What Are They Differences Between IEPs and 504 Plans?
Updated: December 13, 2025. Reviewer: Dr. Rose Sebastian, Ed.D.
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IEPs vs. 504 Plans
Special education is a weird and wacky place. There are three separate federal laws that protect students with disabilities. There is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which covers everything from schools to the grocery store. ADA is what forces schools to make the buildings accessible (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq). Because the other two laws are stronger, that is most of what ADA does in schools. Then there is 504.
504– otherwise known as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of Rehabilitation Act of 1973— applies to any institution that receives federal funding. That includes schools and universities. 504 says that these places cannot discriminate against people with disabilities. Basically, it means that the institutions have to offer reasonable accommodations like extra time on a test or movement breaks– accommodations that don’t place an undue financial or administrative burden on the institution (29 U.S.C. § 794). Because it doesn’t require funded services, the process of getting one is a lot easier than an IEP.
Then there are IEPs. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act covers students with disabilities from birth through age 21– or a diploma– whichever comes first. IDEA is funded and includes special education teachers and related services– as well as everything offered students under 504.
Basically, an IEP is a 504 plan plus stuff that costs money– and a 504 plan is an IEP plan minus stuff that costs money. Some students really just need opportunities to stand up and stretch and others need specialized instruction. That’s why schools offer both– but the money part is why it is so much easier to get a student a 504 plan than an IEP. Schools have to follow detailed procedures set in federal law to qualify a student for an IEP. There are no fixed procedures for a 504 plan, however, and districts can make it really easy for student to get them. As a side note, when students go to college their IEP goes away. What they get instead might be called something different, but it is in effect a 504 plan. That’s why students in college are legally entitled to extra time on a test but not a case manager. The law that gave them a case manager doesn’t cover colleges but the law for accommodations (504) does. Read more on the nuances of 504s and IEPs below.
Understanding The Similarities and Differences Between IEPs and 504 Plans
In brief: What is an IEP?
IEP stands for Individual Education Program. It is the document that describes the supports, services, and program for a student who qualifies for special education. IEPs are written by a team that includes a special education teacher. It comes from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
To learn more about IEPs, check out our page on what an IEP is. To see examples of IEPs, visit our page on how to read IEPs and select the state whose IEP you want to see.
In brief: What is a 504?
A 504 is a plan written by a school counselor that describes school based accommodations for a student with a disability who does NOT receive special education services. It comes from Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
In brief: How does a student get an IEP?
To get an IEP, students must qualify for special education through a formal assessment process that includes both testing for disabilities and academic performance testing. To qualify, students must both have a qualifying disability AND that disability must impact their performance in the general education curriculum. A qualifying disability means one that is one of the 12 handicapping conditions in IDEA (20 U.S.C. § 1401(3)(A)). If a student has a disability and it does NOT impact their performance in general education, they would instead get a 504 .
To learn more about how students get IEPs, visit our page on getting an IEP.
In brief: How does a student get a 504 plan?
Any student with a disability can get a 504! Because 504s offer less than IEPs, 504s are only used in K-12 schools for students who do NOT have an IEP.
To qualify, according to the Office of Civil Rights, ” To be protected under Section 504, a student must be determined to: (1) have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or (2) have a record of such an impairment; or (3) be regarded as having such an impairment.” To see what 504 says, go to
34 C.F.R. § 104.3(j)
While processes vary from school to school, most typically a parent will request a 504. Then school officials review the student’s diagnosis and school records and decide whether a 504 is a good fit. Note that ALL children with disabilities are eligible for a 504 so this process is more about ruling out special education and figuring out what supports a student should get! Then the counselor and school creates the plan and meets with the parent, an administrator, and a general education teacher to review the plan.
Here are some examples of students who might get a 504 but not an IEP:
- A student who is academically strong but has a physical disability that means they need extra time to write or access to a typing device
- A student with diabetes who needs their blood sugar monitored at school
- A student with ADHD who is doing very well academically but needs to be able to run laps periodically throughout the day or have their medication monitored at school
The common characteristic is that the student is academically successful. If they need academic supports, they need an IEP!
What do students get with IEPs?
An IEP comes with a lot! Students get services, including academic support services like a resource teacher and, if needed, related services like speech and language services (for more on related services see the page on that!). Students also qualify for supplementary aids and supports, which can range from extra time on a test to a voice to text program paid by the school. The biggest thing is that IEPs come with supports that cost money like extra staff support or technology programs– as well as with no cost accommodations like extra time!
To learn more about what students get with IEPs, check out our series of pages on all of the things you can get with an IEP.
What do students get with 504 plans?
504s offer students protection against discrimination. In many schools that is taken to mean that, with a 504, students can get:
- Testing accommodations like extra time
- Classroom accommodations like the ability to take breaks as needed or stand in the back
- Behavior supports like check ins with a counselor or a behavior support plan
- Medical supports like check ins with a nurse
- Students can also get services like occupational therapy or vision support with a 504! This is more rare though as many students who need those extra supports are better served under an IEP as those come with more!
What law regulates IEPs?
IEPs are part of IDEA, the federal law that outlines all of special education and dictates how students qualify and the type of supports they can receive.
What law regulates 504s?
504 plans come from Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This law was created to prevent discrimination against veterans with disabilities. The law prohibits organizations that receive federal money from discriminating against people on the basis of their disabilities.
The exact text from the act is: “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in section 705 (20) of this title, shall, solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
What law covers college?
IDEA protections end when a student gets a diploma or turns 22. That means that IDEA (and IEPs) does NOT cover college. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, however, applies to any institution receiving public funding. That includes college. As a result, all college students with disabilities who get support are getting it under 504, not IDEA. That means that college students with supports are, in effect, on 504 plans.
