Section 504 Turns 51 Today!

Today, the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) is pausing to honor the 51st anniversary of one of the most important federal disability civil rights laws ever enacted in the United States. And yet, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973—much like the “plus 1 year” celebration that comes after a big round milestone anniversary—often doesn’t get the credit and attention it deserves. Section 504 is a significant piece of legislation in its own right, securing disability nondiscrimination protections not covered by other laws. It is also intimately linked to well-known civil rights laws that came before it, and it provides the foundation for prominent disability civil rights laws that came after it.

In recognition of all the many ways that Section 504 is knit into the fabric of the disability civil rights movement, here are:

1. Republican President Richard Nixon signed Section 504 into law on September 26, 1973
2. As of 1978, Section 504 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by entities receiving federal financial assistance, as well as by the federal executive branch and the U.S. Postal Service
3. Section 504 is modeled on the nondiscrimination provisions of Title VI the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibiting racial discrimination), and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting sex discrimination)
4. In April 1977, people with disabilities staged a sit-in at a federal building in San Francisco, calling for the signing of long-overdue regulations to implement Section 504. The 504 Sit-in lasted from April 5 to April 28. The regulations were finally signed and published on May 4, 1977
5. Section 504 set the stage for other, much better-known disability rights laws, such as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) of 1975 (now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990

For the past 45 years, DREDF has worked to protect and enforce Section 504, as well as wide range of other federal and California disability rights laws. As a nonprofit, we rely on generous donors to support our work.  If you value our work, please donate to DREDF, so that we can be here when Section 504 turns 52 — and beyond!

Relevant Legal Citations

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Pub. L. 93-113, 87 Stat. 394 (Sept. 26, 1973)
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-87/pdf/STATUTE-87-Pg394.pdf#page=1

U.S. Department of Health, Education & Welfare (HEW) Regulations Implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
42 Fed. Reg. 22675-22702 (May 4, 1977)
https://archives.federalregister.gov/issue_slice/1977/5/4/22650-22682.pdf#page=6