Dear Colleague Letter and Resource Guide on Students with ADHD

On July 26, 2016, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance clarifying the obligation of schools to provide students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with equal educational opportunity under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The guidance provides a broad overview of Section 504 and school districts’ obligations to provide educational services to students with disabilities, including students with ADHD. The guidance:

Explains that schools must evaluate a student when a student needs or is believed to need special education or related services.
Discusses the obligation to provide services based on students’ specific needs and not based on generalizations about disabilities, or ADHD, in particular. For example, the guidance makes clear that schools must not rely on the generalization that students who perform well academically cannot also be substantially limited in major life activities, such as reading, learning, writing and thinking; and that such a student can, in fact, be a person with a disability.
Clarifies that students who experience behavioral challenges, or present as unfocused or distractible, could have ADHD and may need an evaluation to determine their educational needs.
Reminds schools that they must provide parents and guardians with due process and allow them to appeal decisions regarding the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of students with disabilities, including students with ADHD.

The Department also released Know Your Rights: Students with ADHD (PDF, 180 KB) which provides a brief overview of schools’ obligations to students with ADHD.

Read the complete letter and guidance at: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201607-504-adhd.pdf (PDF, 955 KB)

Both of these resources are also available in Spanish, Arabic, and Vietnamese.