Family Road Map Guide

Focus
The Classroom –
Treatment Connection
What’s a 504 Plan?
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act is a civil rights
law that guarantees access
to education for children
with disabilities. 504 Plan
“accommodations and
modifications” are changes
that assist children with
special needs in a regular
education program. Some
children that don’t qualify for
special education services
under IDEA 2004 will qualify
to receive accommodations
under Section 504. To get
these accommodations and
modifications, a school evaluation
must show that the
condition interferes with the
child’s ability to learn.
The accommodations and
modifications are described
in a 504 Plan document
signed by the parent and the
school system representative.
involved in this meeting, including you as an equal partner with the school.
The eligibility decision has two parts. First, the team decides to certify your
child in one of the 13 types of disabilities listed under IDEA 2004. Unfortunately,
educational law does not use the same categories that health providers do. For example,
a child with ADHD is certified under the category “Other health impairment.”
Mood disorders such as depression are classified as “Emotional disturbance.” If a
child also has another difficulty, such as a hearing problem, “Multiple disabilities”
might be chosen. As a parent, you can give your point of view or present evidence
about which category best fits your child’s situation.
If you agree with the school system’s decision to certify your child in the
disability category chosen, you sign the first part of the eligibility report.
The school system representative (person legally representing the school system)
also signs. Next, the team must decide whether reasonable changes in the
regular education program will be enough to help your child make the expected
progress. If these changes (called accommodations and modifications) are
enough, the child won’t qualify for special education services. However, he or she
may be able to get these changes, even if they’re not in the IEP Plan, through a 504
Plan (see “What’s a 504 Plan?” at left). To learn more about how this decision is
made, see “The Story of Jenny and John.”
If you and the school system representative agree that the regular education
program cannot meet your child’s needs, you both sign the second part of
the report. At this point, your child is now eligible for special education services.
However, there are still many decisions to be made (and forms to fill out) to create
the IEP document. The next part of the process is to decide exactly what kind of
special education program your child will receive.
Step Five: The IEP team writes an education program to
meet your child’s special needs.
This step may occur at the same meeting as the certification decision in Step 4,
or it may be saved for a later meeting if the team needs more time. The IEP team
writes a plan to help your child make educational progress. By law, all plans must
have three basic parts:
1. Goals for how much progress your child can be expected to make this year,
what the steps toward making this progress will be, and how the progress will be
measured.
2. Services and supports that will help the child make progress toward the IEP
goals. These services might include speech therapy, school-based behavioral
counseling, or special equipment.
3. Placement in a regular or specialized classroom based on what is needed to
deliver those services and supports to achieve the goals.
Some children receive special services in the regular classroom or outside
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