The Biden Administration surprised a lot of people last month when it announced that it was undertaking a review of the regulations under Section 504. These regs were adopted in 1977 with much controversy. Disability advocates “sat in” at offices of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, as it was then known, to push for adoption of the long-delayed regs. I remember seeing video clips of those protests on Walter Cronkite’s news program.

So it’s been 45 years and much has changed. We have had 45 years of litigation and confusion about the intersection of 504 with IDEA. Now you have a chance to weigh in. You can enter your comments at https://www2.ed.gov/policy/rights/reg/ocr/.

In the announcement the Administration also emphasized that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I expect the strengthened version of our 504 regulations will highlight the need to accommodate students with anxiety, depression, PTSD and other conditions.

Stay tuned, Loyal Daily Dawg Readers.

DAWG BONE: REVISIONS TO TITLE IX MAY BE ON THE WAY AS WELL.

Got a question or comment for the Dawg? Let me hear from you at jwalsh@wabsa.com.