First there are individualized education plans (IEPs), legal documents that ensure your child receives any accommodations that are included in the plan in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). According to the IDEA, the qualifying factors of a disability include: “a child evaluated … as having mental retardation, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including blindness), a serious emotional disturbance … an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, another health impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities, and who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.” The plan is very structured.
Then there are the 504 plans, which are not as strict and are written in compliance with Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act. These plans assist students with much broader conditions. Under 504 plans a disability is more loosely defined as: a person who “(i) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, (ii) has a record of such an impairment, or (iii) is regarded as having such an impairment”. This can include conditions from asthma to cancer.
Getting Your Special Needs Child the Best Education – Special Needs – Families.com