Section 504
Handbook
Revised August 2011
Lee County Schools 504 Handbook
Table of Contents
Introduction
Student Protection under Section 504
The Process of Identification
Preparation for a 504 Meeting
Conducting a 504 Meeting
Conducting an Annual Review
Section 504 Determination and Testing
College Board/ACT Requirements for Accommodations
Conducting a Manifestation Hearing
Grievance Procedures and Appeal Process
Acknowledgements
Appendix
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Introduction
Section 504 is a federal law designed to protect rights of individuals with
disabilities in programs and activities that receive federal funds from the U.S.
Department of Education (ED). Recipients of these funds include public school
districts, institution of higher education and other state and local education
agencies.
Section 504 requires a school district to provide a ‘free appropriate public
education’ (FAPE) to each qualified student with a disability who is in the school
district’s jurisdiction, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability. FAPE
consists of the provision of regular or special education and related aids and
services designed to meet the student’s individual needs. (US Department of
Education)
Student Protection under Section 504
Section 504 requires that school districts provide a free and appropriate public
education to qualified students in the jurisdiction who have a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits one or more major life functions.
Students considered for Section 504 protection must have a diagnosis by a
professional health care/mental health care clinician qualified to make such a
diagnosis. The diagnosis must confirm a physical or mental disability and the
diagnosed disability must substantially limit one or more major life functions.
This determination must be made without regard to any “ameliorative effects of
mitigating measures.” (ADAAA of 2008)
Mitigating measures include but are not limited to:
Medication
Medical supplies, equipment or appliances
Low vision devices (excluding ordinary eyeglasses or contact
lenses)
Prosthetics
Hearing aids or cochlear implants
Mobility devices
Oxygen therapy
Assistive technology
Reasonable accommodations or auxiliary aids or services
Learned behavioral or adaptive neurological modifications
If the student is currently using any mitigating measures, the assessment must
include information concerning the student’s expected or demonstrated condition
in the absence of such measures.
An impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would
substantially limit a major life activity when active.
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A temporary impairment does not constitute a disability for purposes of Section
504 unless its severity is such that it results in a substantial limitation of one or
more major life activities for an extended period of time. A transitory impairment
is an impairment with an actual or expected duration of six months or less.
Physical or mental impairments that limit a major life activity include but are not
limited to the following:
Physical Impairment
Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfiguration 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
Endocrine
Mental/Psychological Impairment
Any mental or psychological disorder such as:
Mental retardation
Organic Brain Syndrome
Emotional or mental illness
Specific learning disabilities
Major Life Activity
Caring for one’s self
Performing manual tasks
Eating
Sleeping
Walking
Standing
Lifting
Bending
Seeing
Hearing
Speaking
Breathing
Working
Learning
Thinking
Concentrating
Communicating
Reading
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Substantially Limiting
Substantially limiting is defined as being “unable to perform a major life activity
that the average person in the general population can perform” or being
“significantly restricted as to the condition, manner or duration under which an
individual can perform a major life activity as compared to the condition, manner
or duration under which the average person in the general population can
perform that same major life activity.”
When To Consider 504 Eligibility
• Student returns to school after a serious illness, injury and/or
hospitalization (including psychiatric/substance abuse)
• Student exhibits a chronic health condition
• Student is taking medication
• Long-term suspension or expulsion is being considered
• Substance abuse is an issue
• Retention is being considered
• Student exhibits a pattern of not benefiting from instruction
• Student continues to exhibit behavior problems
• Student has been evaluated and is not IDEA eligible
• Parent request
Transitory Impairment Plan
In the event that a student becomes impaired (i.e. breaks a finger on their
writing hand) or experiences an emergency (i.e. breaks glasses on the way to
school on the day of testing) such that modifications are required on the End of
Grade or End of Course assessments, the Transitory Impairment Plan must be
completed in order for the student to take the test(s) with modifications. A copy
of the form should be kept in the principal’s office and a copy faxed to the testing
office.
The Process of Identification
The school or parent/guardian may initiate a referral.
Parent/Guardian Referral
If the parent/guardian initiates a referral, the parent must complete the
‘Parent/Guardian Request for Consideration Under Section 504/ADA’ form in
writing and submit to the 504 Chair at the school.
Upon receipt of the request for consideration of 504 status, the 504 Chair or
designee will contact the student’s teachers and begin collecting data regarding
the student’s performance at school.
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While there is no specific time period specified in Section 504, IDEA stipulates
that the initial evaluation must take place within 60 days of receiving parent
consent for the evaluation.
The 504 Chair or designee must send the parent a ‘Parent/Guardian Notice of
Initial Referral’ letter to obtain permission to begin the identification process and
advise the parent of the meeting date and time. A copy of ‘Procedural
Safeguards/Parent Rights Under Section 504’ must accompany this notice.
Parent permission must be obtained prior to the conduct of initial student
identification procedures.
School Referral
Section 504 requires the school to identify and locate every child residing in the
school district who may qualify for disability services (Child Find).
The 504 Chair or designee must send the parent a ‘Parent/Guardian Notice of
Initial Referral’ letter to obtain permission to begin the identification process and
advise the parent of the meeting date and time. A copy of ‘Procedural
Safeguards/Parent Rights Under Section 504’ must accompany this notice.
Parent permission must be obtained prior to the conduct of initial student
identification procedures.
Health Plans
Students who have current health plans should be considered for protection
under Section 504 (Child Find).
Parents of students who have health plans should be contacted in writing using
the ‘sample letter’ on school letterhead.
A copy of ‘Procedural Safeguards/Parent Rights Under Section 504’ must
accompany this notice.
Preparation for a 504 Meeting
Assemble relevant documentation. Documentation may include but is not limited
to:
Medical or Psychiatric Diagnosis
(Can use Medical Report form or other document
from professional qualified to make such a diagnosis)
Aptitude and Achievement Tests
Curriculum Based Assessment
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State Assessment Results
Work Samples
Teacher Recommendation
Physical Condition
Adaptive Behavior
Periodic Assessments/Report Cards
Structured Academic and Behavioral Interventions
Social and Health History
Information Provided by Parent/Guardian
Social and Cultural Background
Assemble the 504 Committee
Section 504 eligibility and placement decisions must be made by a group of
persons, including persons knowledgeable about the student, the meaning
of the evaluation data and the placement options.
Conducting a 504 Meeting
The school-based 504 Chair convenes the meeting at a time convenient to both
the members of the 504 team and the parents/guardians.
The Chair uses the ‘Section 504 Eligibility Worksheet’ to help the team determine
eligibility.
If there is a reason to believe that the student may be eligible for special
education services, the 504 team may send the referral to the SST team. The
referral process to SST and 504 can occur simultaneously.
If the disability is clearly a physical or mental impairment, the 504 team
continues to complete the Section 504 Eligibility Worksheet.
If, after reviewing the assessment documentation and completing the appropriate
eligibility form, the team believes that the student meets the requirements for
Section 504 protection, the team then moves to completing the ‘Section 504/ADA
Eligibility and Accommodation Plan.’
If the student qualifies for protection under Section 504, but the team determines
that the student is not in need of a plan, none is written. The appropriate
worksheet and the ‘Section 504/ADA Eligibility and Accommodation Plan’ are kept
as documentation of 504 eligibility.
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Conducting an Annual Review
While a Section 504 plan requires re-evaluation every three years, it is the
practice of Lee County Schools to conduct an annual review of all students
protected under Section 504.
Parents/Guardians are sent a ‘Notice of Annual Review’ and a meeting is planned.
The parent/guardian does not have to be present for the annual review.
For students who qualify for 504 protection but do not have a 504 plan,
parents/guardians are sent the ‘Notice of Annual Review for Students Without a
504 Plan.
The existing ‘Section 504/ADA Eligibility and Accommodation Plan’ is reviewed
and revisions made if needed. The date of the Annual Review is noted on the top
of the page.
Section 504 Determination and Testing
In order for a student with disabilities to be eligible to receive a testing
accommodation, it must be documented in his/her Section 504 plan and it must
be used routinely during instruction and similar classroom assessments. In order
to allow sufficient time for the testing accommodations to be routinely used,
there should not be additions/changes to the testing accommodation in the
Section 504 Plan just prior to testing unless the student’s eligibility status has
changed.
If a student does not have at least 30 calendar days prior to the test date to use
the accommodation, then the use of the accommodation cannot be considered
“routinely used” during instruction or similar classroom assignments. If a student
is newly identified as having a disability and it is just prior to testing, any testing
accommodations that are documented and implemented should have been used
as intervention prior to identification.
College Board/ACT Requirements for Accommodations
College Board
The College Board provides testing accommodations to students who
demonstrate a need, due to a disability, for accommodations on College Board
tests. In order to take a College Board test with accommodations, the student
and parent/guardian must obtain and submit an Eligibility Form, from the
Guidance Counselor, and in some cases, additional documentation.
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Students/Parents should complete Section I of the form and submit it to the
Guidance Counselor for completion of Section II and III.
Requests for accommodations must be submitted early. Processing takes
approximately seven weeks from receipt of complete information. Specific
deadline dates are listed on the College Board website
(http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/ssd).
Once a student is approved for accommodations, the accommodations are valid
for all College Board tests, as long as the school annually verifies that eligibility
requirements and guidelines are met.
Schools with students who might take any College Board exam and may request
accommodations must designate one staff member to serve as the Services for
Students with Disabilities Coordinator. Most often, this is the school counselor.
SSD Coordinator Application forms can be found at:
http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/ssd/SSD_Coordinator_Form.pdf
ACT
Policies and procedures for applying for accommodations for the ACT can be
found at http://www.act.org/aap/disab/chart.html. There are three testing
options.
Center Testing #1: Standard Time National Testing
Request this only if the student can test at a regularly scheduled national test
center under standard time limits and use either a regular type (10-pt.) or
large type (18-pt.) test booklet, but require accommodations due to disability. No
details about any accommodations provided are reported.
Examples include:
assignment to a wheelchair-accessible room
large type test booklet
marking responses in the test booklet
permission for diabetics to eat snacks
Examples of accommodations for students with hearing impairments include:
seating near the front of the room to lip-read spoken instructions
a sign language interpreter (not a relative) to sign spoken instructions (not test
items)
a printed copy of spoken instructions with visual notification of start, time
remaining, and stop times
Center Testing #2: Extended Time National Testing (50% more time)
Request this only if the student can test at a regularly scheduled national test
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center and use either a regular type (10-pt.) or large type (18-pt.) test booklet,
but require up to 50% more time due to disability.
Special Testing
Special Testing is designed for students who:
normally use more than time-and-a-half for tests (or use extended
time only on writing tests) in school, or
require testing over multiple days due to the diagnosis, or
normally use alternate test formats such as Braille, cassettes, audio
DVDs, or a reader; or a computer or scribe for essays, and/or
alternate response modes, (such as responding orally) or
are testing at an international test center and cannot use a
regular type (10-point) booklet or test with standard time
limits, or need accommodations the test center cannot provide.
Conducting a Manifestation Hearing
A student protected under Section 504 may not be suspended for more than 10
cumulative days without a manifestation determination hearing to determine
whether the misconduct is caused by the student’s disability.
The permanent expulsion, the exclusion of a student for an indefinite period, or
the exclusion of a child for more than 10 consecutive days constitutes significant
change in placement under Section 504.
A series of suspensions, each of which is 10 or fewer days in duration, but that
creates a pattern of exclusions, may also be a significant change in placement.
The series of suspensions must create a pattern based on the length of each
suspension, the proximity of the suspension to one another, and the total amount
of time the student is excluded from school.
The manifestation determination is a re-evaluation, and must take in to account
recent evaluation data that provides an understanding of the student’s current
behavior.
The 504 Committee conducts the manifestation determination meeting. The
‘Manifestation Determination’ form is completed at that meeting.
If the results of the manifestation determination indicate that the conduct was
related to the student’s disability, the district may not discontinue educational
services to the student. The student would need to be re-evaluated to determine
if the current placement is appropriate or other placements need to be
considered.
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If the team concludes that the misconduct was not related to the student’s
disability, the district can impose the proposed discipline as long as it is the same
as it would impose under the same circumstances for a non-disabled student.
The protections of Section 504 do not apply to students who are currently using
illegal drugs when the school acts on the basis of the student’s current use of
illegal drugs. School may take disciplinary action against a Section 504 student
who is currently engaged in the use of alcohol or illegal drugs to the same extent
that it takes disciplinary action against persons not having disabilities.
Grievance Procedures and Appeal Process
Section 504 Eligibility, Placement and Manifestation Determination
Section 504 grievance procedures will follow general grievance procedures
outlined in Lee County School Board Policy 1740-4010. It is against the law to
retaliate against anyone who files a grievance or cooperates in the investigation
of a grievance.
Every effort will be made to settle the complaint informally. Complaints can be
lodged with the school-based 504 Chair or school Principal.
If the parent (or student if student is 18 years or older) feels the complaint
cannot be resolved through informal means, the parent or eligible student may
file a grievance to appeal the decision made by the 504 committee.
The grievance should first be filed with the Principal. The grievance should be
submitted in writing stating the nature of the grievance. The principal and 504
Chair will meet with the parent/guardian within 10 business days of receipt of the
grievance.
The Principal will provide a written response to the grievance within 10 business
days of the meeting.
If the parent/guardian is dissatisfied with the Principal’s response, the
parent/guardian may appeal the decision to the district 504 Coordinator. This
appeal must be made in writing within 10 business days of receipt of the
Principal’s response.
The district 504 Coordinator will review the written documents and may conduct
a factual inquiry and hold a conference as necessary to make a determination of
whether there was a violation of the student’s civil rights. The 504 Coordinator
will provide a written response within 10 business days of receiving the grievance
unless additional time is necessary to complete any investigation.
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If the parent/guardian is dissatisfied with the 504 Coordinator’s response, the
parent/guardian may appeal the decision to the Superintendent. This appeal
must be made in writing within 10 business days of receiving the 504
Coordinator’s response.
The Superintendent may review the written documents and respond or the
Superintendent may schedule and hold a conference with the parent/guardian.
The Superintendent will provide a written response within 10 business days after
the conference.
If the parent/guardian is not satisfied with the remedy provided by the
Superintendent, the parent/guardian may appeal to the Board of Education within
five (5) business days of receiving the Superintendent’s response.
The Board of Education will then conduct a hearing pursuant to Board Policy
2500, Hearings Before the Board. The Board will provide a final written decision
within 30 business days of receiving the appeal unless further investigation is
necessary or the hearing necessitates that more time be taken to respond.
The parent is not required to exhaust these procedures before seeking a Section
504 impartial hearing. A parent may request an impartial hearing at any time.
These procedures cannot be used to deny or delay a parent's right to a hearing.
A Section 504 impartial hearing is facilitated by the school district. The school
district obtains the hearing officer to hear and decide the case. Employees,
board members of the school district and those under contract by the school
district are prohibited from serving as the hearing officer.
Section 504 regulations do not require that the selection of the hearing officer be
a mutually agreed upon decision between the school district and the
parents/guardians.
The Lee County Schools Impartial Hearing Officer is a person familiar with the
Section 504 process and fits the 504 requirements.
The availability and use of this grievance procedure does not prevent a person
from filing a complaint of discrimination on the basis of disability with the U. S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights.
District 504 Coordinator
Anne Sessoms, Director of Exceptional Children, and/or Dr. Johnnye Waller,
Director of Student Services can be reached at 919.774.6226.
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Acknowledgments
Lee County Schools would like to thank the following for contributing to this
manual:
Ann L. Majestic – Tharrington Smith, L.L.P.
John E. McCook, Ed. D.
James F. McKethan, Ed. D
Dr. Louis Fabrizio, Director, Division of Accountability Services, North Carolina
Department of Public Instruction
The Answer Book of Section 504, Second Edition, John W. Norlin, Susan Gorn
Student Access: A Resource Guide for Educators, Council of Administrators of
Special Education, Inc.
U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights
Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools
504 Coordinators of Lee County Schools
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Appendix
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Transitory Impairment Plan
Parent/Guardian Request for Consideration Section 504/ADA
Parent/Guardian Request for Consideration Section 504/ADA - Spanish
Parent/Guardian Notice of Initial Referral
Parent/Guardian Notice of Initial Referral – Spanish
Procedural Safeguards/Parent Rights Under Section 504
Procedural Safeguards/Parent Rights Under Section 504 - Spanish
Letter to Parents Regarding Existing Health Plan
Letter to Parents Regarding Existing Health Plan – Spanish
Section 504 Eligibility Worksheet
Medical Report
Section 504/ADA Eligibility and Accommodation Plan
Notice of Annual Review
Notice of Annual Review - Spanish
Notice of Annual Review for Students Without a 504 Plan
Notice of Annual Review for Students Without a 504 Plan - Spanish
Changes in Testing Accommodations Memo
Instructions for Completing the College Board Student Eligibility Form
Services for Students with Disabilities Coordinator Form
Instructions for Completing the ACT Eligibility Form
Manifestation Determination Section 504/ADA
Student and Parent Grievance Procedure – Policy 1740-4010
Sample 504 Accommodations
ADA Amendments Act of 2008
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