Section 504 History and Overview
- What is Section 504?
- Legislative History of Section 504
- Section 504 Sit-Ins
- Later History of Section 504
- Section 504 in Education
- Other Celebrations
What is Section 504?
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states: “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in section 705 (20) of this title, shall, solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency or by the United States Postal Service” (1). According to the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, “Each Federal agency has its own set of section 504 regulations that apply to its own programs. Agencies that provide Federal financial assistance also have section 504 regulations covering entities that receive Federal aid. Requirements common to these regulations include reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities; program accessibility; effective communication with people who have hearing or vision disabilities; and accessible new construction and alterations” (2).
Legislative History of Section 504
As a consequence of the Civil Rights movement, Congress passed several pieces of legislation to prohibit various forms of discrimination. These laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act of 1968, and Title IX of the Education Amendments Act, created precedent for the idea that other identities, such as disability, could and should be legally protected from discrimination. In 1972, Senator Hubert Humphrey (who had served as vice president from 1965 to 1969) proposed to amend the Civil Rights Act to include disability status. “No longer dare we live with the hypocrisy that the promise of America should have one major exception,” Humphrey said: “Millions of children, youth, and adults with mental and physical handicaps” (Davis 9). However, Humphrey’s effort failed because many legislators did not want to “dilute” the Civil Rights Act by expanding it to include other forms of discrimination, while others feared that amending the law could open the door to future amendments which would reduce its effectiveness (ibid. 10).
Instead, Humphrey’s proposal was added to a bill called the Rehabilitation Act. The primary focus of this bill was to expand upon legislation from 1920 which established vocational rehabilitation services for veterans who had been wounded and disabled in World War I. Nixon vetoed the law twice – first in October 1972 and again in March 1973 – because he opposed federal funds being spent on independent living centers for people with disabilities. Nixon called the Rehabilitation Act a “fiscally irresponsible, badly constructed bill” and “a massive assault upon the pocketbooks of millions of men and women in this country” (3).
A third iteration of the Rehabilitation Act was introduced in May 1973 by Congressman John Brademas. This version of the law removed funding for independent living center (Davis 10). It was passed by the House of Representatives with 384 voting in favor and 13 voting against, and soon after was approved by the Senate as well. President Richard Nixon signed the Rehabilitation Act into law on September 26, 1973 (4). Section 504 of the law was hardly noticed during the drafting and debate over the Rehabilitation Act, but it would become the most impactful part of the law by far. In fact, it is not known who wrote Section 504 or who was responsible for adding it to the Rehabilitation Act; this historic contribution is usually attributed to an unknown congressional staff member (Davis 59).
Section 504 Sit-Ins
The Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW; later divided into the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education) soon began developing regulations to make Section 504 enforceable. However, the turmoil of Watergate and Nixon’s resignation caused delays in implementation. President Gerald Ford’s new HEW Secretary, F. David Mathews, ultimately did not sign any of the regulations drafted by his department during his tenure. After Jimmy Carter was elected, his HEW Secretary, Joseph Califano, also hesitated to issue regulations, instead deciding to “review and revise” the proposals previously developed by the Office of Civil Rights (ibid. 12–13). Califano justified the further delay, saying that “the other administration had two-and-a-half years. I’m entitled to two-and-a-half months” (5).
After more than three years of waiting, many disability rights activists would not accept further delays. The American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities, founded by a blind woman named Eunice Fiorito and a deaf man named Frank Bowe, began organizing protests at HEW offices in February 1977. They sent a letter to Carter and Califano saying that if Section 504 regulations were not issued by April 4, ACCD would hold a sit-in at every HEW building across the country. Califano met with ACCD on April 4, and although he “endorsed” their demonstration, he did not accept their demands (Davis 13–14).
The next day, sit-ins commenced. The longest-lasting and most famous Section 504 sit-in took place at the HEW office in San Francisco. This protest began with a large rally on April 5, after which a smaller number of demonstrators entered the federal building. This group encompassed a broad range of disabilities and represented a cross-section of the disability community, including people of various ages, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The protest was supported by many other activist organizations; for example, the Black Panther Party provided meals for the demonstrators, and sympathetic local politicians gave them mattresses (6). On April 28, after a twenty-three day protest, Califano agreed to sign the regulations written by the Office of Civil Rights with no modifications. As a result, Section 504 was finally enforceable and people with disabilities could be covered by its protections (Davis 14).
Virtual Tour of “Patient No More” - An Exhibit from the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability
https://longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu/patient-no-more/virtual-tour
The Power of 504
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyWcCuVta7M
“Short History of the 504 Sit-in” by Kitty Cone from Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
https://dredf.org/504-sit-in-20th-anniversary/short-history-of-the-504-sit-in/
Later History of Section 504
Section 504’s impact was weakened by a series of Supreme Court decisions beginning in 1979. That year, in Southeastern Community College v. Davis, the court decided that a nursing program could turn away a student with hearing loss, since she would not be able to lip read in contexts where surgical masks were required, and having to hire an American Sign Language interpreter would impose an “undue burden” on the college (ibid. 53). In 1984, the Supreme Court ruled in Grove City College v. Bell that even if a private college received federal funds, only programs which directly received the funds, and not the college as a whole, had to comply with Title IX. Bradford Reynolds, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights under President Ronald Reagan, said that the Grove ruling would be applied to other regulations, including Section 504 (ibid. 58–60). These rulings significantly weakened Section 504’s protections for students at postsecondary institutions, especially private institutions.
The obstacles faced by Section 504 led to a growing sense among disability rights activists and lawmakers that further legislation was needed to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities. The disability community played an important role in securing the passage of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988, which overturned the Grove ruling. That year, Congress held hearings on the need for a more comprehensive law to prevent discrimination based on disability (7). Ultimately, Section 504 created the foundation for the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which requires all employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities (8).
Section 504 in Education
Section 504 has played an important role in guaranteeing equal access to education for primary and secondary school students with disabilities. Public schools, as well as private schools that receive funding from the federal government, are not permitted to exclude or discriminate against students on the basis of disability. In order to qualify for Section 504 protections, a student must “have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.” Students who qualify under Section 504 are entitled to a “Free Appropriate Public Education” (9). According to the Department of Education, an educational program is “appropriate” if it is “designed to meet the individual education needs of students with disabilities as adequately as the needs of nondisabled students are met.” This is often achieved through an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a “504 Plan” (10).
Section 504 requirements are much less stringent for postsecondary institutions compared to elementary and secondary schools. Colleges and universities that receive federal funds are “required to provide students with appropriate academic adjustments and auxiliary aids and services that are necessary to afford an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in a school's program,” but they are not required “to make adjustments or provide aids or services that would result in a fundamental alteration of a recipient's program or impose an undue burden” (11). Moreover, while elementary and secondary schools are responsible for identifying students who may need Section 504 accommodations, at the postsecondary level students must do so themselves (12).
Georgia Tech receives federal money – $4.7 million in direct Congressional funding in 2023 (13) – so it is covered by Section 504. The Office of Equity and Compliance Programs is tasked with ensuring that Georgia Tech complies with its responsibilities under Section 504, the ADA, and other related laws, and the Office of Disability Services oversees support and accommodations for students with disabilities (14). Additionally, all renovation and construction of Georgia Tech facilities is designed to meet the requirements of Section 504 and the ADA. For example, the current renovation of the D.M. Smith building, which houses the School of Public Policy, includes “creating a permanent wheelchair access feature and adding an elevator” in order to improve its accessibility for people with disabilities (15).