Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

A federal law designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Section 504 provides: "No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States . . . shall, solely by reason of her or his 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 . . ." (Idaho Special Education Manual, 2018). A person who is determined eligible and qualifies for a 504 plan has a mental or physical impairment which substantially limits one or more of a person’s major life activities. For an impairment to be substantially limiting, it must impede student access to a "large or considerable degree". This includes functions such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working. At school "learning" is frequently identified as the area of difficulty. Referrals to consider eligibility for Section 504 accommodations should be made to the building 504 coordinator or principal.