<P> Section 504 brought the language of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the Rehabilitation of Act of 1973 . As a law that fell within the office of Health, Education, and Welfare, this was an unlikely place for a social justice provision, yet inserting such a rights clause happened without fanfare . Working behind the scenes on what most believed was a bill related to budget, a staffer added the thirty - five words that addressed issues of discrimination related to disability . This was a departure from prevailing views that considered disability to be purely a medical condition . The law prohibited any entity receiving federal funding (such as government offices, schools, universities, hospitals, and post offices) from discriminating against someone because of a disability . </P> <P> Concerned about costs and enforcement, the Nixon and Ford Administrations attempted to stall the regulations both by rewriting them and calling for further study regarding their impact if they did stay in their present form . Institutions such as universities and hospitals hoped to avoid bad publicity and huge expenses by waiting out the regulation process . </P> <P> Disability rights groups, especially the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD), understood the implications and advocated to keep them in place unchanged . Section 504 required another step before being implemented (and thus enforced), a signature from the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW). In 1975 a federal lawsuit was filed to force the agency to act . In July 1976, a federal district for Washington DC ruled that the regulations should be issued "with no further unreasonable delays ." As the arrival of a new president drew near, HEW Secretary under departing President Gerald Ford, David Matthews, left them unsigned . </P> <P> During his campaign, Jimmy Carter promised to change this if he was elected president . When he took office in January 1977, he too grew concerned about costs and invited Joseph Califano, the new HEW head, to study the legislation and its implications by establishing a task force that did not include representation from ACCD or anyone with a disability . Word leaked out that the 504 regulations that insisted on full integration of people with disabilities were being changed into something more akin to "separate but equal ." ACCD members tried to reach President Carter, who had promised to support disability rights during a campaign speech in Warm Springs, Georgia, a significant location because it had been President FDR's wheelchair - accessible "home away from home" while he was in the White House . Carter insisted that the matter fell to Califano . </P>

Who qualifies for services under section 504 of the rehabilitation act