Preparing School Personnel to Implement Section 504

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 has become an increasingly important mechanism in providing services to students with disabilities in public schools. Because Section 504 is a civil rights law, responsibility for its implementation involves a range of school-based professionals, including administrators, general education teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, and special education teachers. This article reviews data from two studies that gathered information about the specific roles of a variety of school-based professionals and the levels of training related to Section 504 that they received. Given the growing importance of Section 504, suggestions are presented for improving the preparation of personnel to function as members of Section 504 teams. (Contains 1 table.)