#needsbased

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Twice this year I’ve had friends vent to me about their struggles and frustrations in ensuring that their child’s educational needs are being met at school and it has absolutely infuriated me that this is happening. A parent should never have to fight to ensure that their child’s educational needs are being met! This is especially true if the child has a diagnosed medical condition that impacts their learning. In these cases, which both of them were, it is not only educationally unconscionable for a school not to meet the needs of these students but it is also illegal.

The rights of students with a diagnosed medical condition are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, specifically section 504.  A 504, as it is commonly called in the school system, protects the rights of those students in any school or program that receive Federal funding from the Department of Education.  If a school or program fails to protect these rights then the school could lose their federal funding and/or face litigation by the Department of Justice.

If you feel that your child should receive a 504 the first step would be to contact your school.  Each school processes these request differently however nearly all require that you provide a physician’s report documenting you child’s medical condition.  Once this is provided the process to create the 504 is relatively simple, at our school it takes less than 30 minutes. The school will then have a conversation with you on how to best meet the individual needs of your child, so that your child receives the same quality of education as a child without a medical condition. Once this has taken place the school creates the 504 to ensure that your child’s educational needs are being met.

A couple of great resources are:

http://ncld.org/students-disabilities/iep-504-plan/developing-successful-504-plan-k-12-students

http://www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/iep-504-plan/five-things-to-know-about-504-plan

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html