Section 504
Purpose
School Personal are required to identify students with disabilities and provide an education that could be comparable to an education for a student without disabilities.
Personal Insight: As a teacher this will be important because it is my responsibility to find these students and help them receive the support that they need.
It makes it so students can participate in school and nonacademic activities as a child without disabilities would.
Personal Insight: This creates an equal environment between all kids because it makes it so the child who has a disability is given the same opportunity as the child without one.
It's a law to protect individuals with disabilities not be discriminated against in programs and activities.
Principles of 504
Procedural Safeguards
Right to request due process
Notice must also be given about right to examine educational records
Notice must be given before identification, evaluation, or placement.
Evaluation and placement Procedures
Prevents misclassification and misplacement
Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
Given a free and appropriate public education regardless of the severity of their disabilities.
Extracurricular Activities
Providing equal opportunities to students with disabilities in extracurricular athletics
Avoiding Discrimination
Actions to avoid this
modifying classroom methods, materials, and procedures
conducting interventions in general education classrooms
assigning paraprofessionals
reassigning classes
redesigning equipment
altering structure
Comparable Facilities
Students with disabilities facilities must be comparable to students without disabilities facilities.
comparable in size, space, ventilation, furnishings, lighting, equipment, and temperature.
Reasonable Accommodations
Must make modifications to the existing environment to eliminate barriers for individuals with disabilities.
Modifications and accommodations need to be made to programs so that all students disabled or not may benefit from them.
Physical Accessibility
Requires schools to make activities academic and nonacademic physically accessible to students with disabilities
Protection from discrimination
Must see that buildings are accessible, programs are accessible, and students with disabilities are educated in comparable facilities.
504 requires that students with disabilities are given an equal opportunity as those without disabilities (Also known as the commensurate opportunity standard)
Applies to all programs in a school district
School District Responsibilities Under Section 504
Education Obligations
reevaluation
is required periodically before change in placement
this includes graduation
placement
504 team needs to decide where the student will receive their educational services
Least restrictive environment needs to be considered when deciding placement
regular classroom, regular classrooms with related services(push in), special classrooms, at hoe, or private/public institutions and can have related services.
programming
the team designs services that the child needs.
evaluation
following referral school decided if there needs to be an evaluation for services.
identification
schools need to find students with disabilities and notify them and their parents of FAPE.
Administrative Responsibilities
child find
Responsibility includes students transferring from other school districts, students in private schools, and homeless children
staff training
self-evaluation
ensures that 504 mandates are followed by school
establishment of grievance procedures
Must include procedural safeguards in grievance procedures
public notification of schools responsibilities under section 504
Appointment of section 504 coordinator
coordinator keeps school up to date with compliance of 504
Protection
Personal insight: These protections extend to students that are not covered by IDEA for an IEP. This allows them to receive the help they need without having all of the requirements an IEP requires.
Person with a record of impairment
Personal Insight: I think this is important to know because of excluding a child from an activity because of past impairments will be a violation of 504. I think a lot of teachers tend to do this accidently and should be addressed.
Protection applies only to activities that are receiving federal assistance.
If the disability is affecting performance in their life then they are protected.
thirteen disabilities
ADHD, Tourette syndrome, asthma, diabetes, arthritis, allergies, AIDS, alcohol addictions, drug problems, poor impulse control, antisocial behavior, poor judgement, and those treated as if they have a disability.
poor impulse control, antisocial behavior, and poor judgement need to have further impairments that interfere with their daily lives to be covered by section 504.
Those with drug and alcohol issues need to not be using or participating in these habits while under the protection of 504.
This protects someone who has a physical or mental impairment that gets in the way of life activities.
Development
equal opportunity was finally given from 1973 due to advocacy groups which forced the carter administration to write regulations on may 4, 1977.
There was a four year delay on enforcing this law due to confusion in the interpretation of the law from 1973-1977
amendments to section 504 extended civil rights protections to those with disabilities in 1974
Nixon vetoed this law twice before it was rewritten and was signed the following year in 1973
It was first signed as part of the rehabilitation act.
Subchapters of Section 504
Subpart G
Procedures
Describes procedures for ensuring compliance with section 504.
Subpart F
Health, welfare, and social services
Prohibits discrimination in health, welfare, and social services receiving federal financial assistance.
Subpart E
Postsecondary Education
Prohibits discrimination in postsecondary programs receiving federal financial assistance.
Subpart D
Preschool, Elementary, and Secondary Education
Prohibits discrimination in preschool, elementary, and secondary programs receiving federal financial assistance.
Subpart C
Program Accessibility
Describes accessibility in usability of facilities
Subpart B
Employment practices
Prohibits discrimination in employment practices
Subpart A
General Provisions
States purpose, definitions
Code
29 US Code § 794
Enforcement of Section 504
Personal Insight: The enforcement of 504 is important to know to educate other teachers about it and help them correctly implement this for their students,
Filing a suit in federal court
Steps: rule IDEA issue then 504 issue, will rule on 504 issue (if separate), must be heard in due process hearing, state will determine if parents go to court or due process.
filing a complaint to the OCR of the U.S. Department of Education
Steps: investigation, verbal finding of violation, compliance or noncompliance, if not compliant then violation uncorrected letter of finding issued, negotiations, and possible enforcement proceedings (if no agreement).
requesting due process
would be a impartial hearing
filing a grievance
Can be filed with section 504 coordinator
