Section 504/Education - Disabilities Message Board

PatNJ · 04-20-2005, 09:21 AM

Hello,

Is anyone familiar with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as it relates to a Free Appropriate Public Education for students with chronic medical conditions?

Thank you.

kaybee · 04-20-2005, 10:17 AM

A 504 plan is usually used for students who may not qualify for special education services under an Individualized Education Plan which provides things like resource, speech therapy, OT, and PT, even services for the hearing handicapped. The 504 plan allows the intervention team, which includes the parent, to make accommodations for the student. That may mean a reduced work load (10 math problems instead of 20), oral administration of tests, one - on - one testing, adaptations that may be needed for PE class, seating arrangements in the classroom, and basically anything else that may help the student succeed academically. Once a 504 plan is mapped out, it is in place for the student's entire day and lasts until the team meets again to make ammendments or decides the next course of action for the following school year. More or less, it is like a contract between the school and the student and is to be carried out by all of the student's teachers.

PatNJ · 04-20-2005, 11:08 AM

Thank you, Kaybee, for a such a concise summary of Section 504. I have a sinking feeling that when I approach my son's guidance counselor and assistant principal about a 504 Plan, they will try to placate me by telling me that they have been making all reasonable accommodations for my son, who has missed an excessive number of days from school this year and last, due to IBS (primarily) and GERD.

First of all, they have not been doing so; in fact, in the last month or so, my son has been treated in a punitive manner (in my opinion) for having fallen so far behind in his make-up work. They have denied him participation in his one or two extracurricular activities, until he "comes to school every day and on time" and "has made up enough of his work" (no definition provided). What kind of coercion is that to place on a teenage boy who would love to be going to school on a regular basis, so that he doesn't fall behind, receive poorer grades than if he were in school regularly, and bear the wrath of his teachers (and administrators) who have begun to treat him as a deliberate truant?

Secondly, whether or not the school administrators feel that they and my son's teachers have "bent over backwards" for him, they have never mentioned a 504 Plan to us, which I believe they are obliged to do in the case of a student with a physician-documented chronic medical condition.

Thirdly, we just found out last Friday that my son has been "failing" all of his make-up work. He has yet to receive any graded make-up test or quiz from his teachers. If he is indeed "failing", then I believe that his teachers are obligated to advise him (or us) of this fact and offer him extra help and/or suggest that he slow down the pace at which he is making up the missed work. It makes no sense to me that he should be continuing to make up tests/quizzes, if he truly doesn't understand the material that he has already been tested on, and has (allegedly) failed.

My main goals at the moment are to get my son back into the extracurricular activities that he loves so much; and to "suggest" that a 504 Plan be put in place for next year. At a minimum, I would like to see him receive tutoring on an as-needed basis, so that he will actually be taught the material that he is missing when he is not in school. (The administrators are acting as though these alleged failing grades are my son's fault, that he is not "trying hard enough" to study the material, which, let's not forget, he was never taught. But worst of all is the presumption that he "could" be in school more often, if he just "pushed" himself.

)

I'm sorry that this was so long; thank you for letting me vent. Thanks again, too, for your reply to my post.

T

kaybee · 04-20-2005, 04:10 PM

I don't think you're in as tight a spot as you've been led to believe by the school. With a chronic medical condition, the district is obligated to accommodate your son. A 504 plan is one solution but with GERD, the school's speech therapist may be able to develop an IEP for him based on swallowing difficulties, then he'd be in the system and amends could be made that way. At his age, however, you may have already thought about speech therapy. He could also qualify under 'other health impaired' and have an IEP. Regardless, you have rights and with an extensive illness like your son's, you have the right to demand that a 504 plan be in place. A prescription/letter from the dr will back you up, although the prescrip is only an eye opener since it isn't needed for services other than PT or OT. If you don't get satisfaction at the school level, go to the superintendant or the head of the special ed dept. You will get satisfaction. Most admin people don't think parents know their rights and for the life of me, I have no idea why they shy away from a 504 plan but it is fairly common. I just don't think they know much about them.

Now, if I were you and if you haven't already thought of this, I'd request a tutor for the summer at the district's expense. If your son missed a significant amount of school due to a medical condition, they should have provided it already. Demand that he be tested by the school's psychologist to make sure there isn't a learning disability or that he isn't suffering from ADD. Just push it and I know you'll get to where you need to be. Check out the advocacy groups in your area, too. The school's guidance counselor should have the phone numbers you need.

BTW, have they provided you with a list of those 'reasonable accommodations'? They should be accountable for their claim and honor your request to have the accommodations in writing via a 504 plan. Are all of his teachers aware of his needs? If so, that would mean they met about him without your knowleadge. If not, then their 'accommodations' aren't effective enough nor are they consistent among all of his teachers. My feeling is that you should have been offered tutoring for him in the first place and the district may be remiss by not doing so while your son was out. You have some bargaining power and once you start pushing, they'll start listening.

I keep adding to this cause I'm worked up now. FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education) is in your corner and as a parent, you have way more rights than you think!

I'm so sorry this got to be so long.

karen

PatNJ · 04-20-2005, 05:13 PM

Thank you so very much, Karen, for your additional comments. I do appreciate the time you have spent in providing me with such great advice.

Fortunately, my son doesn't have any swallowing difficulties related to his GERD. He suffers from mild asthma/reactive airway disease, but the GERD does not seem to trigger his asthma/RAD symptoms (seasonal allergies or environmental allergens are the culprits there).

My son doesn't have any learning disabilities or ADD/ADHD. He had been a solid A student until about three years ago, when his conditions led to more and more absences from school. His scores on standardized tests have always placed him in the 93rd-99th percentiles. But as intelligent as he is, he is not so brilliant that he can teach himself high-school level work, particularly at advanced and accelerated levels.

We do have a letter from his doctor on file with the school documenting his chronic medical conditions (IBS, GERD, asthma/RAD and allergies). This letter is required by the school district at the beginning of each year for a student with chronic medical conditions, in order for them to be exempt from the usual attendance policy (limiting absences to 12 days per year). We even presented the school with a letter from his GI doctor in which he stated that he thought it was beneficial to our son's health to continue to participate in the extracurricular activities that are now being denied to him.

I'm afraid that in my last lengthy post, I failed to make something clear: Our son's school has never mentioned Section 504 to us. Less than a week ago, my mom, who lives in another state, had a conversation with a former neighbor, who is the acting principal at the high school in Mom's town. When Mom told the woman about the problems we have been having with our son's school, she asked her if we were aware of a 504 Plan. We were not, and I believe that it was the school's responsibility under Section 504 to have advised us of the law and its provisions.

Thank you for the suggestion about requesting a tutor for our son over the summer. Certainly, as we move ahead with a 504 Plan for the next school year, I intend to ask that he be provided with one on an as-needed basis during peak periods of excessive absences. The last two years of high school are probably the most important academically, at least as they pertain to college admissions. Socially, they are important years, too, with the new freedoms afforded by the dreaded driver's license. I can't have my son spending those years feeling stressed and depressed, because health conditions that are not under his control and an ineffective school administration have conspired to prevent him from performing at what should be his usual advanced level.

Thank you again for your interest and support.

T