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IEP |
504 Accommodation Plan |
What law applies? |
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) |
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 |
What is the governing department? |
State Department of Education |
Office of Civil Rights |
Who is eligible? |
Two requirements must be met in order for a child to be found eligible for an IEP:
- The child was identified as having one or more of the 13 disabilitiesfound within the IDEA.
- It is determined that the child’s identified impairment(s) adversely affects his/her educational performance and the child needs special education services as a result.
*Please see the link below for additional information on Special Education Program Areas |
Three requirements must be met in order for a child to be found eligible for a Section 504 Accommodation Plan:
- The child is identified as having a mental or physical impairment.
- The above referenced impairment substantially limits a major life activity.
- The child needs a Section 504 Accommodation Plan in order to receive a Free and Appropriate Public Education.
*Please see the link below on Frequently Asked Questions about Section 504 for additional information what is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. |
What are the age limits, if any? |
IEPs are offered to eligible children ages three through 12th grade, or until the age of 21 when required.
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There is no age limit. |
Briefly, what does the evaluation process entail? |
Before a child can be found eligible for special education and related services pursuant to an IEP, the child must undergo a special education evaluation. As part of this evaluation process, a full and individual evaluation of the child must be conducted to determine if the child meets the criteria for one or more of the 13 disabilities found within the IDEA, and if the child requires special education services.
Parents/ Guardians must be informed through the Notice of Referral before any evaluation of the child takes place. The specific evaluation process requirements are set forth in the IDEA and state eligibility criteria.
*Please see the link below regarding Special Education Rights for Parents and Children for additional information on the IEP evaluation process.
*Please see the link below for additional information on Special Education Program Areas |
Before a child can be found to meet the criteria for Section 504 and require an accommodation plan, the child must undergo an evaluation.
“The Section 504 regulatory provision at 34 C.F.R. 104.35(b) requires school districts to individually evaluate a student before classifying the student as having a disability … Tests used for this purpose must be selected and administered so as best to ensure that the test results accurately reflect the student's aptitude or achievement or other factor being measured rather than reflect the student's disability, except where those are the factors being measured. Section 504 also requires that tests and other evaluation materials include those tailored to evaluate the specific areas of educational need and not merely those designed to provide a single intelligence quotient. The tests and other evaluation materials must be validated for the specific purpose for which they are used and appropriately administered by trained personnel.”
*Taken from the link below on Frequently Asked Questions about Section 504 for additional information what is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. |
Who creates the plans? |
An IEP is created by IEP team members. Members of an IEP team must include:
- The child’s parent or guardian;
- At least one of the child’s regular education teachers;
- At least one special education school staff member;
- A School District representative with authority over special education services;
- A specialist who is able to interpret evaluation results, such as a school psychologist.
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Section 504 Accommodation Plans are created by a team of individuals who are familiar with the child, and who also understand the evaluation data and available accommodation options. Such a team may include individuals such as:
- Parent/ Guardian;
- At least one of the child’s regular education teachers;
- A specialist who is able to interpret evaluation results, such as a school psychologist;
- The building principal.
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What’s in a plan? |
Some of the most important things an IEP should include are:
- Information about how the child is currently doing in school (“Present Level of Academic and Functional Performance”);
- Annual goals that the child will work on, including information on how the school staff will track the child’s progress towards the annual goals;
- The special education and related services that the child will receive;
- Any accommodations and modifications that the child will receive (“supplementary aids and services, and program modifications”);
- Any accommodations that the child will have for District and State Wide Assessments (if applicable)
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Some of the most important things in a Section 504 Accommodation Plan include:
- Accommodations, supports, and/or services for the child;
- The Name(s) / Title of individuals who will provide each accommodation, support, and/or service;
- The Name of the person responsible for ensuring the Section 504 Accommodation Plan is implemented.
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Consent |
Parents/ Guardians must give written consent in order for a school district to evaluate a child. In addition, parents/guardians must provide written consent before a school can initially provide the services set forth in an IEP. |
A School District must obtain consent from a parent/guardian prior to conducting an initial Section 504 Evaluation. While Section 504 is silent on the form of consent required, in guidance, the Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) has found written consent compliant. |
How often are the plans reviewed |
An IEP team must meet and review the IEP at least annually. In addition, children must be re-evaluated every three years to determine whether special education services are still needed, unless the IEP team agrees a re-evaluation is not needed.
A re-evaluation can be conducted more than once every three years if conditions warrant, or if the child’s parent or teacher requests a re-evaluation. However, a re-evaluation is not done more than once a year unless the parent/ guardian and School District agree otherwise. |
Section 504 requires periodic review of Section 504 Accommodation Plans, as well as periodic re-evaluations.
OCR has found that a Section 504 re-evaluation done in accordance with the IDEA is one means of compliance with the Section 504 requirement for periodic review.
In addition, Section 504 requires school districts to conduct re-evaluations before any significant change of placement. OCR considers things such as the following to be significant changes in placement: an exclusion from the educational program of more than 10 school days; transferring a student from one type of program to another; and terminating or significantly reducing the Section 504 Accommodation Plan. |