Can anyone in special education explain a 504 to me.....Thanks (health, teachers)

[deeds]

wondering what a 504 education program is.....Thanks

[ocnjgirl]

It's basically an accomodation plan for a student that has some special need (ADD, poor vision, etc) who does not qualify to be classified as special ed. For instance, a child with a physical problem who shouldn't run might have a 504 plan which says they do not have to run in gym; a child with ADD and poor handwriting may have a 504 plan that reduces writing requirements or gives him extra time on tests.

[ccnj]

An IEP is more about providing educational services because of deficiancy in current ability (in-class support teachers, self contained special ed placements, etc) and a 504 is more about providing accommodations so that students can have the same education as their peers.

I had a student in my class last year with a 504 that stated that he be provided with larger print text for his classwork, tests, etc. Academically he was just as capable as the rest of the class, but he had vision issues related to a recent surgery that prevented him from reading the text type that the rest of the class was reading.

504s can be written up for things like someone with a broken arm gets to have a scribe during testing, a student with diabetes can have a 504 that provides them with whatever they need to keep up their health and not be penalized because they need to leave the room frequently for testing their sugar levels, extra bathroom breaks, snacking, etc.