Understanding Section 504

1. Understanding Section 504 Shannon McMinimee General Counsel

2. Learning Objectives At the end of the session, participants will: • Understand the basic legal obligations owed to students with disabilities under Section 504 • Be able to describe Section 504 obligations • Be able to implement Section 504 obligations • Able to differentiate situations where Section 504 and IDEA procedures apply

3. Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Section 504 is a federal law designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs that receive financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education

4. Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973 • Section 504 applies to all public and private schools that receive federal funds (directly or indirectly) from the Department of Education • Applies to all programs and activities that are subsidized or supported by school districts • School-sponsored or supported programs and activities that take place outside of school hours • Equality of access to participate

5. Relationship Between Section 504 and IDEA Students eligible for Special Education are a subset of students eligible for 504 Protections Students with Disabilities Students Eligible for Special Education

6. Understanding the 504 Process • Child Find • Referral • Evaluation • Accommodation Plans • Section 504 Teams • Continuing Obligations – Manifestations, Reevaluations

7. Child Find • Under the IDEA and state regulations, each school district has an obligation to identify students with disabilities age 3 to 21 living within each district, regardless of school attendance • While Child Find is a special education requirement, the process also identifies students who are eligible for 504

8. 504 Referral • Anyone can make a referral to determine if a student is eligible for protection pursuant to 504 • The referral should be made in writing, and receipt of the referral should be acknowledged in writing

9. When Should a Section 504 Referral be Made? • Student is chronically absent from school for medical or mental health reasons • Student is returning to school from serious illness or injury • Student is failing to advance from grade to grade despite general education interventions being put in place

10. When Should a Section 504 Referral be Made? • Student is displaying a pattern of behavior problems that do not dissipate with interventions or progressive discipline • Student diagnosed with life threatening health condition • Student was referred to special education for evaluation but was determined not to be a candidate for an evaluation or found ineligible

11. 504 EligibilityConducting an Evaluation • Must obtain parental consent to conduct a 504 evaluation • Conducting a 504 evaluation is a team making decisions on specific questions based upon data, and parents are part of the team • May be broad, including considering aptitude and achievement data, medical and psychological data, social and cultural information, or narrow, including considering just medical data

12. 504 Eligibility • To be protected under Section 504, a student must be determined to: • Have a physical or mental impairment • That substantially limits • One or more major life activities

13. 504 Eligibility: Physical or Mental Impairment • 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; • Any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities

14. 504 Eligibility: Physical or Mental Impairment • Includes temporary impairments and episodic conditions • Students receiving treatment for cancer or who are in remission from cancer • Students who are dealing with temporary physical or mental health impairments • Includes any student with a life threatening health condition • A condition that puts a student in danger of death if a plan is not in place • Examples: Diabetes, epilepsy, heart conditions

15. 504 Eligibility: Physical or Mental Impairment • Addiction to drugs or alcohol may be a physical or mental impairment that may result in a student being eligible for 504 • But active drug and alcohol use is not excused by the student being an addict or alcoholic • Mitigating measures (i.e. taking medication, medical devices, related aids and services) cannot be considered in determining if a student has a qualifying impairment • There is no list of specific diseases or categories of medical conditions

16. 504 Eligibility: Physical or Mental Impairment Does a family have to provide proof a medical diagnosis for a student to be eligible for 504?

17. 504 Eligibility: Physical or Mental Impairment Does a family have to provide proof a medical diagnosis for a student to be eligible for 504?

18. 504 Eligibility: Substantially Limits • A physical or mental impairment substantially limits a major life activity for a student if the impairment substantially limits the student’s ability to perform a major life activity as compared to the student’s non-disabled age/grade peers • An impairment need not prevent, or significantly or severely restrict, a student in performing a major life activity to be considered substantially limiting • There is no single formula or scale that measures substantial limitation

19. 504 Eligibility: One or More Major Life Activities • Include major bodily functions such as the functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions • Also include specific functions such as caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working

20. 504 Eligibility: Evaluation Measures • Academic Progress • Homework • Tests • Handwriting Samples • District-wide Assessments • Standardized Achievement Tests • Academic Outcomes • Grade Point Average • Grades • Assessment Portfolios • State Assessments

21. 504 Eligibility: Evaluation Measures • Behavioral Outcomes • Discipline Record • Office Referrals • Referrals to the Counselor • Counseling Notes • Behavioral Progress • Behavioral Assessment System for Children • Functional Behavioral Assessment • Heath Concerns • Attendance • Nurse’s Office Visits • Medical Records • Specific Deficit Assessments • Auditory Assessment • Motor Skills Assessment by OT/PT

22. Section 504 – Accommodation Plans • School districts must provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to each student with a disability who is in the district's jurisdiction, regardless of the nature or severity of the student's disability • “Appropriate” means designed to meet the individual educational needs of a disabled student as adequately as the needs of non-disabled students are met

23. Section 504 – Accommodation Plans • It does not mean that a school district must maximize a disabled student’s potential. It means sufficient individualized services to enable a disabled student to receive educational benefit (i.e., not maximum benefit, not minimal benefit, some benefit) • For eligible disabled students who don’t need specially designed instruction in order to access education, an Accommodation Plan needs to be developed

24. Section 504 – Accommodation Plans • Physical Access • Transportation • Classroom • Playground • Extracurricular activities • Sensory/Motor Access • Hearing aids/FM systems • Braille and other tools for visually impaired students • Paraeducator support for students with motor needs • Academic Access • Allow shortened assignments • Allow for breaks • Allow for extra time • Scribes/Electronic Aides • Behavioral Access • Functional Behavior Assessments • Positive Behavior Intervention Plans

25. Section 504 – Accommodation Plans • Students with Life Threatening Conditions • For a student whose only disability is a life threatening health condition, an Individual Healthcare Plan may serve as the student’s Section 504 plan. • The process to develop an Individual Healthcare Plan must be based on evaluation and placement procedures that satisfy the requirements of Section 504

26. Section 504 Teams

27. Section 504 Teams: Who are They? • The membership of a 504 team will vary depending upon the needs of each student • A nurse will be on the 504 team of a student with a life threatening health condition • A psychologist or counselor may be on the 504 team of a student with a behavioral disorder or mental health condition • The composition of a 504 team is fluid and may change within a school year or between school years • A 504 team must consist of at least two people and must include persons knowledgeable about the student

28. Section 504 Teams: What Do They Do? • Draft the initial 504 plan • Monitor the student’s progress and make any changes or updates as needed • Provide input on accommodations for tests like the PSAT and SAT • Provide input on retention decisions • Determine what an appropriate educational placement for the student is

29. Section 504 Continuing Obligations: Manifestations • A school district must conduct a 504 Manifestation Determination Review meetings when a student is out of school for ten or more school days as a result of a disciplinary offense, or there is a pattern of removals for shorter periods • A student cannot be disciplined for their disability • The 504 Manifestation Paperwork is NOT the same as the Special Education Paperwork • If you are holding a 504 Manifestation, your Building 504 Coordinator should advise the Assistant Director of Special Education assigned to support your building.

30. Section 504 Continuing Obligations: Reevaluations • A school district should conduct 504 reevaluations whenever there is a substantial change in the student’s mental or physical impairment or the student’s ability to access education • Otherwise, it is appropriate to do reevaluations at least every three years and as a part of a transition from elementary to middle school, and a transition middle school to high school • The school district must notify parents before it conducts a reevaluation, but it does need not obtain written consent for a reevaluation

31. 504 Process Flow Chart • Refer the Student: • • Complete Student referral form and return to building Section 504 Coordinator. • Decide Whether to Evaluate the student: • • Does the Student Intervention Team know or suspect that, because of a disability, the student needs special education or related aids or services to participate in or benefit from school? • • Provide parent or guardian Notice of Action/Consent and Notice of Rights form. • • Obtain consent for initial evaluation.

32. 504 Process Flow Chart 3. Evaluate the Student: • Evaluate the specific areas of the student’s educational needs. • SIT reviews all data made available to it, i.e., District evaluations, parent provided evaluations, teacher reports, reports cards etc. • Determine Student’s Eligibility: • • Review evaluation results and determine eligibility. • • Complete the Eligibility Determination form. • • Provide parents Notice of Action/Consent and Notice of Rights form.

33. 504 Process Flow Chart • Develop Section 504 Plan for Student: • Develop a Section 504 Plan. May combine with eligibility meeting. • Assign a case manager to monitor implementation and student progress. • Provide parent or guardian Notice of Action/Consent and Notice of Rights form and copy of Section 504 Plan. • Obtain consent for initial placement. • 6. Annually Review Student Section 504 Plan: • • Review and revise the student’s Section 504 Plan. • Review and revise the student’s Section 504 Plan. Provide parent or guardian Notice of Action/Consent and Notice of Rights form.

34. Comparison BetweenSection 504 and IDEA Section 504 • A federal civil rights law designed to eliminate disability discrimination in all programs and activities that receive federal funds. • Applies to “school age” children with physical/mental impairment substantially limiting a major life function of functions • Parent participation and notices • Consent required for initial evaluation • FAPE - delivered by a 504 Plan (Accommodations and modifications) IDEA • A federal funding law designed to provide funds educate disabled students • Applies to 3-21 with one of 14 specific disabilities • Parent participation and notices • Consent required for initial and most re-evaluations • FAPE – delivered by an IEP (Specially designed education and appropriate accommodations and modifications)

35. Comparison BetweenSection 504 and IDEA Section 504 • Periodic Re-evaluations • No IEEs available • Manifestation Determinations • Enforced by due process hearings conducted by a hearing officer appointed by the district or by the federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR) IDEA • Re-evaluations every 3 years • Parents have the ability to seek Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs) • Manifestation Determinations • Enforced by due process hearings or Citizen’s Complaints through OSPI or by the federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).

36. Section 504:School Resources • Building 504 Coordinator • A staff member who is designated to coordinate all Section 504 activities with the school and is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the Section 504 referral process • Multidisciplinary Team/Student Intervention Team • Responsible for executing Section 504 identification, evaluation, placement, and reviews at the school

37. Section 504: Central Resources • Jennifer Traufler and the Assistant Directors of Special Education • Consultation and Guidance • Central Support Team • Safety Plans • Student Transfer Issues • Resource Allocation

38. Section 504:Written Resources • Section 504 Manual and Forms –Shared Documents of Guidance and Counseling • Seattle Public School’s 504 Manual • Office for Civil Rights

39. Questions ?