Do 504 Plans Expire? Re-evaluations, Graduation, and Moves

504 plans do not expire on a set schedule. A plan written under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act stays in effect for as long as the student is enrolled in a K-12 public school and continues to meet the law’s definition of a person with a disability. It ends when the student graduates with a regular diploma, ages out of public education, is found through re-evaluation to no longer qualify, or when a parent withdraws consent. Federal rules require schools to review the plan from time to time, but a review is not an expiration date, and most reviews end in an updated plan rather than a terminated one.

How Long the Plan Stays in Effect

Section 504 prohibits disability discrimination in any program that receives federal financial assistance, including public schools.¹ A student who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, such as learning, reading, concentrating, or breathing, is entitled to accommodations that remove barriers to the same education their peers receive.²

Once the plan is in place, the accommodations carry over from year to year. Parents do not need to reapply each fall, and there is no renewal deadline. The Department of Education has said a student identified as eligible for Section 504 services remains entitled to them as long as the student continues to meet the definition of a person with a disability.² The plan follows the student through elementary, middle, and high school within the same district, and each teacher who works with the student is expected to know what the plan requires.

Plans for Temporary Conditions

Some plans are written for conditions that will not last forever. A student recovering from surgery, managing a serious concussion, or dealing with a severe temporary illness can qualify if the impairment substantially limits a major life activity for long enough to matter. Temporary impairments can qualify, but the severity and expected duration have to be significant, and the determination is made case by case. An impairment that is both transitory, with an actual or expected duration of six months or less, and minor does not qualify as a disability under the “regarded as” prong of Section 504.² When a student does qualify on this basis, the plan runs until a re-evaluation confirms the impairment has resolved.

Periodic Re-evaluations

Schools cannot simply file a plan away and forget about it. Federal regulation requires districts to establish procedures for periodic re-evaluation of students receiving accommodations. The rule does not name a specific number of years, but it treats the timeline used under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which calls for re-evaluation at least every three years, as sufficient.³ Many districts review 504 plans annually as a matter of local policy, though federal law does not require yearly reviews.

A re-evaluation usually pulls together updated medical records, teacher input on how the current accommodations are working, and a look at the student’s academic performance. The point is to confirm two things: that the disability still substantially limits a major life activity, and that the accommodations in the plan still match what the student needs. The team can adjust, add, or remove individual accommodations without ending the plan.

When a Student No Longer Qualifies

A plan can end if a re-evaluation determines the student’s impairment no longer substantially limits a major life activity. That can happen when a medical condition improves, when a student develops strategies that eliminate the barrier without formal supports, or when updated testing shows the limitation has resolved. If the team reaches that conclusion, the district issues a notice terminating the plan.²

Medication and Other Aids Cannot Be Used to End Eligibility

One protection is worth knowing about. Under the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which also governs how Section 504 defines disability, schools must decide whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity without factoring in the helpful effects of medication, hearing aids, prosthetics, assistive technology, or learned behavioral adaptations.⁴ A school cannot end a plan just because a student’s ADHD medication is working well or a hearing aid has reduced classroom difficulty.

The rule applies to the eligibility question, not to the accommodations themselves. When deciding what specific accommodations the student needs, the team can consider how well the mitigating measures are working. If medication fully closes the gap and no classroom adjustments are needed, the student is still a person with a disability and still protected from discrimination, but may not need an active plan with specific accommodations.

Graduation and Aging Out

A 504 plan ends automatically when a student graduates from high school with a regular diploma. The plan is tied to the K-12 public system, and the district’s obligation stops when the student finishes. Coverage also ends when a student reaches the maximum age for public education eligibility, which under IDEA extends through age 21.⁵ Some states set the cutoff differently, but once a student ages out, the district’s Section 504 duty to provide a free appropriate public education ends.

College and Postsecondary School

Section 504 continues to apply to colleges, universities, and other postsecondary institutions that receive federal funding.¹ The responsibility, however, shifts. In K-12, the district identifies the student, writes the plan, and provides the accommodations. In college, the student has to self-identify to the disability services office, submit documentation, and request specific accommodations.

A high school 504 plan does not transfer to a college as a binding document. Many colleges require recent diagnostic evaluations, often from within the past three years, and a high school plan alone may not meet their documentation standards. Students who expect to need accommodations in college should work with the high school and their healthcare providers to gather current evaluations before enrolling.

Work

Students going straight into the workforce are covered by a different piece of the same law. Section 504 prohibits disability discrimination in employment by any employer that receives federal financial assistance, and the Americans with Disabilities Act extends similar protections to most private employers with 15 or more employees.⁶ These are workplace protections, not a continuation of the school plan. The employee has to disclose the disability and request accommodations directly.

Moving Districts or Schools

A plan does not disappear when a family moves. The receiving public school district should review the existing plan and its supporting documentation. If a team that includes people knowledgeable about the evaluation data and placement options considers the plan appropriate, the district must implement it. If the team considers the plan inappropriate for the new setting, the district conducts its own evaluation under the standard Section 504 procedures.²

Parents can prevent gaps by bringing a copy of the current plan and all supporting evaluations to enrollment. Federal regulation does not set a specific number of days for the new district to act, but the duty not to discriminate begins as soon as the student enrolls. A district that decides to run its own evaluation is not barred from honoring the existing accommodations in the meantime.²

Private schools that receive federal financial assistance, even indirectly, are covered by Section 504, but their obligations are narrower. A private school may not exclude a qualified student with a disability if the student can be appropriately educated with minor adjustments to the program, and the school can charge additional fees if serving the student results in a substantial increase in cost.⁷ Families moving a student from a public to a private school should not assume the same accommodations will carry over.

If the School Ends the Plan and You Disagree

Every school district must maintain a system of procedural safeguards that includes notice to parents, the right to examine relevant records, an impartial hearing, the opportunity for legal representation, and a review procedure.⁸ The school has to notify parents of these rights whenever it makes a decision about a student’s identification, evaluation, or placement, and terminating a plan counts.²

The main way to challenge a termination is to request an impartial due process hearing through the district. The hearing is conducted by someone not involved in the original decision, and parents can participate, present evidence, and bring an attorney or advocate.⁸

Parents can also file a disability discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. OCR investigates whether the school followed proper procedures and whether the student’s rights under Section 504 were violated. Complaints must generally be filed within 180 days of the last act of discrimination, which for a terminated plan means the date the plan ended or the date the school refused accommodations.⁹ Parents can request a waiver of the 180-day deadline by showing good cause. The due process hearing and the OCR complaint are not mutually exclusive, and a family may pursue both.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 794 – Nondiscrimination Under Federal Grants and Programs
2
U.S. Department of Education. Frequently Asked Questions: Section 504 Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
3
eCFR. 34 CFR 104.35 – Evaluation and Placement
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 12102 – Definition of Disability
5
U.S. Department of Education. Grants Part B – Year of Age Cohort for Which FAPE Is Ensured
6
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Your Rights Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
7
eCFR. 34 CFR 104.39 – Private Education
8
eCFR. 34 CFR 104.36 – Procedural Safeguards
9
U.S. Department of Education. OCR: Discrimination Complaint Form