New USED Resources for Districts to Support Students with Mental Health Disabilities
September 24, 2024
Today, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued four new resources for schools, stakeholders, students with disabilities, and their families. These documents outline the rights of students with mental health disabilities and the responsibilities of elementary and secondary schools, as well as colleges and universities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and specifically address students with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, or bipolar disorder.
The new resources are:
- Fact Sheet: Section 504 Protections for Students with Anxiety Disorders
- Fact Sheet: Section 504 Protections for Students with Depression
- Fact Sheet: Section 504 Protections for Students with Eating Disorders
- Fact Sheet: Section 504 Protections for Students with Bipolar Disorder
The fact sheets remind schools of the obligation to treat a student with a mental health disability as they must treat any other student with a disability: free from discrimination, and the obligation to provide students with mental health disabilities with the modifications, supports, and services the students need to have equal access to their education. These new resources are part of a larger series on specific medical conditions, which thus far includes fact sheets on diabetes, GER/GERD, food allergies, asthma, cancer, sickle cell disease, and epilepsy.
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