If your child has a chronic health condition that necessitates additional support at school, they may be entitled to services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (“Section 504”).
Eligibility
A medical diagnosis does not necessarily establish eligibility for services under the IDEA or Section 504. However, medical records can help determine whether a student has a disability as defined by the statutes. For additional information, see DRAZ’s FAQ on Medical Diagnosis and IDEA Eligibility.
Tip: Medical providers can help their patients qualify for services at school by using language to support the eligibility criteria identified in the federal statutes.
If you are asking your medical provider to write a note for the school, review the statutory definitions to see what language would be helpful to include.
To be eligible for services under the IDEA, a student must:
- Have a disability that falls within one of the 15 disability categories defined in the IDEA and state law; and
- Due to that disability, need special education services.
To be protected under Section 504, a student must:
- Have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities;
- Have a record of such impairment; or
- Be regarded as having such an impairment.
IDEA Eligibility
The 15 disability categories identified in the IDEA and Arizona law are:
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
- Deaf-blindness
- Deafness
- Developmental Delay (DD)
- Emotional disturbance (ED)
- Hearing impairment
- Intellectual disability
- Multiple disabilities
- Orthopedic impairment
- Other health impairment (OHI)
- Preschool Severe Delay (PSD)
- Specific learning disability (SLD)
- Speech or language impairment (SLI)
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Visual impairment (VI)
Chronic health conditions often—but not always—fall under the ED or OHI category:
| Emotional Disturbance
34 C.F.R. § 300.8(c)(4) |
A condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
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| Other Health Impairment
34 C.F.R. § 300.8(c)(9) |
Having limited strength, vitality, or alterness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that–
|
To be eligible for services under the IDEA, your child not only needs to meet the definition of one of the above-listed disability categories, but must also need special education services due to that disability. Special education is defined as “specially designed instruction . . . to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability.” Specially designed instruction means “adapting . . . the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction.” 34 C.F.R. § 300.39.
Examples of Major Life Activities
- Caring for oneself
- Walking
- Seeing
- Hearing
- Speaking
- Breathing
- Learning
- Eating
- Reading
- Concentrating
- Thinking
- Communicating
Section 504 Eligibility
As noted above, to be eligible for services under Section 504, a student must have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Students can also have a record of, or be regarded as having, such an impairment to be protected under the statute.
The eligibility criteria under Section 504 are much broader than the IDEA criteria. If your child has a chronic health condition but does not need specially designed instruction (and therefore does not qualify for services under the IDEA), they may still be entitled to other services under Section 504. To learn about what types of services a school can provide, see Chronic Health Conditions: Related Services.
For more information about Section 504, see DRAZ’s Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act: Overview and the U.S. Department of Education’s FAQs on Section 504 Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
Next Steps
If you believe your child may be eligible for services under either the IDEA or Section 504, see DRAZ’s Special Education Tip-of-the-Day: Evaluations/Meetings for information about requesting an evaluation.