Parentella

In part 1 of the series, we explained that a Section 504 Plan is an individualized plan to meet the needs of students who are not actually learning disabled per the IDEA guidelines, but still have special needs.  We explained what kinds of needs are covered and how to go about requesting a 504 Plan to be created for your child.

So… your student has been deemed eligible for accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This means that they have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity that interferes with their school experience. It’s now time to create the action plan.

The ideal Section 504 plan writing process involves a team of school staff and you. Commonly, the 504 plan consists of the school guidance counselor, school nurse, classroom teacher and you. Unlike Individual Education Plans (IEP), there are no specific timelines for Section 504 planning. The U.S. Department of Education has suggested to state superintendents of public instruction that it would be best to set Section 504 timelines to the same as IEPs for consistency.

Keep in mind that Section 504 do not require parental consent for evaluation. If a classroom teacher is having difficulties with your student, she or he may establish an intervention plan that leads to the creation of the Section 504. This stipulation is in place for the uncommon case that the parents of the students choose to not be involved. It is safe to assume that a school district is going to err on the side of caution and exhaust every means of notification before taking this route. They understand that it is in the student’s best interest to have parents involved.

Guidance counselors and school nurses are typically the staff that are the most familiar with Section 504 regulations and related school district policy and procedures. The school nurse will explain the nature of your student’s disability or medical problems, including effects of medications to the other team members. Students with life threatening medical conditions will need documentation from their treating physician for their plan. The school nurse will instruct you as to the information needed to create an Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP) and an Individual Emergency Healthcare Plan (IEHP).

If your school district does not mail a copy of the Section 504 plan to your home before your appointment, request a copy to review. Read every paragraph. If applicable, ask your child’s outpatient therapists to read over on the plan. Write down all of your questions on the copy or use sticky notes to have them ready as the plan is reviewed. You have the right to review the screening test results used to determine eligibility.

Section 504 plans are reviewed annually to determine of eligibility for the next year. The US Department of Education* states:

If a recipient school district re-evaluates a student in accordance with the Section 504 regulatory provision at 34 C.F.R. 104.35 and determines that the student’s mental or physical impairment no longer substantially limits his/her ability to learn or any other major life activity, the student is no longer eligible for services under Section 504.

Terms

• Accommodations: Supports or services provided to help a student access the general curriculum and validly demonstrate learning.
• Behavioral Intervention Plan: Plan of interventions and strategies that will be implemented to address goals for social, emotional, and behavioral.
• Reasonable accommodation: Academic adjustments, reasonable modifications, and auxiliary aids and services in the school context.
• Reasonable modifications: found in Title II of the ADA, public entities must to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures when the modifications are necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability, unless the public entity can demonstrate that making the modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity.*
• Related services: a term used in the elementary and secondary school context to refer to developmental, corrective, and other supportive services, including psychological, counseling and medical diagnostic services and transportation*

Part 3 of this series is a question and answer dialogue pertaining to both IEP’s and 504 Plans. .

*Source: Office of Civil Rights, “Protecting Students With Disabilities”

image credit: http://www.immunize.org/images/polio/thumbs/polio-2-lg.jpg

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written by Astacia Carter, who is a stay-at-home mom of 2 girls. Her younger daughter (6) has cerebral palsy with developmental delay and her older daughter (8) has ADHD with sensory dysfunctions. She blogs about their journey every chance she can get. Her story of going from the work force to home is published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Power Moms.When she is not driving to and from schools, therapies and changing diapers, she is a web site designer and social media geek.

Related posts:

1. Section 504 Plans for Special Needs Kids — Part 1
2. IEP’s to Meet the Needs of Special Education Kids — Part 2
3. IEP’s to Meet the Needs of Special Education Kids
4. Connecting the home and school for our kids’ success
5. Los Angeles Public School Choice: Part III

Tags: help available in public schools, Section 504 plans, special needs kids

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 13th, 2011 at 12:01 am and is filed under Guest, Public Schools, Special Needs Students. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.