Are Students with Problems of Alcohol and Drug Dependency Entitled to Special Education and Related Services?
Drug and alcohol dependent students are not identified in the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, formerly the EHA, P.L. 94-142) as a group entitled to special education and related services. In response to a 1979 inquiry, the Office of Special Education Programs (at that time the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped) responded that chemical dependency did not meet the definition of handicapped under the “other health impairment” category because it did not result from injury or disease. However, several years later, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education ruled that under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a student’s drug addiction fell within the definition of “physical or mental impairment.” Recently, OCR changed its position. In clarifying the effect of the Americans with Disabilities Act on Section 504 regulations, OCR stated that individuals who illegally use alcohol or other drugs are no longer defined under 504 as han
