensure that programs receiving federal funding be accessible to students
with disabilities. The legislation states that:
"No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States shall, solely
by reason of his handicap, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits
of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal
Financial Assistance..."
It is this Section 504 mandate that has prompted the development of disability support
services and programs in colleges and universities across the United States. Subpart
E of Section 504 deals specifically with postsecondary educational institutions. Although
it does not require special educational programming be created for disabled college
students, it does require that an institution (public or private) be prepared to make
appropriate adjustments and reasonable modifications to policies and practices in
order to allow the full participation of students with disabilities in the same programs
and activities available to nondisabled students.
In order to comply with this mandate, colleges and universities that receive federal
assistance must provide the same opportunities for qualified students with disabilities
as for qualified nondisabled students to participate in campus programs and activities
such as academic, social, recreational and health services, counseling, transportation
and all other college or university sponsored programs and activities.
Quotas for admission of disabled students are not allowed, nor are pre-admission inquiries
regarding an applicant's disability, unless such inquiry is to determine what auxiliary
aids and/or services should be provided to ensure the applicant's equal opportunity.
Tests which the institution uses must not discriminate against students with disabilities.
Tests must be selected and administered so that the results for students with impaired
sensory, manual, speaking and/or information processing skills are not distorted and
so that the tests accurately measure the student's achievement or knowledge level
rather than his/her disability. Thus, academic ability must be the sole basis for
participation in postsecondary education.
In order to ensure equal opportunity, the overall postsecondary educational experience
of a student with a disability must be comparable to that of his/her non-disabled
peers. This may necessitate different treatment in some situations.
Postsecondary institutions must ensure that all programs are accessible to disabled
students and employees. The institution is not required to make all classroom buildings
physically accessible. Accessibility can be achieved by rescheduling classes to accessible
buildings or by taking other steps to ensure program accessibility. Thus, not all
buildings must be physically accessible, but all programs must be accessible.
Students with impaired sensory, manual, language or information processing abilities
must be provided with educational auxiliary aids and services such as readers, taped
textbooks, voice synthesizers, assistance with completing forms, large print, reading
machines, manual communication interpreters, adapted classroom equipment, and other
similar educational services or equipment. The institution cannot charge students
with disabilities for auxiliary aids or services regardless of budgetary constraints.
However, the institution can request that the student seek benefits through other
outside agencies such as the state Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. The institution
also cannot impose rules which prohibit the use of such aids in the classroom.
Modification of academic requirements may be necessary to accommodate qualified students
with disabilities. Modifications may include changes in the length of time permitted
for the completion of degree requirements and the adaptation of the manner in which
courses are conducted or in the manner in which learning is demonstrated or evaluated.
The modification of requirements essential to program instruction, academic standards
and licensing are not required under the law.
Accessibility: The Key to Equal Opportunity
Assurance of equal educational opportunity rests upon legal foundations established
by federal law, specifically the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 including Section 504,
and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. By federal law, a person with a disability
is any person who: 1) has a physical or mental impairment; 2) has a record of such
impairment; or 3) is regarded as having such an impairment which substantially limits
one or more major life activities such as self-care, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking,
breathing, or learning.
Every student with a documented disability has the following rights:
• Equal access to courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities
available
through the college or university.
• Reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary
aids determined on a case-by-case basis.
• Appropriate confidentiality of all information pertaining to his/her disability
with
the choice of whom to disclose their disability to except as required by
law.
• Information reasonably available in accessible formats.
Academic Accommodations
A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a course, program, service, job, activity, or facility that enables a qualified student with a disability to have an equal opportunity. An equal opportunity means an opportunity to attain the same level of performance or to enjoy equal benefits and privileges as are available to a similarly-situated student without a disability. The College is obligated to make a reasonable accommodation only to the known limitations of an otherwise qualified disabled student.