100 Mount Clinton Pike, Harrisonburg, VA 22802-2507
540-564-3225 540-564-3250 (fax)
www.rockingham.k12.va.us
Memorandum
TO:
The Rockingham County Schools Community
FROM:
Scott L. Hand, Ed. S., Director, Pupil Personnel Services
DATE:
October 28, 2016
RE:
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Please allow us to provide you with some confirming information on our obligations and commitment to
nondiscrimination. While some of it is technical, the upshot is that we remain committed to nondiscrimination in all
of our programs and activities, including as to those with disabilities. As you may know, we reflect our commitment
in school board policies, such as those that can be readily found online under the “school board” tab on our website:
www.rockingham.k12.va.us. The policies include Policy AC: Nondiscrimination; Policy IGBA: Programs for
Students with Disabilities: and Policy JBA: Section 504 Nondiscrimination Policy and Complaint Procedure.
By way of background, the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 (effective January 1, 2009)
amended the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and included a conforming amendment to the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973. Components of this Act prohibit discrimination against disabled persons by school districts receiving
federal financial assistance. This prohibition covers all programs and activities of the school district receiving federal
funds, regardless of whether the specific program or activity involved is a direct recipient of federal funds.
“Section 504” means that particular section of federal law known as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended,
which is designed to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability in any program or activity receiving federal
financial assistance. As our school board policies reflect, Section 504 compliance is important to us.
It is the intent of the Rockingham County Public School system to ensure that students who are disabled as defined
under section 504 criteria are identified, evaluated and provided with appropriate educational services. Students may
be disabled under this federal law and our school board policy even though they do not require services pursuant to
another federal law called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In other words, a student may have
a disabling condition (as defined by section 504) but evidence no significant cognitive or academic impairment yet
remain eligible for receipt of related services and/or accommodations.
All procedural safeguards afforded to students with disabilities considered eligible under section 504 are guaranteed
by the Rockingham County Public School system. We not only are committed to nondiscrimination under section 504
but also to the procedures to safeguard section 504 rights and to pursue those rights in an appeal.
Rockingham County Public Schools does not discriminate against any individual for reasons of race, color, national
origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), gender, marital or economic status, age, disability, genetics, or veteran
status. Furthermore, the school division does not retaliate against anyone who files a complaint of discrimination or
participates in such a proceeding about alleged discrimination. Again, the school division’s nondiscrimination policy
is located at School Board Policy AC, which can be found on the school division’s website.
The first prong of the definition of what constitutes a “disability” focuses on current identified disabilities. A
disability is a physical or mental impairment that impacts a “major life activity” and can include:
Memorandum
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October 28, 2016
any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or
more of the following body systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs;
respiratory, including speech organs: cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genitor-urinary; hemic and
lymphatic; skin and endocrine; or
any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or
mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.
For a student to have a disability, for example, the student must have:
•
•
a required impairment; and
the impairment must be of a certain level of severity in terms of its impact on the individual.
A “major life activity” includes the following:
• caring for one’s self • performing manual tasks • walking • seeing • hearing • speaking • breathing • learning •
working • eating • sleeping • standing • lifting • bending • reading • concentrating • thinking • communicating.
In addition, major life activities also include the operation of a “major bodily function” including functions of immune
system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and
reproductive functions.
The above list of major life activities is non-exhaustive. There may be other examples.
Under the federal legal protections of section 504, there is the right to:
1.
Receive notice with respect to evaluation, identification, and placement of your child;
2.
Have your child take part in, and receive benefits from, public education programs without
discrimination because of a disability;
3.
Examine relevant records; and
4.
Request, in writing, to the person designated as the section 504 Coordinator the opportunity for an
impartial hearing related to decisions or actions regarding your child’s identification, evaluation,
educational program, or placement with opportunity for participation by parents and representation by
counsel at own expense.
5.
You also have a right to appeal the finding of the student study committee or an eligibility group, as
reflected in a statement of procedural safeguards which will be provided to you. All that needs to be
done is to request an appeal and our school division will follow a procedure that will offer a hearing
procedure consistent with federal and state law. The procedural safeguards also may be found online on
the website by going to: pps.rockingham.k12.va.us/504
6.
If you have questions about section 504 rights, you may contact the Director of Pupil Personnel services
for the Rockingham County Public Schools System or Division at: 540-564-3225. You also may go to
the home page for the Office for Civil Rights of the U. S. Department of Education found on the web at:
www.hhs.gov/ocr. You further may go to the home page of the Virginia Board of Education and access
the information under “section 504”.
SLH/bww