Federal Laws Protect
Students with Disabilities

While the Americans with Disabilities Act--the most prominent and far-reaching piece of federal legislation protecting the rights of persons with disabilities--has been the law only since 1991, institutions like the Maricopa Community Colleges have been subject to a similar mandate since 1973.

In that year, the federal Rehabilitation Act took effect. The key provision of that statute--Section 504--holds that an otherwise qualified person with a disability may not, "solely by reason of his or her disability, 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."

Salient among the protections afforded by Section 504 are those for qualified students with disabilities. A "qualified student with a disability" is a student with a disability who meets the academic and technical standards requisite to admission or participation in the institution's education program or activity.

More information about guarantees for students under both Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act is available in a new brochure by the Legal Services Department, "The Rights of Students with Disabilities." The brochure is available at college administrative offices, as well as from the Legal Services Department. It is also available on the Department's website under "Department Publications."

Published in the Spring 1998 Edition of In Brief