What is Section 504?
Section 504 is a broad civil rights law which prohibits discrimination against disabled individuals in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance. This includes all programs and activities within a school district receiving federal funds, regardless of whether the specific program or activity directly receives this funding.
Who
does it protect?
All students identified under IDEA also
qualify for services under
Section 504 but all students identified under Section 504 are not
automatically qualified for services under IDEA.
Remember, the condition must
substantially limit a major life activity
for a student to be eligible for services under Section 504.
When should
possible Section 504 protection be considered?
School
staff, parents or agency
representatives may refer
students to the Section 504 Team if they believe the student may be in
need of
accommodations or supports in order to benefit from regular education. Some factors that may be considered when
making a referral to Section 504 might include whether the student has
accumulated 45 absences during a school year, has been suspended or
removed in
excess of 10 days during a school year, and/or has experienced an
illness or
accident likely to cause neurological or emotional impairment etc.
What
does
Section 504 require?
1. Provision of a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to eligible students in the least restrictive environment. “Appropriate” means an education comparable to the education provided to non-disabled students, requiring that reasonable accommodations be made.
2. Evaluation of any disabled student who may be in need of special education and/or related services as defined under Section 504. The evaluation should draw upon information from a variety of sources in the area of concern. For example, the evaluation for a student with juvenile arthritis might consist of the school nurse meeting with the parent and reviewing the child’s current medical records. For a student with A.D.D., current psychoeducational evaluations may be used in conjunction with appropriate medical information.
Informed parental consent for any evaluation is required (use Form C). A reevaluation should be considered before any significant change in the plan.
3. Provision of Appropriate Services – If a student is identified as eligible for services under Section 504, a team of individuals (including the parents) knowledge about the student, the evaluation data, and the placement options must develop and implement a plan for the delivery of the needed and appropriate services.
Appropriate services are defined as any reasonable accommodations that need to be made in order for a disabled person to receive a free and appropriate public education. For example, Section 504 services for the student with juvenile arthritis might be the provision of a typing course and the use of a typewriter or word processor. For the student with A.D.D., services might include modifications in the regular classroom, special assistance from an aide, a behavior plan, counseling and/or monitoring of medication. This plan must be kept in the student’s cumulative file and reviewed periodically (annually is recommended) and the Team must ensure that the student is educated with his/her non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate in the least restrictive environment. Except for medical services, there are very few limits to what a team may determine as appropriate services or classroom modifications – even Special Education can be considered.
4. Decision making by the Team – Decisions by the team shall be made by consensus. In the event consensus can’t be reached, the representative with authority to commit district resources shall make the decision for the team. The parent can challenge that decision through a hearing.
5. Procedural Safeguards – Under section 504, a parent must be provided with notice of actions affecting the identification, evaluation or placement of the student. Form A serves as parental notification and Form B serves as notice of parent’s and eligible student’s rights under Section 504.
What
is the
504 Process?
1.
Recognition
of student need
2.
Referral -
Can be "single track" process relying on the Special Education referral
process, supplemented with 504 notification (Form A and B)
or if appropriate, 504 paperwork only.
3.
Evaluation
4.
Team meeting
to review evaluations. If following the "single track" process,
this meeting can be a P.E.T. If the team
denies identification
and services under IDEA, adjourn the P.E.T. and reconvene as a 504 Team
Meeting to examine possible identification
under Section 504.
5.
Identification - (Form
D)
6.
Determine
what accommodations
and services, if any, need to be provided in order for the identified
student to receive a free and
appropriate public education, or otherwise access programming at the
school. Develop a written accommodation plan (Form E).