504 or IEP? What’s the difference and does my child need one?

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A bit of history first:

Prior to 1973, children with special needs were usually all treated the same way and were literally “housed” at one end of a school building with little integration into activities with their same-age peers. Less was expected of this group of kids. Then the Section 504 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was passed, requiring any school receiving federal monies to provide a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) to each individual with a disability, regardless of the nature of the disability.

Then in 1990, Congress passed The American with Disabilities Act (ADA), which encompassed the previous 504 recommendations and added the IEP process to education.

The main points of ADA are:

• Equal opportunity of a qualified student with a disability to benefit from educational services.
• That the disabled student be educated with his/her peers in a regular classroom with the maximum time extent possible.
• Equal access to academic services.
• These services are offered free.
• Equal access to nonacademic settings, such as extracurricular activities, meals, recess and PE.

How does ADA define a disability:

1. Any person with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities, or
2. An individual who has a record of those impairments.

Major life activities can include: (but are not limited to) performing manual tasks, seeing hearing, speaking, eating, walking, standing, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, and thinking.

Physical impairment can include: (but are not limited to) disfigurement, loss of limb, immune system, bladder or bowel, neurological, skin or respiratory problems.

Mental impairment can include: intellectual disability, mental illness or specific learning disorders like reading, writing, communication or academic failure.

 

The difference between an IEP and a 504 accommodation –

What is an IEP?

1. An IEP modifies the learning program to allow the child to learn through special services. It does not mean the child is doing grade-level work the same as his/her peers.
2. IDEA requires public schools to develop an IEP for every student with a disability who is found to meet the federal and state requirements for special education. The IEP must be designed to provide an educational program to a child with a disability and to provide written documents that describe that educational program.
3. Students must be assessed in all areas related to the suspected disability (ies), including accepting outside testing. Other considerations are access to the general curriculum, considering how the disability affects the student’s learning, developing goals and objectives that make the biggest difference for the student, and ultimately choosing a placement in the least restrictive environment.

 

What is Section 504?

1. Unlike the IEP, 504 is an accommodation program, a way to level the playing field for children who remain in the regular classroom. It is not meant to reduce the learning expectations of the child, but it allows for special considerations in order for the child to learn equally as well using their learning style.
2. A student is eligible for accommodations under Section 504 if the student has mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more of a students’s major life activities that impacts education.
3. Many students eligible for Section 504 accommodations have special health care needs; some could include: HIV, Tourette syndrome, attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), heart malfunctions, communicable diseases, urinary conditions, blood disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, school phobia, respiratory conditions such as asthma, epilepsy, cancer, birth defects, tuberculosis, diabetes, and food allergies.
4. Some children who do not qualify for special education may be eligible for services under Section 504, developed by a team that includes the parents and can provide the student with accommodations or services that are needed.
5. It must be emphasized that Section 504 falls under the management responsibility of the general education program. The school staff and parents need to work in collaboration to help guarantee that the student is getting a fair chance at learning or being involved. There are hundreds of accommodations available. The school counselor or the state education website governing your state should have these listed out.

 

Things to know:

IEP’s and 504 accommodations are legally binding, written documents that outline the special education program, services and related accommodations based on the child’s disability.

Parent and student participation in decision making: IDEA requires that parents must be given the opportunity to play a central role in the planning and decision making regarding their child’s education. Parents must have the opportunity to participate in the meetings regarding identification, evaluation, educational placement and the provision of FAPE to the student. Student participation is strongly encouraged, particularly when addressing transition planning.

For additional information, check out this practical and clearly organized infographic for the IEP process The National Center for Learning Disabilities has put together. Use the tool as a “road map” to your child or student’s education.