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Originally Processed With FOIA(s): FOIA Number: S S FOIA MARKER This is not a textual record. This is used as an administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential Library Staff. Record Group/Collection: Donated Historical Materials Collection/Office of Origin: Frieden, Lex, Collection Series: Government Records Subseries: Reference Materials OA/ID Number: 52032 Folder ID Number: 52032-005 Folder Title: 504 Regulations (5) [1975-1977] Stack: Row: Section: Shelf: Position: G 5 2 5 4 A SUMMARY OF 504 REGULATIONS Thirty-six million Americans are disabled by physical and/or mental conditions. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was passed to protect the rights of these individuals. Section 504 of this Act provides: No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States shall, solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. It was decided that the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) would adopt regulations first, and other Federal agencies would follow its example. After a monumental struggle, Joseph Califano, HEW Secretary, finally signed regulations implementing Section 504 on April 28, 1977. The regulation is divided into the following subparts: A) General Provisions B) Employment Practices C) Program Accessibility D) Pre-School Elementary and Secondary Education E) Post-Secondary Education F) Health, Welfare and Social Services G) Enforcement Procedures All but Subparts D and F directly effect universities and colleges. Subpart A General Provisions Essentially, no recipient of or applicant for federal financial assistance is permitted to discriminate against "qualified handicapped persons. A handicapped person is a person who can prove that he has a mental or physical impairment which substantially limits one or more of his major life activities (functions such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, learning, and working), anyone who has a record of such an impairment in his past or anyone who is regarded as having such an impairment. The definition includes drug addicts and alcoholics. Recipients are forbidden directly or indirectly from providing any aid, benefit or service which is not equal to that afforded nonhandicapped persons, or is not as effective as that afforded such persons. The concept or providing "separate but equal" services is specifically rejected, except as a measure of last resort. In other works, services must be provided in the "most integrated setting appropriate" to the handicapped person's needs. Separate services are not permitted at all "unless such action is necessary to provide qualified handicapped persons with aid, benefits or services that are as effective as those provided to others." Page 2 Every recipient shall perform a self-evaluation within one year. This evaluation must be done "with the assistance of interested persons, including handicapped persons 0% organizations representing handicapped persons. The purpose of the self-evaluation is to analyze current policies and practices to see if they conform with the Act, and to set forth appropriate steps which will be taken to eliminate any discrimination that is revealed during the course of the self-evaluation. Subpart B Employment Practices The regulations prohibit diserimination against qualified handicapped persons in any aspect of employment including recruitment, hiring, rates of promotion, training, fringe benefits and any other term of employment, including social or recreational programs sponsored by an employer. In the employment context a qualified handicapped person is a person who can perform the essential functions of the job in question with "reasonable accommodations." The types of accommodation which may be required include making facilities access- ible.to and usable by handicapped persons and even job restructuring, provision of readers or interpreters, and modification of equipment to meet the particular needs of a qualified handicapped person. The recipients are required to make these "reasonable accomodations" unless the recipient can demonstrate that accommodation would impose an "undue hardship" on the operation of its program. Whether accommodation will impose an "undue hardship" is determined on a case-by-case basis by looking at the recipient's size, the type of the recipient's operation, and the nature and the cost of the accomodation which may be needed. Subpart C Program /ccessibility Any facility or part of a facility constructed after the effective date of the regulations must be readily accessible to handicapped persons. In addition, any new construction which is performed on an existing facility or part of a facility which could affect the usability of the facility by the handicapped must, to the maximum extent feasible, be altered in such a way as to make the facility accessible to handicapped persons. As to existing facilities, recipents have up to three years to make facilities accessible. However, within six months of the effective date of the regulation (June 3, 1977) 2 these recipients have to develop a transition plan which will analyze their current facilities and set forth the necessary steps to make the facilities accessible within three years. In developing the transition plan, once again, the recipients are mandated to enlist the assistance of interested persons, "including handicapped persons or organizations representing handicapped persons." Conformance with ANSI ( American National Standards Institute) standards will provide compliance. Page 3 An important qualification is that the accessibility requirement applies to each program or activity "when viewed in its entirety. In other words, every building does not have to be accessible as long as the program as a whole is accessible. What this means in practice remains to be seen. However, the regulations specifically reject the "consortia" idea which had been proposed by some institutions of higher education. Subpart D Elementary and Secondary Education The basic requirement is that schools must provide a free appropriate public education to each qualified handicapped person in its jurisdiction. In the school context, a "qualified handicapped person" is any handicapped person who otherwise would be entitled to attend the school in question. Further, handicapped students are to be educated with non-handicapped students in the regular educational environment "to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the handicapped person", unless the school can demonstrate that the education of the handicapped person cannot be achieved in the regular environment with the use of supplementary aids and services. Subpart E Post-Secondary Education This covers all aspects of post-secondary or college education including admission, recruitment, treatment of students, academic adjustment, housing, financial and employment assistance of students, and non-academic services. Post-secondary educational institutions cannot discriminate in their admissions policies against qualified handicapped persons. Thus, admissions tests may not be used that have a disproportionate adverse effect on handicapped persons and must be administered in such a way as to insure that the test accurately reflects the applicant's aptitude and achievement level, rather than any sensory, manual or speaking impairment. Pre-admission inquiries as to whether an applicant is handicapped are barred by the regulations. Handicapped persons may not be excluded or in any way denied the benefits of any of the services provided by a covered post-secondary institution, including health, insurance, counseling, physical education, and other extra-curricular activities. Further, modifi- cations must be made to academic requirements to accommodate the needs of handicapped persons, such as changing the length of time for completion of degree requirements, and substituting specific courses required for the completion of degree requirements. Auxiliary aids should be available when necessary, including braille and taped texts, interpreters for classromms, and equipment for students with manual impairments. The institution may fulfill this obligation by making sure that students can obtain such aids through existing resources such as State vocational rehabilitation agencies. Where no such resources exist, the institution must provide the aid. However, recipients do not have to provide attendants, individually prescribed devices, readers for personal use, or other devices of a personal nature. Page 4 If an institu tion provides housing to non-handicapped students, it must provide "comparable, convenient and accessible housing to handscapped studetns at the same cost as to others." Financial assistance may not be provided on a discriminatory basis. An educational institution that assists any agency or person providing employment opportunities to its studetns has the obligation of making sure that these employment opportunities do not discriminate against handicapped students. In its counseling and placement services, the institution must make certain that qualified handicapped studetns are not directed toward more restrictive career objectives than non-handicapped students with similar interests and abilities. Finally, if the educational institution provides "significant assistance" to fraternities, sororities or other social organizations, the institution must make sure that these organizations do not permit discrimination against handicapped students. Subpart F Health, Welfare and Social Services Generally, this subpart says that services may not be denied to handicapped persons because of their handicap; nor may services be provided that are not equal to, or as effective as, benefits and services provided th non-handicapped persons. Subpart G Enforcement Procedures At least on an interim basis, the enforcement procedures for Section 504 are the same as those used to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The enforcement agency is the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in HEW. The Regional Addresses of OCR's follows in the Resource list. May 6, 1977 -3- SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS FOR SECTION 504 COMPLIANCE The following illustrates significant projects that must be completed for compliance with section 504, along with their respective deadlines (based on the June 3, 1977 effective date for final regulations) . These are each described in greater detail in sections of the analysis that follow. Resultant Date Project Required Deadline for Completion Making programs accessible (with the "within August 2, 1977 exception of structural modifications 60 days" that may be required) section 84.22 Making initial notifications regarding "within September 1, 1977 the institution's commitment to non- 90 days" discrimination on the basis of handicap-section 84.8 Completing a "transition plan" for "within December 3, 1977 changes in facilities that are needed 6 months" to achieve program accessibility section 84.22 *Completing an "institutional self- "within June 3, 1978 evaluation" of the institution's non- 1 year" discrimination program-section 84.6 Maintaining records of the above [Records of the self-evaluation, as institutional self-evaluation specified, must be maintained for section 84. 6 3 years from completion.] Assuring OCR of compliance with the [To be determined-once the assurance requirements-section 84.5 form has been :developed by OCR and made available to institutions a due date will be known ] Making facilities accessible within June 3, 1980 according to structural modifications 3 years" included in the transition plan section 84.22 The institutional self-evaluation need not be submitted to OCR, but it should be maintained on file for public inspection or provision to OCR if requested. IMPORTANT RESOURCES Section 504 Regulations Federal Register, May 4, 1977 Region I (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont): RKO General Building Available also from your Bulfinch Place Regional Office for Civil Rights Boston, Massachusetts 02114 (617) 223-6397 Region II ANSI Standards (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands): Architectural Standards of 26 Federal Plaza Accessibility New York, New York 10007 (212) 264-4633 American National Standards Institute Region 1430 Broadway III (Delaware, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia): New York, N.Y. 10018 Gateway Building 3535 Market Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 NACUBO Special Report 77-6 (215) 596-6772 a discussion of 504 with comments Region IV Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, One Dupont Circle, Suite 510 Mississippi, North Carolina, South Caro- Washington, D.C. 20036 lina, Tennessee): 50 Seventh Street, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30323 Architectural Accessibility for the (404) 526-3312 Disabled of College Campuses Region V (Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, by Al DeGraf and Stephen Cutler Ohio, Wisconsin): 300 S. Wacker Drive Provides essential architectural Chicago, Illinois 60606 information Individual copies free (312) 353-7742 Al DeGraf, Boston University Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Okla- George Sherman Union homa. Texas): 775 Commonwealth Avenue 1200 Main Tower Building Boston, Ma 02215 Dallas, Texas 75202 (214)729-3951 The College Guide for Students with Disabilities Region VII (lowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska): A directory of educational facilities Twelve Grand Building 1150 Grand Avenue and services for college bound Kansas City, Missouri 64106 disabled students. (816) 374-2474 Abt Associates, Inc. $12 for disabled Region VIII (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South 55 Wheeler St individuals Dakota, Utah, Wyoming): Federal Building Cambridge, Ma $20. others 1961 Stout Street Denver, Colorado 80202 American Coalition for Citizens (303) 837-2025 with Disablilities Region IX (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada): Phelan Building a nationwide coalition working for 760 Market Street the civil rights of the disabled San Francisco, California 94102 Room 817, 1346 Connecticut Ave. NW (415) 556-8586 Region X Washington, D. C. 20036 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington): Arcade Plaza Building 1321 Second Avenue National Disabled Students Organization Seattle Washington 98101 (206) 442-0473 contact Andrea Schein, Meg Kocher U.S. DEPARTMENT OF Disabled Students Center HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE U. .Mass/Boston Office for Civil Rights Boston, Mass 02125 Washington, D.C. 20201-(202) 245-6700 (617) 287-1900 X 2922 In September 1973, Congress passed a law that prohibits discrimina- tion on the basis of physical or mental handicap in every federally assisted program or activity in the country. That law is Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 504 states that: "No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States shall, solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." In April 1977, a final Section 504 regulation was issued for all recipients of funds from HEW, including elementary and secondary schools, colleges, hospitals, social service agencies, and in some instances, doctors. The Section 504 regulation will effect fundamental changes in many facets of American life, in the actions and attitudes of institutions and individuals toward handicapped persons. The term handicap includes such diseases or conditions as speech, hearing, visual and orthopedic impairments, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, mental retardation, emotional illness, and specific learning disabilities such as perceptual handicaps, dyslexia, minimali brain dysfunction and developmental aphasia. In accordance with a formal opinion of the Attorney General of the United States, alcohol and drug addicts are also considered handicapped individuals. Physical or mental impairments do not constitute a handicap, however, unless they are severe enough to substantially limit one or more of the major life functions. - 2 - PROGRAM ACCESSIBILITY The regulation provides that programs must be accessible to handi- capped persons. It does not require that every building or part of a building must be accessible but the program as a whole must be accessible. Structural changes to make the program accessible must be made only if alternatives, such as reassignment of classes or home visits, are not possible. The intent is to make all benefits or services available to handicapped persons as soon as possible. Institutions are given three years to complete structural changes to their physical plants; nonstructural changes must be made in 60 days. In meeting the objective of program accessibility, a recipient must take care not to isolate or concentrate handicapped persons in ctings away from nonhandicapped program participants. All buildings for which site clearance has begun after June 3, 1977, must be designed and constructed to be accessible to handicapped persons from the start. The design standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) can be used to determine minimal require- ments for accessibility. PRESCHOOL, ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY, AND ADULT EDUCATION The basic requirements are: --That no handicapped child can be excluded from a public educa- tion because of disability; this requirement is effective immediately. --That every handicapped child is entitled to a free appropriate education, regardless of the nature or severity of handicap; complete compliance with this requirement must be achieved by September 1, 1978. --That handicapped students must not be segregated in public schools but must be educated with nonhandicapped students to the maximum extent appropriate to their needs. - 3 - --That evaluation procedures be improved in order to avoid the inappropriate education that results from misclassification. --That procedural safeguards be established SO parents and guar- dians can object to evaluation and placement decisions made with respect to their children. --That state or local educational agencies locate and identify unserved handicapped children. An appropriate education can be afforded by many different methods, including use of regular classes with or without aids, depending on need; in private or public homes or institutions, or through combina- tions of such methods SO long as handicapped and nonhandicapped students are educated together to the maximum extent possible. The result should be to provide the education program best suited to the individual needs of handicapped people. It should be emphasized that where a handicapped student is SO disruptive that education of other students in the classroom is impai red, the student can be, reassigned. A common sense rule of reason applies in such cases. The regulation provides that school systems bear special responsi- - bilities, in some instances, for transportation of handicapped people to and from education programs. Where placement in a public or private residential program is necessary, the school district has responsibility for the costs of the program, nonmedical care, room and board, and transportation. - 4 - POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION In colleges and other postsecondary institutions, recruitment, admissions, and the treatment of students must be free of discrimination. Quotas for admission of handicapped persons are ruled out, as are preadmission inquiries as to whether an applicant is handicapped. However, voluntary postadmission inquiries may be made in advance of enrollment concerning handicapping conditions to enable an institution to provide necessary services. Higher education institutions must assure accessibility of programs and activities to handicapped students and employees. Architectural barriers must be removed where the program is not made accessible by other means. A university, however, is not expected to make all its classroom buildings accessible in order to comply with program accessi- ) bility standards. It may have to undertake some alterations, or it may reschedule classes to accessible buildings, or take other steps to open the program to handicapped students. Handicapped persons should have the same options available to others in selecting courses. Other obligations of the institutions include: --Tests which a college or university uses or relies upon, including standardized admissions tests, must not discriminate against handicapped persons. Tests must be selected and administered SO that the test results of students with impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills are not distorted unfairly but measure the student's aptitude or achievement level, and not his or her disability. --Students with impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills, must be provided auxiliary aids although this may often be done by informing them of resources provided by the government or charitable organizations. - 5 - -Colleges and universities must also make reasonable modifications in academic requirements, where necessary, to ensure full educational opportunity for handicapped students. Such modifications may include the extension of time for completing degree requirements, adaptation of the manner in which specific courses are conducted, and elimination of rules prohibiting handicapped persons from having tape recorders in class or dog. guides on campus. --Physical education must be provided in a nondiscriminatory manner and handicapped students cannot be unnecessarily segregated in physical education classes. --Infirmary services must be provided handicapped students on a par with those offered others. HEALTH, WELFARE AND SOCIAL SERVICES The provisions for accessibility and reasonable accommodation that apply to other programs also apply to health, welfare, and social service institutions. Benefits and services may not be denied on the basis of handicap. Providers of these services may find it necessary to remove barriers, make house calls, or meet handicapped people in offices that are accessi- ble: Institutions with 15 or more employees must also provide auxiliary aids to their clients. Further, health and welfare providers must ensure that persons with impaired sensory or speaking skills are provided effec- tive notice concerning the provision of benefits, waivers of rights and consent to treatment. Hospitals must make special arrangements for handling deaf patients. Health, welfare and social services for handicapped people must be equal in quality to those in the institution's overall program, and equitable standards of eligiblity are required. - 6 - GENERAL EMPLOYMENT PROVISIONS Employers may not refuse to hire or promote handicapped persons solely because of their disability. Reasonable accommodation may also have to be made to the person's handicap, where needed. For employees as well as students or patients, accessibility is a primary necessity. Examples of reasonable accomodations might include a cassette recorder for a blind employee, changes in the physical location of the task to be performed, or similar actions. Under certain circumstances, an employer might find it necessary to make more extensive changes. The size and type of employing agency and the cost involved are considerations in determining undue hardship. Failure to employ or promote an employee who is unqualified or who cannot be helped by reasonable accomodation is not discrimination. However, an employer may not reject an applicant simply because reasonable accomodation is necessary. Pre-employment physical examinations cannot be required and pre- employment inquiry cannot be made about a person's handicapping condition although employers may ask about an applicant's ability to perform job- related functions. Employers may make an offer of employment conditional on a medical examination as long as the examination is required of all employees and no one is disqualified on the basis of a physical condition that is not job-related. ADDICTION As noted earlier, drug and alcohol addiction are covered under the Section 504 regulation. The regulation, however, protects rights of "qualified" handicapped people and this term implies limitations on what is expected of employers or institutions providing services. In regard to addiction, an employer is not required to change performance - 7 - or behavioral standards regarding past work performance, or disruptive, abusive or dangerous behavior, even if these actions stem from a person's alcoholism or drug addiction. Nothing in the regulation prohibits a school from applying its rules concerning use of drugs and alcohol to students with addiction problems just as it would to other students, as long as the rules apply equally to all students. Schools or colleges, like other employers, may apply their standards of employment performance to alcohol and drug problems as they would apply them in any other case. IMPORTANT DATES FOR SECTION 504 COMPLIANCE April 28, 1977 Final regulation signed by HEW Secretary Joseph A. Califano, Jr. May 4, 1977 Final regulation published in the Federal Register. June 3, 1977 Regulation in effect. July 5, 1977- Deadline for return of Assurance of Compliance (Form HEW 641) from all institutions receiving financial assistance from HEW. August 2, 1977 Deadline for programs or activities in existing facilities to be made accessible (where structural changes are not required) See paragraph 84.22(d) in regulation. September 2, 1977 HEW fund recipients that employ 15 or more employees shall, by this date, make initial notification that they do not discriminate on the basis of handicap in accordance with paragraph 84.8 (a) of the regulation. - 8 - December 2, 1977 In the event that structural changes in existing facilities are necessary to make programs accessible, recipients of HEW funds shall, by this date, develop a transition plan outlining the steps needed to complete these changes. A copy of the transition plan would be made available for public inspection. See paragraph 84.22(e) of the regulation. June 2, 1978 Deadline for HEW recipients to complete a self evaluation process in consulta- tion with handicapped individuals and organizations. See paragraph 84.6 (c) of the regulation. September 1, 1978 Deadline for public elementary and secondary schools to provide to each qualified handicapped student a free appropriate education in accordance with paragraph 84.1 33 (d) of the final regulation. June 2, 1980 Deadline for structural changes to be made in existing facilities where necessary to achieve program accessi- bility. HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT OF DISCRIMINATION Any person who has a complaint that discrimination on the basis of physical or mental handicap exists in any program funded by HEW may notify the Office for Civil Rights. A complaint should be filed by letter to the regional office that serves the state in which the discrimination occurred. (See list with addresses). Letters of complaint should explain who was discriminated against; in what way; by whom or what institution; when the discrimination took place; who was harmed; who can be contacted for further information; the name, address, and telephone number of the complainant; and as much background information as possible. These are suggestions, not requirements. However, the Office for Civil Rights can respond more efficiently if it is well-informed. Citizens may also ask the regional offices for help in writing a complaint. HEW REGIONAL OFFICES FOR CIVIL RIGHTS Region I (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont): 14th Floor 140 Federal Street Boston, Massachusetts 02110 (617) 223.6397 Region II (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands): 26 Federal Plaza New York, New York 10007 (212) 264-4633 Region III (Delaware, D.C., Maryland, Pennslyvania, Virginia, West Virginia): Gateway Building 3535 Market Street Post Office Box 13716 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19101 (215) 596-6772 Region IV (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee): 680 W. Peachtree Street, N.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30308 (404) 881-3312 Region V (Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin): 300 South Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois 60606 (312) 353-2521 Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas): 1200 Main Tower Building Dallas, Texas 75202 (214) 655-3951 Region VII (lowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska): Twelve Grand Building 1150 Grand Avenue Kansas City, Missouri 64106 (816) 374-2474 Region VIII (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming): Federal Building 1961 Stout Street Denver, Colorado 80294 (303) 837-2025 Region IX (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada): 14th Floor 100 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco, California 94102 (415) 556-8586 Region X (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington): Arcade Plaza Building MS 508 1321 Second Avenue Seattle, Washington 98101 (206) 442-0473 district alleging that she had been discrimi-