Making a 504 plan?

[blue]

Hi, ds1's teacher and therapist both agree we need to get a 504 plan together for ds1 before the end of the school year. It was actually agreed apon last conference several months ago. Nothing has been done since that time (to my knowledge). I have conferences with his teacher again tomorrow. What do I need to do to get this process going? Can the teacher and I just put one together? The teacher is very pregnant and I need to get it done before she takes maternity leave. She stated that she was going to get going on it and get back to me. I have realised I am going to need to get more involved in this process to get it accomplished I think. I am just starting to research the 504 plan and noticed tempates online. Are there any you would recomend for a kindergardener with anxiety (diagnosed) and general attention/sensory seeking Iissues? Any do's and do nots of a 504 or general info ? Thanks

[hbridge]

Put EVERYTHING in a formal letter to the school. Write a letter requesting the 504 meeting and include a letter from the pediatrician.

Someone with more knowledge of the 504 process may be able to help. However, I do know that schools will often not doe anything without a formal request.

[sste]

I think you should enlist a private psychologist and/or OT to help you come up with a list of accommodations. And also importantly I believe there needs to be a "behavior plan" that governs school response, punishment etc.

We paid to have a neuropsychologist attend our IEP and it was worth every penny and then some. She came up with things we would never have thought of and also made sure to break down the implementation steps in writing in the iep (504 would need the same in terms of specificity).

Also def. put your request in writing and email to the school, the teacher, the special education coordinator/case manager/head etc.

[inmypjs]

I agree that you should formally request a 504 plan in writing. There are sample letters out there if you google. I have known too many people who have verbally talked with their school about things, school agrees, and nothing happens. You need the letter. This is one of the best lists of accommodations I have seen: http://www.ortongillinghamonlinetuto...plan-dyslexia/.

[egoldber]

It would be unusual for the teacher to control this process. She probably meant that she would formally request the initial screening committee meeting.

In most districts, you make this request of the counselor, school psychologist, or assistant principal. In our district, you can to make a request, in writing, to any one of these people to start the process. Generally the first step is to request a "local screening committee meeting for the purpose of determining eligibility for a 504 plan under the IDEA act".

Some districts have a particular form they want you to use, but often that can come after the initial request.

I would contact the school ASAP because this process generally takes several weeks.

[JustMe]

I agree to put the request in writing. I made the mistake of not doing so myself, back when we were at the beginning of the process. The reason its important to put the request in writing is that once you do that, the district has a certain number of days (differs by state, I think) to determine eligibility (this is sometimes a very easy process for 504s) but if it is not in writing they are not bound by anything.

I would find out who the school's 504 coordinator and special education teacher are (sometimes different people). I would send your letter to each of these people, along with the principal and teacher (teacher letter is more just to keep in the loop_.

[blue]

The parent/teacher conference didn't go well. The teacher is 90% certain DS1 should repeat kindergarten. I am pathetically crying right now over it. I am not even sure why I am in tears, part of it I feel I have failed DS1, didn't advocate enough for him, was to patience with doctors and evaluations, ...

During parent/teacher conferences in November, she mentioned her concerns about DS1, but didn't feel at the time he needed to held back... rather shocked now at her recommendation....now the teacher says that it is really his focus, attention (lack of it) that she has noticed all long with DS1 and had concerns about, and she is surprised the forms she filled out didn't reflect that. Doctor claims the teacher's results scored more strongly towards anxiety and ours (parents for attention issues/ anxiety)..

I keep wondering/ believe the quote "lack of maturity" is really ADD/ADHD. I have decided to get a new evaluation Doctor for DS1, it sounds like the teacher, us , therapist are all the same page, but him. His lack of communication has been appalling too. Why have stayed with him? I am scared that our insurance will not pay for another eval and we will have to pay out of pocket (not even remotely in our budget). But, DS1 needs help. He shouldn't #$@ing need to repeat K. I feel like a failure. ...Sorry for the rambling vent.. Lots of thoughts going through my head.

[Green_Tea]

The parent/teacher conference didn't go well. The teacher is 90% certain DS1 should repeat kindergarten. I am pathetically crying right now over it. I am not even sure why I am in tears, part of it I feel I have failed DS1, didn't advocate enough for him, was to patience with doctors and evaluations, ...

During parent/teacher conferences in November, she mentioned her concerns about DS1, but didn't feel at the time he needed to held back... rather shocked now at her recommendation....now the teacher says that it is really his focus, attention (lack of it) that she has noticed all long with DS1 and had concerns about, and she is surprised the forms she filled out didn't reflect that. Doctor claims the teacher's results scored more strongly towards anxiety and ours (parents for attention issues/ anxiety)..

I keep wondering/ believe the quote "lack of maturity" is really ADD/ADHD. I have decided to get a new evaluation Doctor for DS1, it sounds like the teacher, us , therapist are all the same page, but him. His lack of communication has been appalling too. Why have stayed with him? I am scared that our insurance will not pay for another eval and we will have to pay out of pocket (not even remotely in our budget). But, DS1 needs help. He shouldn't #$@ing need to repeat K. I feel like a failure. ...Sorry for the rambling vent.. Lots of thoughts going through my head.

I am sure you must have been very surprised to hear that the teacher is thinking about retention, and I understand why you are upset!

I'm not sure how things work in your district, but in the one I teach in retention is VERY rare and only used when I teacher truly believes a student would benefit from an extra year. In many ways, it is a gift of time! It's much easier on a student to be retained in kindergarten than in a later grade.

I think it sounds like further evaluation would be a good thing, but want to encourage you to not beat yourself up about it. It can be very hard for a teacher to have a student retained - it sounds like your son's teacher s being a good advocate for him!

[blue]

I am sure you must have been very surprised to hear that the teacher is thinking about retention, and I understand why you are upset!

I'm not sure how things work in your district, but in the one I teach in retention is VERY rare and only used when I teacher truly believes a student would benefit from an extra year. In many ways, it is a gift of time! It's much easier on a student to be retained in kindergarten than in a later grade.

I think it sounds like further evaluation would be a good thing, but want to encourage you to not beat yourself up about it. It can be very hard for a teacher to have a student retained - it sounds like your son's teacher s being a good advocate for him!

I am not sure how common repeating is in my district (one more thing to look into). It is just a hard decision. I don't want to be in the same place we are today a year from now, with underlying problems not being addressed.

I keep hearing how bad his fine motor skills are (I agree with this), but the school says they can't do PT at school for fine motor, because he would not qualify academically. Yet, they are suggestion holding him back, how is that not qualifying academically?? His evaluation doc (the one I want to replace), agrees and says he ordered fine motor PT, but no one will get back to us and no appointments get scheduled, because the order doesn't gets put through.

Academically the teacher says he is doing OK, for the most part. DS1 just cant keep up with the handwriting, cutting, drawing. He is sensory seeking, not organized, has trouble staying on task, easily distracted, talks a lot, and very emotional (cry's when nervous, but getting better). I am just not sure another year of K will address these issues alone with out more interventions.

Then I have to wonder, do we send him on and let him struggle, so hopefully these issues get addressed more (more accommodations and therapies for example). Do kids with special needs usually get retained? I just feel like I am punishing him by holding him back for something he can't control (I know that probably sounds silly).... I did find out the 504 coordinator is the principal.

... And don't worry Greentea, I am not addressing all the questions at you , just anyone who answers, thanks for your kind words too.

[hbridge]

First off, go easy on yourself. You did NOT cause any of this, it is part of who your son is and that is okay. They have already said he is mostly doing fine academically...

Definitely meet with everyone and ask a LOT of questions about retention and you options. I always start with my pediatrician, but also find out if the school has a plan! Are there creative classrooms, for example a multi-age class that he can join that would mask the retention or another school in the district that he can attend for a year or two to mask the retention? In the district I use to work in, retention was RARE and the parents usually had to be in agreement. So definitely ask questions and get involved in the decision. In the end, you may agree with the schools recommendation, you may not.

Honestly, with this background info., push for an IEP! There is more going on with the fine motor that the school needs to address with both interventions and accomodations. If the school has not already done testing, make a formal request in writing that you want full testing (I don't know how to word it, but the pediatrician may).

As a side note, we have a friend who was retained in first and the mother says it was the best decision she made. The child is thriving with the additional time.

He WILL be okay no matter what you decide.