{ Section 504 Non-Discrimination Duty School districts are - - PDF document

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Counselors Role in Ensuring Equal Educational Opportunity

Section 504

Non-Discrimination Duty

School districts are prohibited from:

Excluding a student with a disability from participation in any district program or activity;

Ñ Denying a student with a disability the benefits of any

district program or activity; and

Ñ Subjecting a student with a disability to discrimination

solely by reason of her disability.

Non Discrimination Duty

Ñ Civil Rights Act of 1964 contains a general prohibition

against denying or restricting any service or providing any service in a different manner from that provided to

• thers.

Title VI

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Ñ Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in

educational programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance.

Ñ The Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, is

responsible for enforcing these laws in programs or activities that receive assistance from Department of Education.

Title IX

Ñ The Law 29 USC 794.34 CFR 104.1 Ñ Section 504 requires that: “ No other qualified individual

with a handicap in the United States… shall, solely by reason of his or her handicap, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance” (29 USC 794.34 CFR 104.1)

Section 504

Ñ When considering whether a student qualifies under

Section 504, the education practitioner should ask the following three questions:

3 Critical Questions

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1.

Does the student have a potentially limiting mental or physical disability or impairment?

2.

Does the student's ability impair a major life activity(seeing, hearing, walking, breathing working, performing manual tasks, learning eating, sleeping, standing, lifting, bending, reading, concentrating, thinking, speaking?

3.

Is the degree of Impairment Substantial?

3 Critical Questions

Ñ Care should be given to remember that a Section 504

evaluation is not a medical diagnosis, it is an educational decision made by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure that the student is provided equal access to learning

• pportunities afforded to all students.

Section 504

Ñ Student Ñ Parent Ñ 504 Coordinator Ñ School Psychologist Ñ Nurse Ñ Teachers/Administrator/Counselor

Section 504 Team

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Ñ When considering a referral for evaluation under Section 504

a teacher, other school personnel or a parent may refer the student for evaluation.

Ñ Note:

Ô Disability is suspect Ô On going behavior problems Ô Health problems are present

Referring Process

Ñ Wriien Request is made to the school Section 504

coordinator

Ñ The school is to provide a timely response and schedule a

date for the evaluation meeting, request for records by the parent/guardian, and provide a copy of the procedural safeguards.

Referral Process

Ñ When the Notice of the 504 meeting is sent out it is very

important that the notice contain the purpose of the meeting.

Ó Ex: The purpose of the meeting is to determine the

impairment that the student has been diagnosed with and does that impairment qualify the student for 504 services. If the impairment affects the student's ability to learn, then the 504 Team should develop an accommodation plan

Notice of Meeting

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Ñ The notice should also include that the students’ records

will be reviewed; the 504 Team might interview experts that are familiar with the presented impairment; and to collect any new data that might be needed in order to assist the 504 Team to make a determination about the student's qualification for a 504 plan.

Notice of Meeting

Ñ In short the meeting notice should include: Ó The time and place of the 504 meeting Ó State the purpose of the meeting, “ determine if there is an

impairment and does it limit a major life function”

Ó 2nd purpose: review educational and other appropriate

records, collect new data about the student and interview educators who have knowledge of this student

Notice of Meeting

Ñ Achievement Tests Ñ Teacher Observations Ñ Academic Interventions Ñ Report Cards Ñ Student Work Samples Ñ Medical Report

(Health issues affecting ability to learn or educational progress)

Ñ Special Education Assessments

Data

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Ñ Product of a 504 meeting is an accommodation plan Ñ Plan to include: Ô List present levels of performance Ô Identify the major life activity affected (i.e. walking,

seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning working, caring for one’s self) and to what degree

Ô Specify the specific disabling condition Ô Note the changes in the educational seiing,

instructional materials and instructional strategies that are recommended.

Accommodation Plan

Ñ Section 504 isn't designed to improve average grades,

raise high-stake test scores or reduce homework

• responsibilities. By following 504 eligibility requirements

closely, you can avoid over identification and demonstrate to parents that the law isn’t designed to provide educational support to students without disabilities.

Grades and Tests

What is to be done for special cases of “sudden” physical disability?

Ñ One exception to the IEP or 504 requirement is for students

who have had a physical injury (e.g., broken hand or arm) that impairs their ability to use a computer. For these situations, students may use the speech-to-text or scribe accommodations (if deemed appropriate based on the student having had sufficient experience with the use of the accommodations)

Testing Accommodations

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Ñ Related service means a service to a student with a

disability that he or she need to benefit from and/or access a school’s education program. For example, ones that without the service, the student with a disability would not be able to aiend school, achieve passing grades, or advance from grade to grade. Related services include, but are not limited to:

Related Services

Ñ School health services Ñ Counseling/social work services Transportation Ñ Audiology services Ñ Speech-language services Ñ Physical and occupational therapy Psychological/

behavioral services Assistive technology device and/or service Orientation and mobility services

Related Services

Ñ Laureie is a 6th grader with a hearing impairment. She

does not require special education, but has been identified under Section 504. As one of the accommodations in her Section 504 plan, Laueie’s teacher uses an FM auditory trainer system which transmits the sound of the teacher's voice through a lapel microphone directly to Laureie’s single hearing aid. This amplifies the teacher’s voice and reduces classroom background noise. The 504 plan also includes audiology

• services. The school’s audiologist periodically provides

indirect service by consulting with the teacher and Laureie, as well as checking the baieries and the seiings of the system.

Related Services -Scenario

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Ñ Wells is a 2nd grader with an orthopedic impairment and

identified under Section 504. In addition to direct physical therapy, his Section 504 plan provides assistive technology (AT) services. The district’s AT carpenter/technician adapts Well’s desk chair to add extra cushioning and custom armrests to accommodate his ability to stay balanced while siiing in the chair. He also adapts Well’s desk to provide a tilted work surface.

Related Services Scenario

Ñ A student with a disability who is IDEA-eligible in most

cases is also covered under Section 504.

Ñ OCR Leier to Veir 20IDELR 864 (OCR1993), Ñ “[This office] cannot conceive of any situation in which

[IDEA-eligible] children would not also be entitled to protection extended by Section 504”

Ñ “No provision in Section 504 or the IDEA requires, or

allows, IDEA-eligible student or district to choose between the two statutory schemes.”

OCR Guidance

Ñ OCR stated that it is impermissible for a student's

parent to refuse to accept IDEA services and require the district to develop an IEP under Section 504. A rejection of the services offered under the IDEA amounts to a rejection of services offered under Section 504.

Ô Leier to McKethan, 25 IDELR 295 (OCR 1996)

OCR Guidance

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“Some kids need special education … Others need something special in their education” Education Week, June 1998

Guiding Quote