Section 504
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a federal law that prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in any program or activity that receives federal financial assistance from the United States Department of Education. Under Section 504, children with a disability is defined as an individual who has a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Eligible children may receive support services that are designed to meet the individual educational needs of the disabled student as adequately as the needs of nondisabled students. Major life activities as defined by Section 504 include - but are not limited to - activities such as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, caring for one's self, bending, standing, thinking, concentrating, reading, eating, sleeping, communicating and performing manual tasks. To be disabled under Section 504, the student's mental or physical impairment must substantially limit one or more major life activities.
Individual Health Care Plan
Many students may have ongoing health needs that need to be addressed on a daily basis by the school nurse. For those students, an Individual Health Care Plan can be developed which:
- gives the school necessary medical information about the child
- identifies the child's health needs, such as giving medication during the school day
- creates solutions to potential health problems that can occur in the school environment
- develops plans for emergency medical situations
- provides a safe environment that helps the child learn.
Examples of health needs that might require the development of an Individual Health Care Plan include asthma, severe allergy, seizure, and diabetes.