Section 504 covers qualified students with disabilities who attend LEAs receiving federal funds. To be protected, a student must be determined to: (a) have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; (b) have a record of such impairment; or (c) be regarded as having such impairment. LEAs must provide FAPE to qualified students in their jurisdictions who may have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. The meaning of “disabled student” was substantially broadened by the American’s with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008, which became effective on January 1, 2009. Congress amended the ADA in 2008 to create “clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards” to broaden who qualifies as a “disabled person” under Section 504 and the ADA. Therefore, the term “physical or mental impairment” is not limited to any specific diseases or categories of medical conditions. Additionally, the impairment need not prevent, or significantly or severely restrict a student in performing a major life activity to be considered “substantially limiting.” Practically any activity that is of importance to a school-aged student’s daily life now qualifies as a “major life activity,” and an impairment that substantially limits one major life activity need not limit other major life activities to be considered a disability. Major life activities, as defined in the Section 504 regulations, include functions such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working. This list is not exhaustive. Other functions can be major life activities for purposes of Section 504. In the Amendments Act, Congress provided additional examples of general activities that are major life activities, including TDOE Section 504 Guide 9 | Page eating, sleeping, standing, lifting, bending, reading, concentrating, thinking, and communicating. Congress also provided a non-exhaustive list of examples of “major bodily functions” that are major life activities, such as the functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions. The Section 504 regulatory provision, though not as comprehensive as the Amendments Act, is still valid – the regulatory provision’s list of examples of major life activities is not exclusive, and an activity or function not specifically listed in the regulatory provision can nonetheless be a major life activity.
When determining eligibility, a student should be compared to non-disabled age/grade-level peers.