Procedures and Remedies Under Section 504 and the ADA for Public School Children with Disabilities

Much has been written about procedures and remedies under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, but few scholars have explored procedural rights and corresponding mechanisms of administrative and judicial relief for victims of public schools\u27 violations of children\u27s rights under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This paper will discuss the administrative procedures that must be followed in hearings regarding complaints of violations of those laws by public school districts and the relief that hearing officers and courts may provide. It will begin with an update on developments regarding eligibility and substantive protections under section 504 and title II, then take up administrative process matters, including hearing officer impartiality, demands to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and judicial review of administrative decisions. Finally, it will consider remedies that may be ordered by hearing officers and courts. This paper builds on the earlier research of the author and of other writers, who have developed theories about how section 504 and title II should be applied to students in public elementary and secondary schools. Recent developments, most significantly the ADA Amendments Act and the Mark H. litigation in the Ninth Circuit, will have a major effect on section 504 and title II cases. However, the Amendments Act and the Mark H. decisions are merely the starting point for a new area of legal development that may have great significance for the administrative law judiciary