What is Section 504? How does it directly relate to students and academic programs?
Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act states that no otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States . . . shall solely by reason of his/her handicap be denied the benefits, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. Subpart E of Section 504 is applicable to all post secondary educational programs and activities which receive federal financial assistance. Colleges and universities must be free from discrimination in their recruitment, admissions and treatment of students. An otherwise qualified handicapped person is defined as one who meets the academic and technical standards requisite to admission or participation in the Institute’s programs and activities. This may include students who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who have orthopedic or speech problems, dyslexia, cancer, cerebral palsy, diabetes, blindness, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, AIDS, mental illness, drug or alcohol addiction, hear
