Americans with Disabilities Act & Section 504

Nearly all colleges and universities are subject to the ADA, Section 504, or both.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides broad nondiscrimination protection in employment, public services, and public accommodations (including many areas of colleges and universities), for individuals with disabilities. The ADA is enforced by multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, Department of Labor, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against an otherwise qualified individual with a disability, solely on the basis of the disability, in any program or activity that receives federal financial assistance. Section 504 is enforced by, amongst others, the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education.

• U.S. Laws & Regulations

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

• Americans with Disabilities Act

  - DOJ Regulations implementing the ADA
  - EEOC Regulations implementing the ADA

• General ADA & Section 504
• Resource Pages

• Campus Legal Information Clearinghouse ADA Resource Page

  CLIC

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ADA Home Page

• U.S. Department of Justice ADA Home Page

• U.S. Department of Labor ADA Homepage

• CUPA-HR ADA Toolkit 

  CUPA-HR

• NACUA ADA/FMLA Resource Page 

  NACUA
• Publications

• NACUANOTE: Update on Accommodating Service and Assistance Animals on Campus: Making Heads or Tails of Federal Disability Laws

  Josh Dermott, Mar 16, 2012, NACUA

• What the New and Invigorated Americans with Disabilities Act Means for Boards 

  Lawrence White, 2011, AGB

• Congressional Research Service Report: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Statutory Language and Recent Issues

  Nancy Lee Jones, 2009

• Congressional Research Service Report: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Prohibiting Discrimination Against Individuals with Disabilities in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Assistance

  Nancy Lee Jones, 2009

• EEOC Q&A on the ADA Amendments Act of 2008

• Veterans and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): A Guide for Employers

  EEOC, 2012

• AHEAD Guidance on Supporting Accommodation Requests and Documentation Practices

  Association on Higher Education and Disability, May 2012

• Accommodating Faculty Members Who Have Disabilities

  American Association of University Professors, January 2012

• A Guide to Disability Rights Law

  U.S. Department of Justice, July 2009

• The Application of Title VII and the ADA to Applicants or Employees Who Experience Domestic or Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, or Stalking

  E.E.O.C.
• Facilities Access
• Resource Pages

• NACUA ADA Facilities Access Resource Page 

  NACUA
• Publications

• Surviving an ADA Accessibility Audit: Best Practices for Policy Development and Compliance

  Ellen Babbitt, Gigi McCabe-Miele, Irene Bowen, John Catlin, 2010, NACUA

  -  Resources – Physical Accessibility in Higher Education (attachment)

• ACUTA Alert: Areas of Refuge

  2009, ACUTA
• Technology Access
• Resource Pages

• NACUA ADA Technology Access Resource Page 

  NACUA

• EDUCAUSE Resource Page on ADA

  EDUCAUSE
• Publications

• Congressional Research Service Report: The Americans with Disabilities Act: Application to the Internet

  Nancy Lee Jones, 2010

• Information Technology Accessibility in Higher Education: Research and Promising Practices

  Terry Thompson, 2005, EDUCAUSE
• Mental Disabilities; Distressed & Suicidal Students
• Publications

• NACUANOTE: New Title II Regulations Regarding Direct Threat: Do They Change How Colleges and Universities Should Treat Students Who Are Threats to Themselves?

  Elizabeth Sanghavi, Paul Lannon, 2011, NACUA
• Resource Pages

• NACUA Distressed and Suicidal Students Resource Page 

  NACUA

• JED Foundation Resource Page for Distressed and Suicidal Students