Government and public statistics
Frequently Asked Questions: Section 504 Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
Office for Civil Rights, US Department of Education, 2025
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) explains what Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires of school districts that receive federal funds from the Department of Education, including the duty to provide a free appropriate public education to qualified students with disabilities. Page last reviewed 30 June 2025.
- How much weight it carries
- Official guidance from the federal agency that enforces Section 504 in schools. It summarizes the regulations at 34 C.F.R. Part 104; it is not itself the regulation, and individual cases depend on the facts.
Facts taken from this source
- The Section 504 regulations require a school district to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to each qualified student with a disability in its jurisdiction, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability.
“The Section 504 regulations require a school district to provide a "free appropriate public education" (FAPE) to each qualified student with a disability who is in the school district's jurisdiction, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability.” (Introduction)