Section 504 School Discipline: CE Course for Psychologists
A practical course on disability-based behavior, FAPE, discipline, reasonable modifications, and nondiscrimination under Section 504.
- 6 CPD hours
- Legal & Ethics
- 8 lessons
- Online self-study
Understanding Section 504 in Disciplinary Decision-Making
This course examines how Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act applies when psychologists and school teams respond to student behavior and discipline. The course focuses on how disability-related needs, FAPE, evaluation, behavioral supports, disciplinary removals, and reasonable modifications intersect with nondiscrimination requirements.
Using Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and its implementing regulations at 34 CFR Part 104, together with related ADA Title II and IDEA provisions, participants will work through the legal framework and practical decision points that arise when behavior may be related to disability. Particular attention is given to fair treatment, individualized decision-making, and the psychologist’s role in supporting legally and ethically defensible practices.
Core Areas of Practice
Understand the scope of Section 504 and its relationship to IDEA and disability-based discipline.
Examine how schools identify and respond to behavioral, social, emotional, and academic needs under Section 504.
Review evaluation, reevaluation, and significant-change-in-placement issues related to discipline.
Consider when disciplinary policies, practices, or procedures may require modification for students with disabilities.
Analyze unnecessary different treatment and disciplinary practices that may produce discriminatory effects.
Apply the legal framework to psychologist consultation, documentation, and multidisciplinary decision-making.
Course lessons
Every lesson is open to preview. Enroll to take the final assessment and earn your certificate.
Required reading
34 CFR Part 104 — Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance
The U.S. Department of Education’s Section 504 regulations, read with Appendix A (the Department’s analysis of the regulation). Each lesson assigns specific sections: Subpart A (§§ 104.1–104.10), Subpart D (§§ 104.31–104.39, including FAPE, evaluation before a significant change in placement, and procedural safeguards), and § 104.61. Related federal provisions are also assigned: ADA Title II at 28 CFR § 35.130 (Lesson 6) and IDEA at 34 CFR §§ 300.530 and 300.536 (Lessons 4–5).
Open 34 CFR Part 104 on eCFR ↗
Historical background only: the 2022 OCR guidance, Supporting Students with Disabilities and Avoiding the Discriminatory Use of Student Discipline under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, has been formally rescinded by the Department and is kept online for historical purposes only. It is not required reading and does not state current federal policy.
Before you begin
Read, analyze, and apply the assigned regulations to psychologist practice. Work through each lesson in order and complete all required activities, knowledge checks, post-test requirements, and course evaluation.
CE Program Information & Disclosures
- Instructional level: Intermediate
- Target audience: Psychologists, school psychologists, and other professionals who work with children, adolescents, families, and schools.
- Format and schedule: Asynchronous, self-paced online home study. No live sessions; complete the course at any time during your access period.
- Access period: 1 year from enrollment.
- Cost and refunds: Full refund within 30 days of purchase if the course has not been started. See our refund policy.
- Instructor / content developer: Jaime Flowers, Ph.D., NCSP, LEP, BCBA
- Conflict of interest: Dr. Flowers is the owner of Child & School Psychology CE and receives revenue from course sales. No other relevant financial or nonfinancial relationships are reported.
- Commercial support: This program receives no commercial support.
- Accessibility: Need an accommodation? See our Accessibility & Accommodations page.
- Questions or complaints: See our CE Complaint & Grievance Procedure.
Limitations and Risks
Limitations of the content. This course is built on Section 504 and its implementing regulations (34 CFR Part 104), which remain in effect, with related ADA Title II and IDEA regulations. The Department of Education’s 2022 Section 504 discipline guidance has been formally rescinded and is referenced only as historical background. Several discipline concepts taught here, including the 10-school-day and pattern-of-removals standard for a significant change in placement and the content of a Section 504 manifestation inquiry, are not defined in Part 104; the course presents them as OCR interpretation or IDEA parallels, and their current federal enforcement status may differ from past practice. Federal discipline policy shifted after Executive Order 14280 (2025), which addresses Title VI, and Executive Order 14281 (2025) directs agencies to deprioritize disparate-impact enforcement. State law, local policy, and court decisions also vary, so participants should confirm current requirements with district counsel or their state education agency. Research on discipline of students with disabilities is mostly observational, and a best-evidence synthesis found it inconclusive whether higher suspension rates reflect discrimination once type of behavior is accounted for.
Risks. The main risk is presenting the rescinded guidance, or agency interpretations not found in the regulation’s text, as current binding requirements, which could lead to inaccurate advice to school teams or families. The opposite risk is concluding that schools no longer have Section 504 duties; the statute and its implementing regulations still require FAPE and nondiscrimination. Psychologists who offer legal opinions outside their professional role may expose students, families, and districts to harm, and weak or poorly documented evaluation and manifestation decisions can result in students being removed from school for disability-related behavior.
References
Primary reading
- Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance, 34 C.F.R. pt. 104 (2026). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/subtitle-B/chapter-I/part-104
- Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services, 28 C.F.R. § 35.130 (2026). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-28/section-35.130
- Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities, 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.530, 300.536 (2026). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/subtitle-B/chapter-III/part-300
Statutes, case law, and executive orders
- Alexander v. Choate, 469 U.S. 287 (1985). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-469/pdf/USREPORTS-469-287.pdf
- Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12102. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/12102
- Exec. Order No. 14280, 90 Fed. Reg. 17533 (Apr. 28, 2025). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-04-28/html/2025-07377.htm
- Exec. Order No. 14281, 90 Fed. Reg. 17537 (Apr. 28, 2025). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-04-28/html/2025-07378.htm
- Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. §§ 705(20), 794. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/705
Supporting references
- Morgan, P. L., Wang, Y., Woods, A. D., Mandel, Z., Farkas, G., & Hillemeier, M. M. (2019). Are U.S. schools discriminating when suspending students with disabilities? A best-evidence synthesis. Exceptional Children, 86(1), 7–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402919868528
- U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2018). K-12 education: Discipline disparities for Black students, boys, and students with disabilities (GAO-18-258). https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-258
- Welsh, R. O., & Little, S. (2018). The school discipline dilemma: A comprehensive review of disparities and alternative approaches. Review of Educational Research, 88(5), 752–794. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654318791582
Historical background (rescinded; historical purposes only)
- U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. (2022). Supporting students with disabilities and avoiding the discriminatory use of student discipline under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [Rescinded]. https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/504-discipline-guidance.pdf