Learn the Section 504 Basics
Links, Materials, Videos and an Online Section 504 Compliance System for New Section 504 Coordinators & Designees
Here's what you need to know to get started....
For over 25 years, we've been serving the compliance needs of public educators working with Section 504 students. We've seen the excitement that comes from a new assignment become desperation to understand the law, and exasperation because learning Section 504 comes from hard to find guidance and OCR letters of finding, and the relatively short 504 regulations (especially when compared to IDEA) which don't provide much detail on how what to do and how to do it.
We also recognize that most new Section 504 Coordinators and Campus Designees won't serve for more than 3-5 years in the position, and are unlikely to be comfortable with the responsibility until it is time to move on to something else. This web page is for you.
Section 504 Introductory Materials from Dave & Jose
Jose and Dave have focused their legal careers on helping public educators understand federal disability law. Having addressed hundreds of audiences and thousands of questions from educators, we've put together a couple of documents that address some of the basic Section 504 concerns that likely trouble you as you get started. You can download the documents in PDF by clicking the links below.
- The Role of the Section 504 Coordinator: Developing and Implementing Compliance-Oriented Section 504 Programs
- The Fundamentals of Section 504 Eligibility
Our annual CESD Conferences are a great source of on-going training on Section 504 for public school educators. To ensure that you don't miss an opportunity to join us at a CESD Conference or webinar, join our mailing list.
CESD Section 504 Foundation Video Series
Coming Soon to the CESD Video Library.
There's a lot to learn to get started in Section 504, so in addition to the links and documents provided here, you can also purchase access to training videos by Dave Richards and Jose Martin on a variety of basic 504 topics. We bundled six of the most helpful presentations from our CESD Video Library for new coordinators and designees. Descriptions of the video content are provided on the Video Library page. The following videos are included in the Series:
- The Role of the Section 504 Coordinator: Developing and Implementing Compliance-Oriented Section 504 Programs
- Comparison & Contrast: Section 504/ADA vs. IDEA
- An Overview of the Section 504 Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) Process
- Section 504 Nondiscrimination in Extracurricular & NonAcademic Activities
- Does the 504 Plan Have to Include THAT? Using Data to Create the Plan
- Section 504 Behavior Management & Discipline
The Foundation Series is available for subscription, allowing you to access each of the videos of often as you'd like, as many times as you'd like, for three week following the purchase.
The bundle price of $300 is reduced to $180 during our Texas Dyslexia Conference and Fall Section 504 Conference when purchased together with a conference registration for either event.
Get the Series for every member of your team! Any Dyslexia or Section 504 registration will allow you to purchase the Foundation Series for as many of your colleagues as you'd like at the special rate. Just make sure you have their email addresses and cell phone numbers to complete the registration process.
Helpful Links & Resources for the New Section 504 Coordinator or Campus Section 504 Designee
Federal Regulations for Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
COVID-Related Guidance from the U.S. Department of Education
Section 504 Guidance Documents You Should Know from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
A Section 504 Compliance System Created by CESD and Powered by Frontline Education
Some new Section 504 Coordinators discover that there is no consistent process in place for the identification, evaluation and placement of student in Section 504. Different campuses may each have their own forms and process making district compliance hard to manage. Further, different approaches may mean that students are not properly found, evaluated and served on all campuses, resulting in noncompliance exposure for the school system.
In response to requests from CESD Conference participants, we created the first version of the CESD Section 504 Forms in 1999. We sought to build and maintain a set of operational guidelines that implemented the regulations, and a set of forms to assist schools in implementing the guidelines. At the time, few schools had a firm grasp of the Section 504 process. By creating the guidelines and forms as a system, we sought to ensure consistency in language and action and, to the extent possible, have the forms guide Section 504 Committees through their tasks to ensure that proper procedures were followed to satisfy the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
Since 1999, we updated the forms prior to each year’s Section 504 Conference to address changes in the law as well as current guidance from OCR and the courts. With more eligible students since the ADAAA was passed in 2008, schools have been slow to respond with additional resources to help address the rising compliance burden. The result of this dynamic is more students eligible but the same number of personnel assigned to oversee compliance. We think that future compliance efforts will require more technology--hence the partnership with SuccessEd (now a part of Frontline) and the creation of SE 504. We likewise found that the paper forms had become unwieldy.
The paper version of the CESD Section 504 Forms is no longer updated. Schools wanting access to the CESD 504 forms and procedures from Dave & Jose and the latest updates will find them only through Frontline Education. For more information, visit Frontline Education. You can also watch the following overview of the online compliance program and see for yourself how smart technology simplifies the Section 504 process and assists you in overseeing compliance.