October  2008

| The Office for Civil Rights in the  United States Department of Education issues this guidance to provide state and  local education agencies with information concerning disclosure of disability  on report cards and transcripts for students with disabilities attending public  elementary and secondary schools, under Section 504 of the *Rehabilitation  Act of 1973* (29 U.S.C. § 794) and its implementing regulation (34 C.F.R.  Part 104) and Title II of the *Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990* (42 U.S.C. § 12131 *et**seq.*) and its implementing regulation (28  C.F.R. Part 35).  As appropriate, this  document also discusses two other relevant federal laws, the *Individuals  with Disabilities Education Act of 2004* (20 U.S.C.  § 1400 et seq.) and its implementing  regulation (34 C.F.R. Part 300) and the *Family Educational Rights and  Privacy Act*  (20 U.S.C. §1232g) and  its implementing regulation (34 C.F.R. Part 99).

This guidance  represents the Department’s current thinking on this topic.  It does not create or confer any rights for  or on any person.  This guidance does not  impose any requirements beyond those required under applicable law and  regulations.  

If you are interested in  commenting on this guidance, please email us your comment at OCR@ed.gov or write to us at the following  address:  U.S. Department of Education;  Office for Civil Rights; 400    Maryland Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 20202. |
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# Questions and Answers on   Report Cards and Transcripts  For Students with Disabilities  Attending Public Elementary and Secondary Schools

# Relevant Federal Laws

| **1.** | **What federal laws can help address questions  about what information about disability may appear on report cards and  transcripts for students with disabilities attending public elementary and  secondary schools?** |
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**Section 504 and Title II -**Section 504 of the *Rehabilitation  Act of 1973* (Section 504) prohibits discrimination on the basis of  disability in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance.  Title II of the *Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990* (Title II)  prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public entities,  including public elementary and secondary school systems, regardless of receipt  of Federal financial assistance.  The  Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the United States Department of Education  (Department) has enforcement responsibilities under both of these laws.   As part of their disability  nondiscrimination mandates, Section 504 and Title II require local education  agencies (LEAs) to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to  qualified individuals with disabilities in their jurisdiction.  See 34 C.F.R. § 104.33 and 28 C.F.R. §  35.103(a). 

Section 504 and Title II do not have specific  provisions addressing report cards or transcripts.  The regulations implementing Section 504 and  Title II make clear that in general, Section 504 and Title II prohibit  recipients and public entities from treating persons differently on the basis  of disability in the provision of aid, benefits, or services.  However, recipients and public entities may  provide a different aid, benefit, or service to persons with disabilities where  necessary to provide an aid, benefit, or service that is as effective as that  provided to others.  See 34 C.F.R.  § 104.4(b)(1)(i)-(iv) and 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(b)(1)(i)-(iv).   Among the aid, benefits, and services  provided to students and parents are report cards and transcripts.  Section 504 and Title II do not contain  specific confidentiality requirements, but do prohibit different treatment on  the basis of disability.  This generally  would prohibit unnecessary disclosures of disability status to third  parties.  

Other federal laws are also relevant.

***IDEA***– Through the Office of Special Education  and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), the Department of Education administers  the *Individuals with Disabilities Education Act* (*IDEA*), which  provides funds to states to assist in making a free appropriate public  education (FAPE) available to eligible children with disabilities.  *IDEA* requirements apply to state education agencies (SEAs), school districts, and other  public agencies that serve *IDEA*-eligible children.    

*IDEA* does not have specific provisions on student  report cards or transcripts, but does require that the individualized education  program (IEP) for a child with a disability include a description of how the  child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals set forth in his or her IEP  will be measured and when periodic reports on the child’s progress toward  meeting the annual goals will be provided (such as through the use of quarterly  or other periodic reports, concurrent with the issuance of report cards).  20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(III); 34 C.F.R.  § 300.320(a)(3).  These periodic progress  reports may be separate from, or included as part of, the regular report cards  of students with disabilities with an IEP.   In general, the nondiscrimination principles of Section 504 and Title II  would apply to report cards with or without such progress reports.  

***FERPA*** - The Department’s Family Policy  Compliance Office implements and enforces the *Family Educational Rights and  Privacy Act* (*FERPA*).  *FERPA* protects the privacy interests of parents and students with regard to education  records, and generally prohibits a policy or practice of disclosing personally  identifiable information from education records without consent unless it is  subject to a specific exception.  

Disclosures of personally identifiable student  information, including disability status, are subject to the protections of *FERPA* and *IDEA*.  Generally, these  statutes require consent prior to disclosures of personally identifiable  information contained in education records unless a specific exception  applies.  See 34 C.F.R. §§ 99.30 -  99.31 of the *FERPA* regulations and 34 C.F.R. § 300.622 of the *IDEA* regulations.  Both student report cards  and student transcripts are considered “education records” under *FERPA* and *IDEA*.

While the primary focus of the following questions and  answers are the requirements under Section 504 and Title II of the ADA, to the extent that  IDEA applies, this law is briefly discussed as well. 

# Report Cards

| **2.** | **May a report card for a student with a  disability identify special education or other related services or resources  being provided for that student or otherwise indicate that the student has a  disability?  For instance, may the report  card refer to an IEP or a plan providing for services under Section 504?** |
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Yes.  Report cards are  provided to parents to indicate their child’s progress or level of achievement  in specific classes, course content, or curriculum.  Consistent with this purpose, it would be  permissible under Section 504 and Title II for a report card to indicate that a  student is receiving special education or related services, as long as the  report card informs parents about their child’s progress or level of  achievement in specific classes, course content, or curriculum.  For instance, a report card for a student  with a disability may refer to an IEP or a plan for providing services under  Section 504 in order to report on the student’s progress on the specific goals  in the IEP or plan developed under Section 504.  

However, the mere designation that a student has  an IEP or is receiving a related service, without any meaningful explanation of  the student’s progress, such as a grade or other evaluative standard  established by an LEA and/or SEA, would be inconsistent with *IDEA’s* periodic reporting requirements, as well as with Section 504 and Title II.  Under Section 504 and Title II, in general,  the LEA must provide students with disabilities report cards that are as  informative and effective as the report cards provided for students without  disabilities.   See 34 C.F.R. §  104.4(b)(1)(i)-(iv) and 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(b)(1)(i)-(iv).  Without more meaningful information, a report  card that indicates only special education status provides the student with a  disability with a benefit or service that is different from and not as  informative and effective as the benefit or service that is provided through  the report card for students without disabilities.  

| **3.** | **May a report card for a student with a  disability distinguish between special education programs and services and  general education curriculum classes through specific notations or the use of  asterisks or other symbols? ** |
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In general, yes.  LEAs  frequently distinguish between general education curriculum classes and other  types of programs and classes, such as advanced placement, honors, or remedial  classes.  Making similar distinctions on  report cards would be consistent with the general requirements of Section 504  and Title II that individuals with disabilities may not unnecessarily be  treated differently than individuals without disabilities. 

See 34 C.F.R. § 104.4(b)(1)(i)-(iv) and 28 C.F.R. §  35.130(b)(1)(i)-(iv).  Under Section 504  and Title II, in order to properly reflect the progress of a student with a  disability in a modified or alternate education curriculum, an LEA may  distinguish between special education programs and services provided under a modified or alternate education  curriculum and regular education classes under the general education curriculum  on the student’s report card.  For  instance, where a student’s IEP calls for a modified tenth grade literature  curriculum to be provided through the special education program, it would be  appropriate for the report card to indicate that the student’s progress was  measured based on the modified education curriculum.  This distinction also may be achieved by  using an asterisk or other symbol meant to reference the modified or alternate  education curriculum as long as the statements on the report card, including  the asterisks, symbols or other coding, provide an explanation of the student’s  progress that is as informative and effective as the explanation provided for  students without disabilities.

| **4.** | **May special notations, including asterisks or  other symbols, appear on a report card for a student with a disability who  received accommodations in general education curriculum classes?** |
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Yes.   Accommodations are generally understood to include aids or adjustments  that are part of an IEP or plan developed under Section 504 and that enable the  student with a disability to learn and demonstrate what the student knows.  In general, accommodations do not affect course  content or curriculum.  Examples may  include sign language interpreters in the classroom, the provision of materials  in alternate formats, or extra time on tests.   Accordingly, to the extent that the use of notations, asterisks,  symbols, or other coding on a report card to indicate that a student with a  disability received accommodations is part of the information given to parents  about their child’s progress or level of achievement in specific classes,  course content, curriculum, the IEP, or the plan under Section 504, it is  permissible under Section 504 and Title II. 

| **5.** | **May a report card for a student with a  disability simply refer to another document that more fully describes the  student’s progress? ** |
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Yes.  Nothing in Section 504 or Title II requires  that LEAs use any particular format or method to provide information to parents  about their child’s progress or level of achievement in specific classes,  course content, curriculum, IEP, or plan under Section 504.  As explained above, under Section 504 and  Title II, the LEA must provide students with disabilities report cards that are  as informative and effective as the report cards provided to students without  disabilities.  As noted above, there are  also IDEA-specific provisions that require periodic reporting. 

| **6.** | **May report card grades for a student with a  disability be based on grade level standards?** |
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Yes.   Assigning grades (i.e., achievement or “letter” grades) for a child with  a disability based on the student’s grade level (i.e., year-in-school)  standards would not be inconsistent with Section 504 or Title II.  Generally, Section 504 and Title II would  require that students with and without disabilities in the same regular  education classes in the general education curriculum be graded using the same  standards.  That is, if an LEA assigns  grades to nondisabled students participating in regular****education  classes using grade level standards to reflect progress in the general  education curriculum, then the****LEA****would also use those standards  to assign grades to students with disabilities in those same classes. See 34 C.F.R. § 104.4(b)(1)(i)-(iv) and 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(b)(1)(i)-(iv).  Nothing in Section 504 or Title II prohibits  SEAs and LEAs from deciding how to establish standards to reflect the progress  or level of achievement of students with disabilities who are taught using  different course content or a modified or alternate education curriculum. To  the extent that a student with a disability is not participating in regular  education classes, but is receiving modified course content or is being taught  under a modified or alternate curriculum, it would be up to the SEA and/or the  LEA to determine the standards to be used to measure the student’s progress or  level of achievement.  

# Transcripts

| **7.** | **May a transcript for a student with a disability  indicate that the student has a disability, has been enrolled in a special  education program, or has received special education or related services?** |
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No.  A student’s  transcript generally is intended to inform postsecondary institutions or  prospective employers of a student’s academic credentials and  achievements.  Information that a student  has a disability, or has received special education or related services due to  having a disability, does not constitute information about the student’s  academic credentials and achievements.   Under Section 504 and Title II, recipients and public entities may not  provide different or separate aid, benefits, or services to individuals with  disabilities, or to any class of individuals with disabilities, unless such  action is necessary to provide those individuals with aid, benefits, or  services that are as effective as those provided to others.  See 34 C.F.R. § 104.4(b)(1)(i)-(iv)  and 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(b)(1)(i)-(iv).   Notations that are used exclusively to identify a student as having a  disability or identify education programs for students with disabilities  unnecessarily provide these students with different educational benefits or  services.   Identifying programs as being  only for students with disabilities also would be viewed as disclosure of  disability status of enrollees and constitutes different treatment on the basis  of disability.  Therefore, it would be a  violation of Section 504 and Title II for a student’s transcript to indicate  that a student has received special education or a related service or that the  student has a disability.  

In addition, prohibiting such preadmission and  preemployment disclosures is consistent with the Section 504 regulatory  requirements that, in general, postsecondary institutions may not make  preadmission inquiries as to whether an applicant for admission has a  disability prior to admission, 34 C.F.R. § 104.42(b)(4), nor may employers  conduct preemployment medical examinations or make preemployment inquiries as to  whether an applicant for employment has a disability prior to an offer of  employment, 34 C.F.R. § 104.14.

| **8.** | **May a transcript for a student with a disability  indicate, either through specific notations or the use of asterisks or other  symbols, that the student took classes with a modified or alternate education  curriculum?**  |
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In general, yes.   While a transcript may not disclose that a student has a disability or  has received special education or related services due to having a disability,  a transcript may indicate that a student took classes with a modified or  alternate education curriculum.  This is  consistent with the transcript’s purpose of informing postsecondary  institutions and prospective employers of a student’s academic credentials and achievements.  Transcript notations concerning enrollment in  different classes, course content, or curriculum by students with disabilities  would be consistent with similar transcript designations for classes such as  advanced placement, honors, and basic and remedial instruction, which are  provided for both students with and without disabilities, and thus would not  violate Section 504 or Title II.  This  distinction may also be achieved by using an asterisk or other symbol meant to  reference the modified or alternate education curriculum.  These notations, asterisks, or other symbols  indicating a modified or alternate education curriculum are permissible when  they do not specifically disclose that a student has a disability, are not used  for the purpose of identifying programs for students with disabilities, and are  consistent with the purpose of a student transcript.   

| **9.** | **May special notations, including asterisks or  other symbols, appear on a transcript for a student with a disability who  received accommodations in general education curriculum classes?** |
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In general, no.  Because the use of accommodations generally  does not reflect a student’s academic credentials and achievement, but does  identify the student as having a disability, it would be a violation of Section  504 and Title II for a student’s transcript to indicate that the student  received accommodations in any classes.   For example, a notation indicating the use of Braille materials is not  related to whether that student mastered all the tenth grade objectives for her  literature class.  The only purpose of  such a notation is to identify that student as having a visual impairment.  Because accommodations are generally  understood to include aids and adjustments to enable a student with a disability  to learn and demonstrate knowledge, this notation could identify the student as  having a disability and therefore constitute different treatment on the basis  of disability. 

| **10.** | **May a transcript for a student with a disability  indicate that a student received a certificate of attendance or similar  document rather than a regular diploma?** |
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A transcript for a student with a disability may  indicate receipt of a certificate of attendance or a similar document, rather  than a regular diploma, under certain circumstances.  These circumstances are where this does not  disclose that a student has received special education or related services,  does not otherwise specifically disclose that a student has a disability (for  example, because certificates of attendance are available to both students with  disabilities and students without disabilities), is not used for the purpose of  identifying programs for students with disabilities, and is consistent with the  purpose of a student transcript --  to  inform postsecondary institutions and prospective employers of a student’s  academic credentials and achievements.

  

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