Kaisersalutern District
Ramstein & Kaiserslautern Schools
School Counselors, Nurses & Psychologists
DoDDS-Europe
April 3, 2013
“A student with a disability, or who has a record
of a disability, or is regarded as having a
disability,
shall not be excluded from participating in,
or be denied the benefits of, any DoDEA
education program or activity;
or be subjected to discrimination based
solely on a disability.”
“DoDEA schools will provide a free appropriate
public education (FAPE):
-to students with disabilities
-by implementing reasonable 504
Accommodations
-upon establishing a student has a disability
requiring such 504 Accommodation.”
p.2, 4.b
 Establish Accommodation Teams & Team Leaders at
beginning of school year
 Make adequate resources available
 Review accommodation plans annually
 Inform teachers of students 504 plans
 Receive and resolve parent concerns
 Post notices of nondiscrimination
p.5-6
 Process referrals & evaluate records
 Determine eligibility
 Prescribe 504 accommodation plans
Leader:
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Coordinate all aspects of accommodation team process
Document decision in writing and provide copy to parent
Ensure minutes of meetings are recorded
Secure all notices & consents to parents, sponsors, guardians
p.6-7
 Implement accommodations
 Participate in accommodation teams
 Assist administration in resolution of complaints
 When:
Any time
 By Whom:
Parent, teacher, student, counselor, nurse
school or medical personnel, community
agency
 Identify What:
Student’s substantially limited performance in
one or more major life activities believed to be
caused by physical/mental impairment; or
Student records or documents that student has
a record of, or regarded as, having a
physical/mental impairment
 Enrolls with a 504 Accommodation Plan;
 Has a major health concern, especially if documented on
an Individual Health Plan (IHP), that is suspected of
substantially limiting major life activity;
 Requires physical accommodations to access the school;
 Continues to display academic and/or behavior problems
after receiving SST services; or
 Has been referred to the CSC but the student is ineligible
or will not be evaluated
504
IEP
 Enrolls with a 504 Plan
 Enrolls with an active IEP
 Major health concern
 Enrolls with an expired IEP
 Requires physical
 Enrolls with a partially
accommodations for access
 Academic/Behavior problems
after receiving SST services
 Determined ineligible for
special education or decision
not to evaluate
completed evaluation for
special education
 Shows poor academic
performance and failed
response to intervention
The 504 Accommodation Team will evaluate the student’s needs
and may consider:
-Records -Observations -Teacher Reports
-Informal/Formal Assessments
*The Accommodation Team may request additional
assessments and should develop an assessment plan, obtain
parent consent, and provide at no cost to the parent*
1.
Does the student have a physical or mental impairment?
- “physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement,
anatomical loss affecting body system, mental or physical
disorder”
Mental or physical impairments are not
limited to specific diseases or categories of
medical conditions.
1.
Does the impairment substantially limit a major life activity?
- “barrier to student performing major life activity (seeing,
hearing, eating, thinking, concentrating, etc.) compared to
other students
NB:
If both, “YES,” student is eligible for accommodations
 Disability must be the reason why the student cannot
equally access from the school’s program and services.
 Think: “Level Playing Field”
 Access vs. Educational Benefit
 Wheelchair example
o ADHD example
 Simply having a disability or condition does not automatically
qualify a student for a DoDEA Accommodation Plan.
 The condition or disability must be a barrier to the student
performing one or more major life activities as compared to an
average student in the general population.
 This may be evaluated by considering the manner, conditions,
and duration in which a student performs a major life activity
in comparison to how non-disabled students perform the
same activity.
 Major life activities are basic activities that the
average person in the general population can
perform with little or no difficulty.
 Major life activities include, but are not limited,
caring for oneself, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking,
breathing, performing manual tasks, and learning.
 Each DoDEA school is responsible
 A school may elect to use an existing educational team, (other
than the CSC)
 Parents/guardians will participate on these teams to the
greatest extent possible.
 The local team reviews the nature of the student’s impairment
to determine how it affects his or her access to educational
programs and activities.
 If the team determines that the student’s impairment
substantially limits a major life activity, he or she will be
identified as a qualified student with a disability.
 The local team will then proceed to develop an individualized
DoDEA Accommodation Plan outlining necessary
accommodations to ensure the student has educational
opportunities and benefits equal to those provided to nondisabled students.
 In DoD schools, the GENERAL EDUCATION STAFF is responsible
for reviewing 504 eligibility for students and for developing
and implementing DoDEA Accommodation Plans.
 SST & 504 not necessary prerequisite for CSC referral
 When in doubt in the presence of a suspected disability,
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use the CSC process
Describes the 504 meeting as an eligibility meeting
Specifically refers to eligibility questions
“unduly burdensome” determined by DoDEA OGC
Refers to new Disciplinary Reg and Manifestation
Determination meetings, outcome is different for 504s
and IEPs
In 2012, 504 Form was revised
 Accommodations include adaptations and modifications that a student
may need to participate in DoDEA programs and activities.
 Most reasonable accommodations will occur in the student’s general
classroom and involve minor adjustments that enable the student to
obtain equal access to learning opportunities.
 Reasonable accommodations may include, but are not limited to, a change
is the student’s seating arrangement, visual aides, large print educational
materials, use of video recordings, and extended time to complete specific
tasks.
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Hearing
12
Vision
7
Asthma
4
Seizure Disorder
11
Severe Allergy
5
Diabetes
10
Heart Condition
0
Digestive Disorder
2
Cerebral Palsy
0
ADD/ADHD
201
Dyslexia
17
Communication
2
Anxiety
25
Depression
8
Oppositional Defiant Disorder 2
Other
81
4%
2%
1%
3%
2%
3%
0%
1%
0%
63%
5%
1%
8%
3%
1%
25%
People may select more than one checkbox, so
percentages may add up to more than 100%.

People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up
Preferential seating
Extended time for testing up to 150%
Testing in small groups/distraction-free
Check for understanding/attention
Verbal and visual cues
Daily agenda/planner/assignment sheet
check
Shortened assignments
Task broken down into shorter
steps/assignments
Extended time for task completion
Use of assistive technology
change of response mode
Accommodate for specific allergies
167
158
112
91
90
90
80
64
135
42
8
5
 Yes, but only if the accommodation is documented in the
student’s DoDEA Accommodation Plan or has been used
routinely in the student’s educational program
 And is allowed by the test manual
 Does not directly apply to all students on 504
Accommodation Plans
 A special medical need is determined by threshold criteria
for each condition
 It is the responsibility of the sponsor/parent to know the
thresholds
 For 504 plans, the Coding form only requires checking the
box and attaching the 504 plan
 Extended time often helps students regardless of their
disability status.
 It can change the proper interpretation of students’ test
scores.
 Decisions about it are not made consistently.
 Other interventions may help to decrease students’
reliance on it.
 Q: When working on a 504 plan for a student, do all core
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teachers have to be present at the meeting?
Q: Can a 504 plan be developed for a student that is
suspected of having an impairment or is possibly
impaired, but has not been evaluated?
Q: How recent must an evaluation be?
Q: May personnel resources be allocated on a 504 plan?
Q: Can a 504 Plan be used as a basis for graduation
requirement waivers?
 504 plans are designed to ensure ACCESS by leveling the
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playing field
Students with good grades might still experience barriers to
access, and could be eligible
Like the SST, 504 Team is General Ed (not Special Ed),identified
at beginning of the year, with leader(s) selected.
Alert nurses to 504 protections for students on Individual
Health Plans
In regard to Discipline and Attendance Policies, students with
disabilities may have 504 protection even without a 504 Plan.