section 504 overview - united independent school district · q accommodations need to be specific...

Section 504 Overview

Office of School Improvement Section 504 Department

Guadalupe M. Perez, Director

1 Campus Professional Development 2017-2018

What is Section 504?

PartoftheRehabilita.onAct

of1973

Civilrightslawthatprohibits

DISCRIMINATION

Grantsequalaccesstoqualifiedpersonswithdisabili.estoallprogramsandac.vi.esreceivingfederalfunding


What Does Section 504 Say?

ü “No qualified person with a disability shall, solely by reason of his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal assistance.”


Discrimination •  Discrimination, as defined in Section 504, is the

failure to provide students with disabilities the same opportunity to benefit from education programs, services, or activities as is provided to their nondisabled peers.

•  Schools cannot exclude students with disabilities from facilities, programs, benefits, activities, or services that are provided to students without disabilities.

•  Schools must make sure that all students receive equal access to educational opportunities.

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DON’T FORGET NOTICES •  School district violated its obligation to

provide a homebound high school student with an equal opportunity to participate in extracurricular and non-academic activities.

•  Student was not fully informed of all school activities.

•  Equal access means access to all extracurricular and nonacademic activities, which necessarily includes proper notice on a consistent basis.


Children are Eligible for Protection Under Section 504 if:

Three main factors must be considered by the Section 504 Committee:

ü 1- Is there a physical or mental impairment ü 2- Does that physical or mental impairment

substantially limit one or more major life activities

ü 3-Does the student need Section 504 accommodations in order for his/her educational needs to be met as adequately as those of non-disabled peers?

ü YES to three questions=ELIGIBILITY


Major Life Activities Include:

•  Caring for one’s self (Depression)

•  Performing manual tasks (Arthritis)

•  Walking (Orthopedic Impairment)

•  Seeing (Visual Impairments) •  Hearing (Hearing

Impairments) •  Speaking (Tourette’s

Syndrome) •  Breathing (Environmental

Factors) •  Working (Chronic Fatigue) •  Eating (Bulimia/Anorexia)

•  Sleeping (Night Terrors) •  Standing •  Lifting (Broken Limbs) •  Bending (Scoliosis) •  Learning (Academic Difficulties) •  Reading (Dyslexia) •  Concentrating (AD/HD) •  Thinking (Drug/Alcohol

Addiction) •  Communicating (Speech

Impairments)


May Also Include Major Bodily Functions

•  Functions of the immune system (HIV/AIDS, Lupus)

•  Normal cell growth (Cancer/Leukemia)

•  Digestive (Crohns Disease)

•  Bowel (Colitis) •  Bladder (Kidney

Disease) •  Neurological

(Epilepsy)

•  Brain (Schizophrenia) •  Circulatory (Heart

Disease) •  Respiratory (Asthma) •  Endocrine (Diabetes) •  Reproductive Functions

(Pregnancy)


Student’s Rights Under Section 504

•  Right to be free from actions that discriminate on the basis of disability;

•  Equal right to access extracurricular activities and nonacademic services;

•  Right to manifestation determination prior to disciplinary changes in placement;

•  Right to protection from accumulations of short-term disciplinary removals that, collectively, amount to a pattern of exclusion;

•  Right to make complaints to the Office of Civil Rights (OCR);

•  Right to Section 504 Due Process Hearings; •  Right to periodic evaluations.


What Are Accommodations?

Accommoda'ons

arechangesinhowastudentaccessesinforma.onanddemonstrates

learning

Accommoda.onsdonotsubstan'ally

changetheinstruc.onallevel,

content,orperformancecriteria

Thechangesaremadeinordertoprovideastudentequalaccessto

learning

Accommoda.onsprovideequal

opportunitytoshowwhatheorshe

knowsandcando


Who Makes Accommodations Decisions?

The campus must have a Section 504 committee to address disabilities and access to all campus educational programs and activities for a student with disabilities. The Section 504 Committee should include individuals involved in the student’s education; all committee members should have knowledge of the student need


504 Committee Responsibilities with Documentation on Accommodations

•  Section 504 Committee must document all required testing accommodations in the Section 504 Plan

•  Document all specific details necessary for the provision of an accommodation (e.g., estimated amount of Scheduled Extended Time)

•  Use language that is consistent and aligned with that of state-approved testing accommodations


Accommodations •  Do not check the box next to each accommodation •  Do not automatically check the boxes from the previous

academic year •  Don’t check the box simply because the parent requests

the accommodation •  The student’s accommodation must be based on data,

curriculum, and manifestations of the disability •  Be prepared to discuss how an accommodation will be

implemented •  Be prepared to discuss why an accommodation is

necessary for FAPE

Reminder: All accommodations must be progress monitored and documentation will be presented for their impact on student academic performance. This data will be reviewed during the student’s next 504 meeting.


504 Committee Considerations when making Recommendations for Accommodations

q  Evaluate accommodation requests on a case by case basis

q  Involve coaches and sponsors in the 504 process.

q  Refer to the list of state-approved testing accommodations.

q  Understand purpose of the accommodation and make sure it is relevant to the demands of student academic performance

q  Tie each accommodation to the collected data indicating the manner in which the

disability is negatively impacting the student’s ability to access or benefit from education.

q  Work with parents and students to meet reasonable accommodation requests and document requests & decisions made by the 504 committee through the Success Ed Program.

q  Take into account other identifications a student may have (e.g., LEP), which may require specific accommodations based on area of need and/or content.

q  Accommodations need to be specific rather than general.

q  Parent, student, and teacher should have a clear understanding by the Section 504 meeting documentation as to what and how accommodations will be implemented.

q  All teachers, relevant staff and related services personnel should be informed of

accommodations for the student.


ReasonableAccommoda.onsinSchoolsmay

IncludeAdapta.onsandModifica.onsofAcademicAc.vi.es

•  Preferen.alsea.ng•  Adjus.ngthe.metocompleteanassignment•  Allowingtaperecordingsoflectures•  Allowingstudentstodictateanswers•  Allowingmore.metotaketests•  Providinganinterpreter•  Adjustedtestprocedures•  Individualizedhomeworkassignments•  Calculator,computer,taperecorder,wordprocessor/AlphaSmart

•  Pairingverbal&visualdirec.ons•  Assignmentnotebook/otherpersonalorganiza.onsystem


HOW to Provide Accommodations •  “Why” is important; but so is “HOW”

•  Discuss what the implementation of the accommodation will look like in the classroom

•  Predict and discuss some questions that may come up: where to access certain materials, how to document accommodations, where student will take a test that requires extra time, and what to do if student doesn’t want to utilize a particular accommodation

•  The teacher and student are at disadvantage if these communications don’t take place


Why Do We Have to Implement Accommodations?

u  Federal and State Laws and Regulations require

schools to provide accommodations to make sure that students with a disability have access to an appropriate education program.

u  Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires

that accommodations be provided to students with a disability.

u  The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination against any person with disabilities.

u  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 1997) requires that students with a disability have the opportunity to be involved and make progress in the general curriculum.

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2017-2018 17

Range of 504 Accommodations and Services

ü  Environmental accommodations ü  Instructional accommodations ü  State assessment accommodations ü  Instructional technology accommodations ü  Extracurricular accommodations ü  Supplementary aids and services (behavior intervention plans or

health plans) ü  Related services (such as counseling, homebound, transportation,

dyslexia) ü  Organizational aids (assignment notebooks or planning aids) ü  Tutoring or other intervention programs available to all

struggling students ü  This listing is not exhaustive, moreover, as a Section 504–eligible

student would be entitled to any accommodation or service that is necessary in order to have his or her educational needs met as adequately as those of their peers in the general education setting.


What are the responsibilities of regular education teachers with respect to implementation of Section 504 plans? What are the consequences if the district fails to

implement the plans?

Regular education teachers must implement the provisions of Section 504 plans when those plans govern the teachers' treatment of students for whom they are responsible. If the teachers fail to implement the plans, such failure can cause the school district to be in noncompliance with Section 504. NON-COMPLIANCE??? A school district is out of compliance when it is violating any provision of the Section 504 statute or regulations.

2016-2017 Campus Professional Development Presentation 19

OfficeofCivilRightshastheauthoritytoterminatetheschool’sfederalfunding

ParentscanfileDueProcessHearingandini.atecourt

proceedings

OfficeofCivilRightsmayini.atecomplaint

inves.ga.on,compliancereviews,andenforcement

proceedings


Case Study G.B.L. v. Bellevue School District No. 405 (W.D. Washington 2013)

•  Student identified with ADHD and hearing impairment

•  District Gifted Program was fast paced with significant amounts of homework assigned each night

•  Parent requested accommodation limiting student’s homework to only 2 hours each night.

•  District argued that the assigned homework included independent study which was a fundamental component of the gifted program

•  District argued that the student would be unable to keep up with class discussions if he only completed 2 hours of homework per night


Court Findings of Fact •  Court found student couldn’t meet programs

standards even with requested accommodation and other supports offered by District

•  The court established that the quantity of homework distinguished the faster-paced gifted program from regular classes and that without completing each night’s entire workload, the student could not effectively participate in class discussions.

•  The court ruled that the full homework assignments were an essential part of the gifted program that the district was not required to modify.

•  While Districts cannot exclude students with disabilities from gifted programs solely because of need of accommodations; the obligation is limited to providing reasonable accommodations to students, who, but for their disabilities are qualified to participate in a program.

Campus Professional Development Presentation 2017-2018 23

Court Decision

Court held that District did not violate Section 504 in failing to reduce homework assignments as an accommodation for a student with ADHD enrolled in a gifted program. Districts are only required to make reasonable accommodations, not modifications to programs or standards to accommodate individuals with disabilities that would fundamentally alter the nature of the program.


Important NOTE §  Section 504 is not a statute of reduced

expectations. For Section 504 students, the expectation is grade level performance. No exceptions!

§  Section 504 students are responsible for

the state-required curriculum. In a letter to administrators, TEA stated: “The only way regular academic standards can be changed, modified or exempted is through the ARD Committee process.

Source: TEA, “To the Administrator Addressed Letter, November 15, 1995.


Extracurricular Activities •  Parent was “asked” to attend field trip to

administer the insulin shots to her diabetic daughter and the District had no other plans to implement the Section 504 plan regarding the insulin shots during the field trip if parent did not attend

•  During OCR investigation, staff members stated there was no written policy that parents of students with diabetes were required to attend, but parents were expected to do so

•  OCR found this was unlawful (OCR 2016)


Scenario Section 504 Student

•  Student suffers from debilitating headaches and the necessary medication leaves him unable to attend his home campus according to his physician

•  Student has been receiving Homebound instructional services for most of his senior year

•  He has no cognitive disabilities and has made good grades his entire academic career, including during his participation with homebound services

•  Section 504 committee and Homebound committee agree his LRE, appropriate placement is Homebound

•  Parent wants him to attend senior day festivities at his home campus but wants him excused from his state assessments due to his disability

•  Parent claims he is in too much pain to take the assessment and has refused to make the student available for state assessment

•  Parent files an OCR complaint


OCR Decision •  OCR found no discrimination: the District’s

actions towards the student regarding the state assessment testing was not discriminatory

•  However, OCR found fault with the District

regarding the accommodations and class work that were provided inconsistently to the student so they found a denial of FAPE

•  Lesson Learned: a complaint can be based on

one thing but when OCR gets the documentation will look for any and all violations based on the violation of Section 504 mandates


Documentation and Maintaining Confidentiality

v  The student's 504 records shall be placed in the student's Blue 504 folder and maintained by the campus 504 Coordinator.

v  The records must be kept confidential, other than for staff who has

a legitimate educational purpose in accessing the information or other allowable release of information pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

v  The student's teachers and any other personnel who have a

legitimate educational purpose to access the information (bus drivers, security guards, lunch aides, classroom aides, nurse, the student, if able to understand and advocate, etc.), shall receive copies of the student's IAP.

v  Right to confidentiality unless staff meet the “need to know” criteria

29 Campus Professional Development

2017-2018

Documentation and Maintaining Confidentiality

Ø The law dictates that the student’s disability and the accommodations be discussed and implemented privately between teacher and student without making others in the classroom aware of either the disability or accommodations

Ø  In some instances, it will be impossible for

others in the room not to be aware of certain accommodations. However, please handle as discretely as possible to protect the student’s right to confidentiality


Contact Information: UNITED I.S.D. Section 504 and Dyslexia Department

Department of School Improvement Ø  Melissa Cruz, Executive Director of School Improvement Ext. 2142 [email protected] Ø  Guadalupe M. Perez, Director, Section 504 & Dyslexia Programs Ext. 5246 [email protected] Ø  Marissa Perez, Dyslexia Coordinator Ext. 5267 [email protected] Ø  Thelma Bustamante, Itinerant Dyslexia Teacher Ext. 2115 [email protected] Geraldine Tienda, Assistant Ext. 2179 [email protected]


Questions


Resources •  OCR Guidance for Public Schools (ADAAA)

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/dcl-504faq-201109.pdf

•  OCR Section 504 Q & A http://www2.ed.gov/print/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html

•  Section 504 Compliance Advisor http://www.shopirp.com

•  Rose-Ann McKernan Executive Director Office of Accountability & Reporting and 504 Compliance Office, Albuquerque Public Schools

•  Accommodations: Decide, Document, Monitor, PowerPoint, Carrie Perkis NCDPI Division of Accountability Services Conference on Exceptional Children November 2010, Public Schools of North Carolina

•  Advanced Section 504 Training PowerPoint, Presented by: Diane Marshall-Freeman, Partner Becky P. Feil, Associate

•  EDS 513: Legal Issues in Special Education Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 PowerPoint, Presented by: Kristina Krampe, 2005

•  Sonya M. Ga •  Section 504 Review and Update Powerpoint Sonya M. Garcia, J. Cruz &

Associates, LLC [email protected]


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