Section 504 Training for Testing Coordinators 2016-2017

Section 504 Overview Federal Law Focuses on anti-discrimination Protects individuals with disabilities Placement always comes before accommodation Amended in 2008

Know Your Section 504 Students General Education Student NO Behavioral, Social or Academic Concerns SST Behavioral, Social or Academic Concerns Section 504 Has an Identified Condition that affects at least one major life activity Special Education Has at least one of 13 qualifying disabilities under Special Education Guidelines DAPHNE: Once STEP 1 has been completed and you have a trained Section 504 Chairperson managing this program on your campus, STEP 2 becomes all about knowing your Section 504 Students. Knowing who on your campus is already identified Section 504 is extremely important. Many times the right people on campus NOT knowing who these students are is what gets us in the most hot water. Once you know who the current 504 Students are, it becomes critical that you and your campus know how to spot potential 504 students. Staff must be trained on what to do once they suspect a student to be disabled. So, Let's start off by discussing the types of students that will be on your campus when school starts this fall. First and foremost, every student on your campus is a General Education Student. However, not all students will remain ONLY General Education students. As the school year progresses there are always a percentage of students that begin to struggle. It might be academics struggles or social or behavioral concerns but whatever the concern may be... In many cases these students are referred to the campus SST Committee. This is where interventions are decided. So when do students need to be considered for evaluation by the 504 Committee instead of the SST Committee? There is one simple question to help make this determination. Do we suspect or know this student to have a disability, identified condition or impairment? If the answer is YES, this student needs to be referred to the 504 Committee for evaluation and possible placement. Another way to look at this is that once we know a student has a reason WHY they may be having problems we are no longer needing to TRY interventions (SST) but we have specific accommodations that can be applied to their known disability. So, lets take this one step further and ask the question, "If this student has a known disability shouldn't they be in Special Education?" In some cases yes, a student with an identified condition or disability MAY qualify for Special Education. But many will not qualify. And if they do not qualify for Special Education and they have an identified condition or disability they must go through the Section 504 evaluation process.

A Student Receiving Section 504 Services For a student receiving Section 504 services, the decision is made by the appropriate team of people at the campus level based on the eligibility criteria and is documented according to district policies. Most students receiving Section 504 Services have an Individual Accommodation Plan (IAP).

Where to access to the student’s Individual Accommodation Plan (IAP) Contact your campus 504 Chairperson The Individual Accommodation Plan (IAP) is located in a blue folder or in EdPlan 504. (This includes the most current classroom and testing accommodations.) 504 plans only allow for accommodations.

Most Common Type 1 504 Testing Accommodations Individualized Structured Reminders Oral/Signed Administration Spelling Assistance Supplemental Aids Extra Time (Same Day) But are not limited to: Amplification Devices Projection Devices Manipulating Test Materials Mathematics Manipulatives Calculation Devices Basic Transcribing Large Print Dictionary Braille

Additional Notes Attending 504 meetings is recommended. Bring your TEA Accommodations Guide to the meeting. Relevant district and campus staff will need to read all of the policies and related resources on the TEA webpage. The TEA documents contain all the details.

Thank you for training with us today! Section 504 and Dyslexia Services Main Number: 972-581-4107