504 Plans and IEPs
A quick post as I'm headed out the door. A great place to start is taking a look at the free publications available at: http://www.wrightslaw.com/links/free_pubs.htm. There's a ton of information there and, yes, it can be daunting at first glance. But, it is important to take a look. "Knowledge is power" and once you understand the process, it will help you, your child and your child's teacher immensely.
It has taken a long time to get a good 504 Accommodation Plan in place for my daughter. And, I could never find a good example to use as a guide. If you would like a copy of my daughter's 504 Plan to use as a guide, I will be happy to provide it.
Mary, what do you think? Is it something you would like to put up on the site? I'd just need to redact some personal information. Anyone have an interest - just let me know...
Many Blessings,
Craig
It has taken a long time to get a good 504 Accommodation Plan in place for my daughter. And, I could never find a good example to use as a guide. If you would like a copy of my daughter's 504 Plan to use as a guide, I will be happy to provide it.
Mary, what do you think? Is it something you would like to put up on the site? I'd just need to redact some personal information. Anyone have an interest - just let me know...
Many Blessings,
Craig
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by imar rodriguez on -
We will be having our first official meeting with the school district here in san diego this friday.They have already tested our 6 year old daugther. She has not been offically diagnosed with sid since it was OT who discovered it after a year in therapy.We were told a DR is the only one who can offically dianosed.She is a very mild case, as explained by OT, yet a typical one. What can we or are we looking at in terms of the school providing help?My wife is very concerned the staff at the school isnt qualified. Any success stories tat you guys can share with IEPS or 504's.Thank you
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Permalink Reply by Craig Walker on -
Hi Imar,
I am not an expert on IEPs or 504 plans. I recommend that you take a look at the Wright's Law website for more information. That being said, I'll explain my experience in this process.
My daughter has had 504 plan accommodations since she started elementary school. The first step was obtaining the evaluation from the school district. It took quite a bit of effort to get the school district to agree to the evaluation and ultimately, our best advocate in getting the district to evaluate my daughter was her Kindergarten teacher.
This evaluation is conducted by a number of professionals in different disciplines and involves using standard tests to evaluate your child's abilities. It sounds to me like that has been done for your daughter and they will be presenting the results of the evaluation. The results will include a recommendation of whether your child requires additional assistance and/or services. At this point one of the following may occur:
* If the results of the testing show that your child is having significant difficulties in one or more areas, your child could be referred for services or additional support under a formal Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The types and level of services depends upon the findings in the evaluation. A Student Success Team (SST) will be created to develop and implement a formal plan that will assist your child in school. As a parent, you are included on the SST. The team will meet periodically to monitor the performance of the plan and adjust as necessary. An IEP could include occupational therapy within the school setting, the assistance of an aide or inclusion within a special education class among other things.
* If your child is not found to be having significant difficulties in one or more areas, but does show some deficits, a recommendation for development of a 504 Plan Accommodation plan could occur. A 504 Plan can include accommodations that can help your child better succeed in school but would not involve school-provided Occupational Therapy, assistance outside of the classroom or the help of an aide. An example of a 504 Plan accommodation is allowing a child who is easily distracted to take his/her tests in an area that allows for more privacy within the classroom. A Student Success Team is set to develop a less formal plan to assist your child. The accommodations are handled within the classroom setting and primarily implemented by the teacher.
* Your child is not found to be having difficulties and no services or accommodations are recommended.
This process can seem daunting and can be very frustrating if you don't fully understand it and feel that your child's needs aren't being met or that you aren't being understood. Remain firm in requesting assistance but try to stay positive and work collaboratively with the school/district. Ask for your child's OT to be included on the SST or ask for recommendations from the OT on strategies that will help your child succeed in school.
Best of luck on Friday and...
Many Blessings,
Craig
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Permalink Reply by imar rodriguez on
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would you mind sharing your 504 with us, my wife would like to take a look at it...we want to find out what type of accomodations are we talking about, etc...thank you
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Permalink Reply by Craig Walker on
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Here you go...
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Sample504.pdf, 104 KB
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