The law protects students with disabilities
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a national law that protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability.Under the provisions of Section 504, colleges and universities may not:
- Limit the number of students with disabilities
- Make pre-admission inquiries as to whether or not an applicant is disabled
- Use admission tests or criteria that inadequately measure the academic qualifications for a student with disabilities because special provisions were not made for the applicant
- Exclude a qualified student with a disability from any course of study
- Limit eligibility to a student with a disability for financial assistance or otherwise discriminate in administering scholarships, fellowships, internships, or assistantships on the basis of disability
- Counsel a student with a disability toward a more restrictive career
- Measure student achievement using modes that adversely discriminate against a student with a disability
- Establish rules and policies that may adversely affect students with disabilities
Modifications for students with disabilities
Post-secondary institutions can make modifications for students with disabilities, such as:
- Removing architectural barriers
- Providing services such as readers for the blind or individuals with learning disabilities, qualified interpreters, and note-takers for deaf or hearing impaired students, or note-takers for students with learning disabilities or mobility impairments
- Providing modifications, substitutions, or waivers of courses, major fields of study, or degree requirements on a case-by-case basis. Such accommodations need not be made if the institution can demonstrate that the changes requested would substantially alter essential elements of the course or program.
- Allowing extra time to complete exams
- Permitting examinations to be individually proctored, read orally, dictated, or typed
- Increasing frequency of tests or examinations
- Changing test format
- Permitting the use of computer software programs or other assistive technological devices to assist in test-taking and study skills
*Section 504: The Law and Its Impact on Post Secondary Education, American Council on Education
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