Passed in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act is the broadest of the three laws. Because of ADA, we have wheelchair accessible buses, elevators in buildings, and curb cuts on side walks. It also is responsible for handicap parking spots and accessible bathroom stalls. ADA provides for physical accessibility in spaces. It covers all Americans at commercial establishments and at their place of work. 

So, if you have a student who has mobility impairments at a school and they get an elevator pass to get around the building, they are getting supports under ADA.

ADA does not cover educational supports. It does not provide for specialized interventions or extra time on tests. 

Section 504 provides for protection against discrimination at institutions that receive public funding. If you are at a college and work with disability services or have a letter that says you get extra time on a test, that is 504 at work. 504 provides for accommodations. In K-12 schools, that is a 504 plan with things like opportunities to take breaks during the day. IDEA stops at a diploma so at a college, 504 is the law that is doing all the work of getting students with disabilities educational accommodations. What 504 does not do is provide funding or services. Therefore, 504 plans do not get you related services or a special education teacher’s support.

Here is what the law says in 29 U.S.C. § 794:

“No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States … shall, solely by reason of her or his 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…” 

To learn more about 504, check out our page on 504 plans.

IDEA is the most limited in scope. It only covers, students from 0 to 21 or a high school diploma (whichever comes first). It is also the most limited in terms of who gets supports. Under 504, all students need to qualify for a plan are qualifying disabilities. Under IDEA, students have to have both a qualifying disability (under one of IDEAs fixed disability categories) and a demonstrated educational need. The flip side is that IDEA is the only one of the three laws that covers services. IDEA gets students services from speech therapy to occupational therapy to a special education teacher to help them make progress at school.

Note that this entire site is really about IDEA! So if you want to learn about how to read the IEP documents that come with IDEA, we have pages on that. If you want to learn what students get with IEPs, we have pages on that too. If you just want the basics of special education, we have pages on that too!