As a result of my son’s 3 year re-evaluation, he was removed from special ed (and his IEP). However, he goes into high school next year, and I was concerned about him not having any support. The special ed teacher recommended we get him on a 504 plan (his learning disability is in written expression). When I talked to the counsler in charge of 504 plans at the school, I was told the law changed recently, and they can’t automatically place kids who have staffed out of special ed onto a 504, although that was previously the case. What we want to get for him is access to teacher’s notes and extra time on tests with a lot of writing. However, he has no specific medical diagnosis to qualify for a 504 (at least as far as our school tells us). Any advice as to what we should do is welcome! Do we have a legal leg to stand on?
Re: IEP to 504
here is the definition of the Handicapped person under 504
(j) Handicapped person — (1) Handicapped persons means any person who (i) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, (ii) has a record of such an impairment, or (iii) is regarded as having such an impairment.
(2) As used in paragraph (j)(1) of this section, the phrase:
(i) Physical or mental impairment means (A) any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive, digestive, genito‑urinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine; or (B) any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.
(ii) Major life activities means functions such as caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.
(iii) Has a record of such an impairment means has a history of, or has been misclassified as having, a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
(iv) Is regarded as having an impairment means (A) has a physical or mental impairment that does not substantially limit major life activities but that is treated by a recipient as constituting such a limitation; (B) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits major life activities only as a result of the attitudes of others toward such impairment; or (C) has none of the impairments defined in paragraph (j)(2)(i) of this section but is treated by a recipient as having such an impairment.
as you can see needing a definitive medical diagnosis is not altogether true. He must be regarded as having a disabilitiy and if he has been in Special ed for the last three years then all of this would apply.
Good luck.
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/regs/34cfr104.html#S3
you will find the whole law at this address.
Re: IEP to 504
I would contact the supervisor of special education in your district. I know in our district there is not much use of 504 plans. The only one with a manual is the special ed supervisor. I would start there…..sounds as if you are getting the run around.
go o Reid Martin’s web site- as far as i can remember, there are many protections y’all can have under a 504- wer still dealing with idea