What Is Section 504? Schools, Workplaces, and Enforcement

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is the first federal civil rights law that prohibits disability discrimination, and it applies to every program or activity that receives federal financial assistance. That reach covers public school districts, colleges, hospitals, government agencies, federal contractors, and many nonprofits. If federal money flows to the organization, it cannot exclude you, deny you benefits, or treat you worse because of a disability.¹

The law protects qualified individuals in three main arenas: K-12 education, higher education, and employment. What that protection looks like differs by setting, but the underlying right is the same.

Who the Law Protects

You are covered by Section 504 if you meet any one of three definitions of disability. The statute borrows its definition from the Americans with Disabilities Act, so the analysis is the same under both laws.²

You have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity such as learning, breathing, walking, seeing, hearing, concentrating, or working.
You have a documented history of such an impairment. Someone who recovered from cancer, for instance, cannot be treated unfavorably based on that medical history.
You are regarded as having an impairment, even if you don’t. This exists to stop discrimination rooted in stereotypes or unfounded assumptions about someone’s health.

The list of qualifying conditions is deliberately open-ended. Congress designed it to keep pace with medical knowledge rather than fixing a catalog of diagnoses.

Ignore the Medication When Judging Eligibility

A common point of confusion. Eligibility looks at your condition without treatment, not how well you function on medication, with a hearing aid, or using assistive technology. The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 made this explicit, and the same rule carries into Section 504. Schools and employers must set aside the beneficial effects of medication, mobility devices, cochlear implants, prosthetics, and similar measures when they decide whether your impairment substantially limits a major life activity.³

Ordinary eyeglasses and contact lenses are the one exception. Those are the only mitigating measures a school or employer can factor in.³

What Section 504 Means in K-12 Schools

Every public school district must provide a free appropriate public education to each qualified student with a disability in its jurisdiction, whatever the nature or severity of the disability.⁴ The education has to be designed to meet the student’s individual needs as effectively as the district meets the needs of students without disabilities.

In practice, that duty produces a 504 plan: a written document listing the specific accommodations and services the student receives. Common examples include extended testing time, preferential seating, use of assistive technology, modified assignments, or access to a quiet testing room. The district cannot charge families for the accommodations or for the evaluation that leads to them.⁴

Placement matters too. Federal regulations require schools to educate students with disabilities alongside their non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate. A separate setting is allowed only if the district shows the student’s needs cannot be met satisfactorily in the regular classroom with supplementary aids and services. When a separate placement is needed, the school must also consider how close that setting is to the student’s home.⁵

Accommodations vs. Modifications

A 504 plan generally works by removing barriers to the general curriculum, not rewriting the curriculum. Accommodations change how a student accesses material: extra time, a note-taker, audio versions of textbooks. Modifications change what a student is expected to learn, like reducing the number of problems on an assignment. 504 plans lean heavily on accommodations. Modifications are more typical of individualized education programs under the IDEA, though a 504 plan can include them if the student’s needs require it.

What Changes in College

Two things shift when a student moves from high school to college. First, colleges do not owe the free appropriate public education that K-12 schools owe their students. They must provide appropriate academic adjustments so that a student is not discriminated against because of a disability.⁶

Second, the responsibility flips. In K-12, the district has a duty to find and evaluate students who may need support. In college, you have to identify yourself as a student with a disability and ask for accommodations. Nobody is coming to find you.⁶

You will also need current documentation. A high school IEP or 504 plan alone is usually not enough because the demands of postsecondary education differ from K-12. Most college disability services offices require a recent clinical evaluation explaining how the condition limits you in an academic setting, and that evaluation is your responsibility and expense.

Workplace Rights

Section 504’s workplace protections apply to every employer that receives federal financial assistance, including federal contractors, publicly funded hospitals, universities, and many nonprofits. Those employers cannot discriminate in hiring, promotion, training, or benefits based on disability.⁷

A qualified employee or applicant is someone who can perform the essential functions of the job with reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation means practical steps to remove barriers: restructuring a schedule, providing specialized equipment, allowing remote work, or reassigning non-essential duties. The employer can refuse only if the accommodation would cause undue hardship, meaning significant difficulty or expense relative to the employer’s size and resources.⁸

How Section 504 Differs From the IDEA and the ADA

Section 504 is often confused with two other disability laws, and knowing which one applies determines what you’re entitled to.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act funds and regulates special education in K-12 schools. It requires a student to fit within one of 13 specific disability categories and to need specialized instruction. Section 504’s definition is broader: any impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, with no fixed list. Many students who don’t qualify for an IEP under the IDEA still qualify for a 504 plan. IEPs also go further than 504 plans in depth, with measurable annual goals, progress monitoring, and oversight by a certified special education teacher. A 504 plan is typically shorter and centers on accommodations to access the general curriculum, managed by a 504 coordinator who may be a counselor, teacher, or administrator. Schools receive dedicated federal money for IDEA services; no additional federal funding comes with Section 504 obligations.

The ADA extends disability protections beyond federally funded programs. It covers private employers with 15 or more employees, all state and local government programs, and private businesses open to the public, whether or not they take federal money. Section 504 applies only to federally funded programs and activities.1 The disability definitions under the two laws are essentially identical since 2008. Where they diverge is reach: if you’re dealing with a private employer that takes no federal funding, the ADA is your statute; if you’re dealing with a public school, hospital, or federally funded program, both laws apply and you can bring claims under either.

What to Do If Your Rights Are Violated

If a school, agency, or employer denies accommodations, fails to follow a 504 plan, or discriminates against you, there are two routes.

Start With an Internal Grievance

Begin with the institution’s own grievance procedure. Submit a written complaint to the Section 504 coordinator describing what happened, when, and what resolution you want. Many institutions also offer a due process hearing, a more formal review where you can present evidence and call witnesses. Schools are required to notify parents of their procedural rights, including the right to examine relevant records and challenge decisions through an impartial hearing.

File a Federal Complaint

When internal processes fail, or when the institution itself is the problem, you can file with the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education. OCR investigates disability discrimination claims under Section 504 and can impose corrective actions.⁹

You must file within 180 calendar days of the last discriminatory act. OCR can waive that deadline in limited circumstances, but do not rely on it.¹⁰ For complaints involving healthcare providers, social service agencies, or other non-education entities that receive HHS funding, the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services handles enforcement.¹¹

Retaliation Is Its Own Violation

Section 504 prohibits retaliation against anyone who exercises rights under the law. That protection reaches beyond the person with a disability to parents, guardians, teachers, counselors, and anyone else who reports discrimination, requests accommodations, or takes part in a complaint or investigation.¹² If a school punishes a parent for filing a 504 complaint, or an employer retaliates against a worker for requesting an accommodation, that is a separate violation you can report to OCR.

What You Can Recover in Court

When a violation causes real harm, you can also sue in federal court. Available remedies include injunctive relief, meaning a court order requiring the institution to stop discriminating or start providing accommodations, and compensatory damages for measurable losses such as lost wages or out-of-pocket costs for services the institution should have provided.

Two recent Supreme Court decisions shape what is on the table. In 2022, in Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, the Court held that emotional distress damages are not available under Section 504. You cannot recover money for anxiety, humiliation, or psychological suffering alone; the harm must be something more concrete.¹³ In 2025, in A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, the Court held that students bringing Section 504 claims do not have to prove “bad faith or gross misjudgment” by school officials. The standard is deliberate indifference: you must show the school disregarded a strong likelihood that its actions violated your rights.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 794 – Nondiscrimination Under Federal Grants and Programs
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 705 – Definitions
3
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. ADA Amendments Act of 2008
4
eCFR. 34 CFR 104.33 – Free Appropriate Public Education
5
eCFR. 34 CFR 104.34 – Educational Setting
6
U.S. Department of Education. Students With Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education
7
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Your Rights Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
8
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Your Rights Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
9
U.S. Department of Education. OCR Discrimination Complaint Form
10
U.S. Department of Education. Questions and Answers on OCR’s Complaint Process
11
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
12
U.S. Department of Education. Retaliation Discrimination
13
National Council on Disability. Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller PLLC: Implications and Avenues for Reform