What is Section 504? What is a Major Life Activity?

♦ Any student may be referred for a 504 evaluation

by a parent, teacher, counselor, administrator, or
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a Major life activities refer to functions such as, but not other District employee who is knowledgeable
federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of limited to, caring for oneself, eating, sleeping, reading, about the student and has reason to believe that
disability. Unlike the Individuals with Disabilities walking, seeing, hearing, bending, standing, speaking, the student has a disability that is substantially
Education Act (IDEA) that governs special education, breathing, thinking, concentrating, communicating, and limiting one of life’s major activities.
Section 504 is not an education, service, or funding performing manual tasks. Major life activities also ♦ All referrals must be submitted in writing to an
statute. The purpose of Section 504 is to ensure that include major bodily functions of the immune system, official Campus 504 Coordinator who will prepare
individuals with disabilities are given the same bladder, bowel, brain, respiratory, circulatory, and and send all required notices.
opportunity to participate in programs and activities as endocrine functions, as well as, normal cell development. ♦ The District complete the evaluations within 45
are their nondisabled peers. school days following receipt of parents’ consent to
Where Does RTI Fit in the 504 Process?
evaluate.
It is the responsibility of Katy Independent School
District to identify and serve students who, within the Katy ISD uses a tiered Response to Intervention (RTI)
What Constitutes an Evaluation Under Section
intent of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, model as a system for gathering data to determine
504?
are considered disabled and who, because of whether a student may have need for referral to 504. It
disability need special services/accommodations is through the RTI process that campuses document a An evaluation under Section 504 may not involve
within the general education program. student’s response to interventions for academic, testing. It may consist of a review and analysis of
physical, or behavioral difficulties. existing records such as vision and hearing screening,
Who is Eligible Under Section 504? test scores, attendance records, discipline records,
All students receive differentiated instruction in their
Students may qualify for protection under Section 504 general education classes at Tier I. A student, who educational history, current academic performance,
teacher observations, and behavior. Data provided
if they have a mental or physical impairment that makes minimal or no progress academically at Tier I,
substantially limits one or more of life’s major from external sources is also considered but within the
may be referred to an RTI Collaborative Team to
context of the school.
activities. A label, disability, or diagnosis, alone, does determine whether the student requires targeted
not make a student eligible under Section 504. The supplementary intervention at Tier II. For elementary A 504 Committee is responsible for gathering,
disability must substantially limit the student’s students, this involves a second class in a content area. reviewing and analyzing the evaluation data and for
performance as compared to the performance of the Secondary students, on the other hand, may need an making decisions regarding a student’s eligibility
average student in the general population. academic intervention elective. Tier II is still a part of the based upon current legal standards.
general education program. If the student does not
If a student does not qualify under Section 504 but make progress at this level, the student may require Who Makes Up the Membership of the 504
requires instructional and/or behavioral interventions more intensive interventions at Tier III and/or a referral to Committee?
beyond those available in general education, the 504.
District will meet the student’s needs through its The federal regulations governing Section 504 do not
Response to Intervention (RTI) process. Students with physical and/or behavioral needs are specify the titles or classifications of individuals who
typically served within the general education classroom must participate in a 504 Committee. The regulations
Students may be eligible for services under Section with appropriate levels of support from an LSSP or do state that the 504 Committee must include “a group
504 even though they do not meet the eligibility campus nurse. of persons knowledgeable about the child, the
criteria for one of the disabling conditions covered by meaning of the evaluation data, and the placement
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Participation in student support or Response to options.”
Students eligible for services under IDEA are not Intervention systems does not exclude students from
addressed in these guidelines. Section 504 referral, even if a student is successful given While parents are not required members of a 504
the intervening services. Utilization of RTI should not Committee in federal regulations, Katy ISD
What is Meant by “Substantially Limits”? DELAY, DENY, or PREVENT students from access to encourages parent participation.
Section 504 evaluation. Referral to Section 504 should
Under judicial interpretation, a major life activity is How is Placement Defined?
occur when a school or parent suspects a disability is
substantially limited when a person is “unable to
present (or has knowledge a disability has been
perform a major life activity that the average person in In the context of 504, “placement” refers to the general
identified) and the student may be in need of services
the general population can perform.” education classroom or program with individually
due to the disability.
planned accommodations or interventions. Placement
In referencing the “general population”, the intent of What are the Referral Procedures? may include such things as tutorials, math lab, block
the law was to compare each person’s performance math classes, or reading improvement classes. In
against the general population in the community and ♦ In most cases, students referred to a Campus 504 other words, an eligible 504 student is entitled to the
the nation – not the population at a particular school. Coordinator will have been served previously through same access to programs and activities as any other
the RTI process. student. The District is not required to alter
requirements or standards for participation. There is (d) placement; and
no modification of the essential knowledge and skills (e) any significant change in placement. Section 504:
for 504 students. Eligibility under Section 504 is not
intended to reduce expectations for students with
2. A right to receive a copy of this notice upon the
district’s identification, evaluation, refusal to provide
A Parent’s Guide
disabilities. The intent of 504 is to provide eligible
an evaluation, educational placement, denial of
students with reasonable accommodations that will
educational placement, and any significant change in
KATY INDEPENDENT
give them an equal chance to achieve.
said placement of their child.
Can Eligible 504 Students Take an Alternative
3. A right to an evaluation of their child if the District has
STAAR Test?
No. Unlike students with disabilities who are eligible
reason to believe that the child has a mental or
physical impairment that substantially limits learning
SCHOOL DISTRICT
under the special education umbrella (IDEA), 504 or some other major life activity
students cannot be given an alternate or modified (a) before the initial placement; and
STAAR test. Therefore, since graduation is (b) before any subsequent significant change in
conditioned on passing STAAR and/or End-of-Course placement.
exams, eligible 504 students must be held
4. A right to an opportunity to examine all relevant
accountable for the same curriculum requirements
records for their child.
and standards as their nondisabled peers. To do
otherwise would not give eligible 504 students an 5. A right to participate in an impartial hearing with
equal opportunity to earn a diploma. Eligible 504 representation by counsel, concerning the
students may be entitled to limited testing identification, evaluation or educational placement of
accommodations as allowed by TEA or the testing their child.
manufacturer, as appropriate. 6. A right to appeal the final decision of the impartial
What if a Parent Refuses IDEA Services and hearing officer to a court of competent jurisdiction.
Requests 504 Instead? Written requests for local mediation or impartial hearings
shall be made to:
The Office of Civil Rights, the agency responsible for
Mrs. Bonnie Holland
enforcement of Section 504 regulations, has made it
Associate Superintendent for Administration,
clear that students eligible for services under IDEA Governance and Legal Affairs
should be served under that statute. If a parent Katy Independent School District
refuses special education services for an eligible P.O. Box 159
student, Katy ISD may have no obligation to offer the Katy, Texas 77492-0159
student services and/or accommodations under (281) 396-2318
Section 504. The hearing officer for the impartial hearing will not be an
What Rights Do Parents Have Under Section 504 employee of Katy ISD, shall not be a member of the
in Katy ISD? Board of Trustees, and shall not be related to any
member of the Board of Trustees in a degree that would
Participation in student support or Response to be prohibited under the nepotism statute.
Intervention systems does not exclude students from
Mediation conferences and/or impartial hearings will be
Section 504 referral, even if a student is successful
conducted in an informal and nonadversarial manner.
given the intervening services. Utilization of RTI
should not DELAY, DENY, or PREVENT students OCR Complaints
It is the policy of Katy ISD not to discriminate on the basis of
from access to Section 504 evaluation. Referral to
Parents or guardians who believe that the District has sex, disability, race, religion, color, gender, age or national
Section 504 should occur when a school or parent origin in its educational programs and/or activities, including
violated the provisions of Section 504 are entitled to file a
suspects a disability is present (or has knowledge a career and technology program, nor in its employment
complaint with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) which has
disability has been identified) and the student may be practices and to provide equal access to the Boy Scouts and
jurisdiction in Texas. The address is as follows:
in need of services due to the disability. other designated youth groups.
Director – Department of Education
1. Parents have a right to written notification on an Office of Civil Rights, Region VI
individual basis with regard to: 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 2260
(a) referral for evaluation or reevaluation; Dallas, Texas 75201
(b) decisions regarding eligibility; (214) 661-9600
(c) services available;
Special Services 06/13/2016