504

=What is a 504 plan?=

=
A 504 Education Plan provides classroom accommodations for students who need them. A 504 Education Plan places on record specific classroom accommodations designed to assist the student with a medically documented disability perform to the best of their abilities. The plan must be reviewed and followed by all academic (Science, Social Studies, English, Math) and non- academic (Physical Education, Art, Music) which the child has classes. For all 504 Education Plans, medical documentation of the child’s disability is required.=====

=
The plan may also be revisited at any time at the request of the parent or guardian or by any of the child’s teachers. If the parent, guardian, or teacher does not feel that the school staff is following the 504 plan or that the accommodations initially proposed are not working for the student, changes in the 504 plan can be arranged. Such frequent review and revision of the plan ensures the child’s needs are being met. Examples of some accommodations are: preferential seating; having instructions repeated frequently; visual aids, charts and graphs; organizational aids such as a homework planner or journal; colored as opposed to black and white copies of graphs and charts; and, allowing for breaks when needed.=====

=
Children who receive I.E.P.’s are tested for learning disabilities and are found to have specific areas of learning disrupted. The child who qualifies for a 504 plan has no learning disability but has a medical condition that directly affects their learning. In other words, but for the medical problem, the child has no specific learning disability.=====

[] []

A 504 plan, which falls under civil-rights law, is an attempt to remove barriers and allow students with disabilities to participate freely; like the Americans With Disabilities Act, it seeks to level the playing field so that those students can safely pursue the same opportunities as everyone else. An IEP, which falls under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, is much more concerned with actually providing educational services. Students eligible for an [|IEP,] or Individualized Education Plan, represent a small subset of all students with disabilities. They generally require more than a level playing field -- they require significant remediation and assistance, and are more likely to work on their own level at their own pace even in an inclusive classroom. Only certain classifications of disability are eligible for an IEP, and students who do not meet those classifications but still require some assistance to be able to participate fully in school would be candidates for a 504 plan. http://specialchildren.about.com/od/504s/f/504faq2.htm
 * How Does a 504 Plan Differ from an IEP?**