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The Americans With Disabilities Act and Education

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The Americans With Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination in a wide variety of contexts including the workplace, businesses and places considered to be "public accommodations," and in schools. Since this is a federal law there are some limitations on when the law applies within an education programs. Discrimination against students on the basis of disability is prohibited in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance.

ADA Requirements

What constituted discriminatory treatment is specifically defined by the statute. Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that:

No qualified individual with a disability shall be excluded from participation in, or denied access to, programs or activities; denied benefits or services; or be subjected to discrimination by any public entity.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in any program or activity of state or local governments, that receive federal funds. Title II of the ADA extends this prohibition to the full range of state or local government services, programs, or activities regardless of whether they receive any federal funding.

Disability under Title II of the ADA are those that place substantial limitations on one or more of an individual’s major life activities. For purposes of coverage under the ADA, the term disability is defined as referring to an individual who has:

  • a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual;
  • a record of such an impairment; or
  • is regarded as having such an impairment.

ADA Relief Eligibility

The Title II regulation provides three ways individuals may seek redress if they believe that they have been discriminated against on the basis of disability:

  1. by filing a complaint under the allegedly discriminating institution’s own grievance procedures;
  2. by filing a complaint with the federal agency responsible for oversight of the type of institution alleged to have discriminated, with any federal agency that funds the institution, or with the Department of Justice; or
  3. by filing a lawsuit for injunctive relief and damages.

The U.S. Department of Education is the designated agency to enforce both Title II and Section 504 in public elementary and secondary education systems and institutions. The Office for Civil Rights is the agency within the U.S. Department of Education that was delegated the responsibility to enforce both Title II and Section 504. The Act applies to discrimination at all age levels.

More Information

For more information on Title II of the ADA, public school officials may request OCR publication titled Compliance With The Americans With Disabilities Act: A Self-Evaluation Guide For Public Elementary and Secondary Schools. For a complete understanding of the legal requirements of Title II, please consult the Title II regulation.

Public school officials can also contact the U.S. Department of Justice’s ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 (voice), (800) 514-0383 (TDD). The ADA National Access for Public Schools Project, funded by NIDRR, at Adaptive Environments, Inc., (800) 893-1225 (voice/TDD), may also be contacted for information.

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