504 Plan - Lewisville,TX

504 is not always Sped. In fact, in many cases they only need a certain modification that fits their particular need - such as dyslexic or Irlen's students.

The school should respond quickly, but the paperwork/meeting can take a couple of weeks at the least. It is a bit late in the year for a 504 to be put in place since there are only 10 weeks left of school. The schools are now testing for Sped (so the student can immediately start Sped next school year) and are considering retention at this point - lots of meetings for that. So the timeline could be longer.

AND, not to mention the STAAR test will be administered this month...so that is a HUGE focus right now.

There are several timelines... check with your state's guidance document, but in NY the district has 10 days to "respond" and 30 to "meet and implement". So, if you submit a letter this week, you should anticipate a phone call or letter indicating a meeting day and time within a month.

I was the AP/ Section 504 Chairperson for many years as well as a Supervisor for Special Education. I can honestly say that Section 504 is much easier to navigate and implement because it is less regulated and based entirely on your child's individual needs.

Your child must qualify for the support plan, though, so be prepared with documentation on how your child's condition "substantially limits a major life activity". Please keep in mind that a "diagnosis" is NOT enough- there has to be a substantial impact on your child's learning and ability to demonstrate his/her knowledge.

Section 504 plans are built around accommodations and modifications. Accommodations are things like:
- extended time on tests
- directions repeated and/or explained
- tests administered in a separate location
Keep in mind that accommodations are meant to "level the playing field" so that your child can demonstrate his/her knowledge. They are not meant to give an advantage, nor can they modify the curriculum in any way.

Modifications are tihngs that actually "change" the way things are presented to your child or the way in which your child responds:
- Preferential seating in the classroom
- Number of items reduced (think math worksheet cut "in half" so that your child still demonstrates understand, but isn't doing 20 problems when 10 would have the same impact)
- Homework modified per teacher discretion

I caution you from too many program modifications. You do NOT want things modified for your child to a point where they are no longer receiving the general curriculum. I have seen this happen... parents think "more is better" when in fact it is not.

As you develop the plan and implement it, make sure that you also monitor whether or not this is actually helping your child. Section 504 plans do NOT have to include instructional supports (like Resource Room) or related services (like OT). If your child requires those supports and services, then you would need to consider a special education referral.

I was the 504 teacher in my school.....almost 10 years ago. At the time, we had 30 days to respond to the parent, if not get the 504 in place.

A 504 plan is very easy to implement because it is NOT an IEP. It is just "common sense" on a paper to make sure the student's rights are respected and upheld.

Does your child have a diagnosis that is keeping her from learning? This applies for kids who have ADD/ADHD, a broken leg, anxiety, bad eye sight, etc. If you suspect a learning disability that is NOT previously diagnosed, you have to start at square 1. That's the process you are probably familiar with. Lots of formal and informal evaluations, observations in the classroom, meetings to discuss evaluations, and assessments from a school psychologist....then an IEP is written if the child has been diagnosed with an LD.

Students that are on an IEP typically do not have a 504 plan because it is redundant.

To assist your school with writing a 504 plan, walk yourself through your child's day. What obstacles does he/she have? How would YOU solve that problem? Your solution has to be easy for the teacher to implement *sitting at the front of the room, near the board, near the teacher, etc.
*getting extra time to get items from a locker or to get to class (student with a broken leg).
*allowing student to take backpack into classroom (some schools do not allow this) for students who need help with organization
*allowing student to use the bathroom or quiet corner whenever he/she has to (students with medical condition or anxiety)
*asking the teacher to sign off the daily planner for students who need help remembering or organization
*asking another student to help struggling student pack their bag for the day
*giving student extra time to clean his/her desk or more frequently during appropriate times

You are more likely to get what your child needs if YOU know all the issues and have ideas for the solutions.

Like I said, this is just common sense on a paper. In elementary you typically don't have teachers being mean or unreasonable with a student's actual needs (sometimes you do). In middle and high school, you get teachers who don't believe the kid or think that the diagnosis is a joke. They penalize kids for taking their backpack in the room, etc.

Good luck!!!

When I was a case worker I found that the different districts varied a lot on their response time. As you might expect the more overcrowded schools with a greater percentage of special education students were slower. I'd ask around locally for your school district.

Call the board of education. Ask them directly how long it should take to get a response. Google the laws in your state and see if there is a free call center for children with disabilities. They usually have free legal advice or can direct you to an advocate. Depending on your childs situation, I would make sure you have documentation to back anything medical you feel can merit the request. The only other suggestion I would make is to call your childs doctor and see if they are aware of any other families in similar situations and ask to pass your information along. I am sure with your experience you know that networking is some of the best medicine for getting this exact information.

I would request if the 504 is denied, that you try it for a trial period to see if there is any improvement I would say a 30-60 day period. Good luck.

In Fairfax County, VA they have 10 - TEN - days to respond.

if you have ANY diagnoses from a certified doctor, i.e. dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, etc. bring them with you - not the doctors, the diagnosis.

Bring any test scores, notes from the teachers, etc. they WILL be in the meeting as well to discuss with the school counselor, principal and school psychologist to discuss your child's behavior, habits, issues and what needs to be done to help your child be successful in school.

Tell the school what you witness or deal with at home when it comes to homework, social activities, etc. this will help them as well - they need to know what you have done to help your child and what you have found helps him succeed in things - for us - Nicky needs something called a wiggle pillow so that he can sit in his seat and still move. It helps with his focus. The school allows that.

he also has a nervous habit of chewing his nails - in order to keep him from doing it - he gets to chew gum in class. he cannot share it, blow bubbles with it nor can it leave his mouth (play with it). That helps him focus as well - I know - funky - but it does.

Just be your child's advocate!! You can do it mama!!

If I can be of help in the future - both my kids were 504 and I was at one time an ADA advocate and helped write many 504s...these were mainly for diabetes but my son had other issues.....504 is Federal so it really doesn't matter what the school policy is....I ended up filing a discrimation suit on behave of my daughter through the national 504 office - we won...

All schools have a process they have to complete before they can officially put your student on a 504 plan and/or IEP. There are various things that need to be completed , besides paper work. And just like the previous poster stated dependeding on the size of school and number of special Ed students can effect the response time. With that being said, you should hav einitial response from the school within a month or two that states they have started the process.

It definitely varies by state/district. When we were in CA the school didn't do any of their own assessments, they took the information from his doctor and went from there. We sat down as a team to determine the best course of action for helping my son with the issues he has.

Here in MD the school did it's own assessment of him. With observations and testing and all that kind of stuff. We also then had a team sit down to determine if there was anything we needed to adjust for my son now that he's in middle school.

But I can say ... the sooner you get it started the better. Once it's in place it's forever and will follow your child all the way through college. Although the goal should be to have as few stipulations on that 504 as possible by the time they hit college.

Response time for the two different districts I've dealt with was about 3 months I think. That was from school starting to our sit down.

My son have a 504 in place for his health issues. When needed, he gets extra time to get to the next class--leaves one class 5 minutes early. He can sit in with his advisor during gym if needed, things like that. He also cannot be penalized for missing classes. I worked with the school nurse for this one since it is a health issue. At the beginning of this school year, she sent emails to all of my son's teachers to let them know the plan is in place and what the terms are. This plan will follow him in school so we don;t have to set up every year.
I am not sure if all districts do this though. If the plan would not be for a health issue, I would see if there is a social worker at the school and work for that person. If not, I would do as the others suggested and check with the board of ed or superintendant's office. One of the girls in my daughter's class has a plan in place and she gets additional help with her studies in class and directions.