504 PLANS and IEPs

Section 504 offers plans to support students with disabilities with in-class accommodations. These plans are typically for students with anxiety, ADD, ADHD, depression, or other health conditions. If you think your child could benefit from in-class accommodations please contact your child's school counselor. These are legal and confidential documents that all who work with your child must follow. School counselors serve as 504 students' case managers.

Classroom accommodations may include preferential seating (sitting in a location in the classroom that is least distracting to a child); copies of notes for tests and quizzes (children who are distracted in class due to a diagnosis could miss important material for upcoming tests or projects, so teachers provide the child with copies of notes to study with); or extended time for projects or small group stetting for standardized tests, among other accommodations.

The main difference between 504 Plans and Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and special education is that 504 plans offer in-class accommodations with their average peers and teachers, whereas IEPs offer direct instruction, a special educator, sometimes in a different location than the average classroom.

For students with existing 504 plans, we always have a meeting when students transition to a new building. We offer these meetings in the spring, April - June for 5th graders headed to 6th grade, as well as 8th graders heading to 9th grade. We can also have a meeting at the start of each school year. We will contact you at the end of September, early October, once students and teachers have had some time to get to know each other, to offer a 504 meeting. It is not mandatory to meet, but we like to offer. Then, throughout the year, you can request a meeting at any time to discuss your child's grades, plan, or other concerns.

To discuss either of these supports for your child, please call your student's team counselor.