IDEA Vs Section 504 Essay

510 Words3 Pages

Web Quest #1
Over the past years disabilities laws have been modified to protect people from discriminations. Two laws that affect children with disabilities are IDEA and Section 504. In the LD Online website I found the article Understanding the Difference Between IDEA and Section 504. The purpose of the article Understanding the Difference Between IDEA and Section 504, it is to clarify the difference between the federal law (IDEA) and the civil right law (Section 504).
The article first explains the major difference between IDEA and Section 504 is the flexibility of the qualification process. Children who meet the eligibility criteria in one of thirteen qualifying disabilities qualified under IDEA. In the other hand, children who qualify under section 504 meet the definition “handicapped.” Children who are considered handicapped have a physical or mental impairment. …show more content…

Section 504 does not require the schools to invite parents to 504 meetings; knowledgeable individuals make decisions. Children who qualified for a 504 plan allows the child to receive some help, such as being placed in a general education classroom. Unlike Section 504, IDEA there is more federal regulations. Therefore, under IDEA parents must take part in the process and written parental consents are required. Also, under IDEA parents have the right to challenge decisions about the services that the school provides to the child. Another interesting difference that I learned is how children with disabilities are evaluated. Under IDEA children are evaluated by a multidisciplinary team. A multidisciplinary team is composed of members with different qualifications and skills. When children are going to be evaluated it is require to have written consent of parents under IDEA. Unlike, Section 504 it is only required for parents to be