A 504 plan is a blueprint for how a school will support a student with a disability and remove barriers to learning. It is designed to provide equal access and fairness in the general education setting, and its overarching aim is to remove any barriers enabling a student with a disability to access the same Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) as their peers. Unlike an Individualized Education Program (IEP), a 504 plan provides accommodations to general education students so that they can access the curriculum. The plan is developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives accommodations that will ensure their academic success and access to the learning environment.
A student may be entitled to a 504 plan if they have been identified and the evaluation shows that the individual has a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities (i.e., caring for oneself, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, working, performing manual tasks, learning). Students who need a 504 plan can include those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), diabetes, epilepsy, hearing problems or vision impairment, chronic health conditions, such as asthma or allergies, mental health conditions, such as anxiety or depression, and more.
504 plans are covered by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in programs or activities that receive federal funding (such as public schools or publicly funded private schools). Students with disabilities have the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE), and that’s the whole point of 504 plans: to give students access to the same education as their peers.
