IEP and 504 Issues and Questions

Recently, I declined to approve a post from a community member. It read: I'm helping out a friend who is trying to get help for her daughter, and I know this information, but I can't seem to find the specifics. What impact does it have on a school district based on the number of students they have receiving support? Is there some sort of benchmark they are trying to stay below or are they just denying it to show control? I declined the post and told her I don’t answer questions like that. Not to be mean. Not to call anyone out. But because that line of thinking sends parents down the wrong path. There’s a lot wrong with that advocacy strategy. Mos…

What are the differences between 504 & IEP? I read that in Mississippi a hearing impairment automatically qualifies a student for a 504. My son has always had an IEP. The school has never mentioned anything about the 504.

Hi all. My 11-year-old 5th grader has confirmed diagnoses of ASD (diagnosed age 2) and ADHD Inattentive Type (diagnosed February 2026). He has had a 504 plan in place since the first time we were denied evaluations at all at the end of 3rd grade. We are in Missouri. The district completed an initial special ed evaluation and denied eligibility. I verbally disagreed with the determination in the meeting and did not sign anything. I am on a waiting list for a state advocacy nonprofit with no ETA. We have 23 school days left and he transitions to middle school in the fall. MY QUESTIONS: Does this situation call for requesting an IEE at public expense? I…

This 9th grader has ASD, ADHD, plus. He has no friends and has been bullied for years. Now 1 year in this state/district where they say he doesn’t qualify for Speech and Language (had from k-8 then PA eval said he doesn’t qualify 🤷‍♀️). He speaks loud and fast, his social skills are very poor:(. The social skills instruction district is providing is minimal, vague, and not effective. Of course, district does not agree. Since starting HS in September, he has repeatedly been called things like “stuttering autistic freak”, “you walk like an autistic freak” while acting this out, “effing stupid”, “sped”, etc. School is aware. He has been physically shoved and slap…

My child has had a migraine/headache every day since January. She’s missed so much school going back all the way to the start of the year. I finally got the school to do an evaluation after asking twice. 25 school days after I first asked and two meetings after they tried to talk me out of it, they finally sent me the consent to evaluation form. And 32 And 32 school days later, I saw the results. She qualified under Part A of Other Health Disability and met the criteria in Part B/they determine the absences were her academically. But they denied her services. I didn’t get a PWN until three calendar months after the evaluation was complete (May 24 vs Feb 19)…

So this is Teacher Me talking. I don't know if anyone here has the legal know-how to advise me, but I'll happily take anything. I teach at a virtual school and have a student who could possibly qualify for an IEP. She's not my lowest performer by our beginning of year assessment by any means, but is on the low due to some observed attention struggles. Her mother has been talking about the struggles since before school started and keeps talking about how the kid needs an IEP. Except... Mom is making it so hard and I'm not sure what else I can do. So far, Mom has stated (only by voice) that she thinks Kid needs an IEP and possibly a modified curriculum. …

Maybe this isn’t a specific IDEA issue, but, absent health emergencies, can (not should) a school deliver health services in private? Should school perform non emergent pulse ox and chest examination in public view of other students (on a sidewalk outside school) or in privacy of the nurses office or other private area?

This may not be the most appropriate section for this question. This one seemed to be the closet fit. I remember coming across a template for "About me" to give to a new teacher on the adayinourshoes site. If anyone happens to know where that is could you please share it? I want to start collecting my thoughts on what to give to his teacher this year. I *could* make my own if I absolutely must but I fear it wouldn't be to the point enough. I really do benefit greatly from following a template while crafting this. Thank you so much in advance!

Question: What strategies have you found effective for managing your child's behavior at school? How did you work these into their IEP?

I'm considering filing a Child Find violation against my school district. My child was identified by the school in 9th grade. Now, the school can't meet their needs because the needs are so great. My child was in advanced classes not long ago. Now,they're in remedial classes and not on the college track. They're failing a class and will likely need to re-take it next year. They don't have the skills to execute work, although cognitively they are able to understand and do the work. I am working with several outside specialists and spending hundreds to thousands on therapy and advocacy every month. I will need to spend this kind of money for the foreseeable future. We a…

Hello there, I am reaching out because I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with the current IEP process for my child. My child has been diagnosed with and we have recently updated their IEP to better address their evolving needs. One area where I am struggling is understanding how to effectively monitor progress toward the IEP goals. We have set some ambitious goals; but I am finding it challenging to gauge whether we are making adequate progress and how to adjust our approach if needed. I am also concerned about how to ensure that the goals are both realistic and aligned with my childs abilities and needs. Additionally; I am seeking advice on the best practices…

Hello https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t4c/1/16/1f642.png I have a 13 year old dx ASD & ADHD. School has done their evaluations and since “his grades are good is not going to give him an IEP”. He currently has a 504 and all accomidations are for my son to complete or do. None are for the school or teachers to check in with him to make sure he has understanding and correct paperwork/assignments. School has done speech eval, OT eval for sensory only and psych eval. Speech Evaluation was done virtually, and I feel lacks a lot of social pragmatics data. I Plan to ask for an IEE. Not one but 2 Private evaluations documents social pragmat…

Hello 🙂 i’m not sure the correct forum to put this in, so I’m gonna put it here and I’m in the IEP forum as well. last year I requested a formal full, comprehensive evaluation. At the time my son had an ADHD diagnosis from a medical professional. They denied my son, which I just recently found out stating that he did not mean eligibility, because there was no “academic impact”. That is exactly the reason for denial written in the eligibility report. Over the summer we had him reevaluated by a psychologist. Since we have a family history of autism, they asked questions which showed markers. He is now diagnosed with autism and ADHD. I supplied that rep…

Question: How do you handle it when the school resists adding certain supports or services to your child's IEP? Any success stories or strategies to share?

I need help finding the supporting legal definition of “school-endorsed activity.” As I understood from IDEA 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.320, 300.107, and 300.117, IEPs also cover extracurricular activities as long as the activity is endorsed by school. What is the litmus test to determine if an activity is endorsed by the school? I would appreciate if you could provide as much detail as available for this test as extracurricular activities take so many different shapes and forms. Sometimes the activity is free to the students, sometimes there is a fee but the school allows the group to meet in the school grounds for free or just a symbolic fee, sometimes the activity has…

My daughter is 15. Her diagnosis are ADHD/SPD/GAD. She has had an IEP for OHI since 1st grade. Her current goals are math and adaptive behavior (planning/prioritizing, task completion, impulse control and appropriate interactions with peers). The IEP also has as many of the age appropriate accommodations for high school (extra time on tests, quiet place to test, alternate testing methods, headphones for noise reduction, speech to text, and more). The problem: she is currently failing two classes. Last semester I - for lack of a better phrase - pushed and prodded her to get a C in science. Getting her to do any home work at home was like pulling teeth. When she did…

I was in an IEP meeting yesterday for my daughter, it was the most contentious IEP meeting I have ever been in and I am also a practicing school psychologist. The district was not at all interested in having a discussion surrounding my proposal, and rather said they disagree, let's talk about mediation and due process. In my opinion, due process should be an absolute last resort and there should be thorough discussion of the matter prior to getting to that point. Every time they brought it up, which was multiple times, I kept saying "can't we discuss this further", and then would just continue on. Ultimately, I was able to prevail and get close to the minutes I was reques…

I’m at a loss. What options do I have when the behaviors of other students in the class impact the diagnosis of my kid (worsen anxiety)? It’s mostly disruptive behaviors of other kids as opposed to safety concerns.

Hi. My High School Junior daughter was diagnosed with ADHD last year. We have finally gotten the school to do a 504 process. I am looking for accommodations that have been effective for your high school-age student. Since she was diagnosed so recently, she has not had the benefit of training/teachings from a younger age. To top that off, she is a super-sociable teenager who will anyway be distracted by other distractions. Almost all accommodation examples I see seem more effective for younger children, not her age/school. e.g. "Break down tasks in smaller chunks." Is this meaningful to ask for at 11th grade? I am also worried that with too much adult intervention (…

I'm sorry for the long post. I'm just at a loss and feel like I'm failing my highschooler if I don't take action. Which will affect their future. My child has Autism but is very high functioning, they are in an EBD (Emotional Behavioral Disorder) classroom that has a teacher that curses the students and feels like it is his job to "turn them into men" by verbally abusing them. The teacher has been reported multiple times by other parents with recorded footage of their actions. Nothing has been done. This has changed the whole trajectory of his education as we had a plan in place with Behavior supports and an ATC program to learn a trade. Due to the u…

My oldest daughter has had an IEP since she was 3 related to a gene duplication. Recently my youngest daughter (kindergarten, same gene duplication) is showing some of the same behaviors and/or learning difficulties. I previously expressed some concerns and was met with wait and see, so I did. At the last parent teacher conference we discussed her limited retention and difficulty paying attention. We discussed retention for another year in kindergarten and I advised I would speak with our pediatrician to see what his thoughts were. An evaluation was completed and determined she has adhd, medication was prescribed and the pediatrician requested that the school also evaluat…

My general education 5th grader is being recommended for a social skills group with the school social worker. He had an IEP from end of 1st grade thru mid 4th grade for Speech, which is how I know about this forum. This year teachers have observed that sometimes he forgets about personal space (his classroom does have 30 students this year...) or forgets to check in with the members of a conversation. These lagging skills are not keeping him from accessing the curriculum, he just needs a refresher. In 2nd grade this was a small concern (class size was also large), 3rd grade he was home on Zoom and last year back in the school building for 4th grade. Class size was smaller…

If a child does not have an IEP but was told the school is drafting one, can a child with behavior issues be denied to go on a field trip with the rest of his kindergarten class?

Hi all! I know for an IEP you can have it written that a parent must attend all field trips... Is this a reasonable accommodation for a 504 due to extreme anxiety and self-harm behavior around that anxiety? The parent asked for this and was denied. The school said: Thank you for your patience as I gathered more information from our district 504 coordinator. "Unfortunately, allowing you to attend all field trips with Student is not an accommodation that can be a part of her 504 plan. What we can offer Student is to have her be in a group with a preferred peer, allow her to bring her journal/sketchbook (in like a little bookbag) as a calming strategy, have…

My 10 yr old has an anxiety and panic disorder as well as ADHD (she has a 504). She is participating this year in a program that is run by a non-profit and hosted at her school. The program consists of 1x weekly activities that take place concurrent with the afterschool program and a 1x monthly field trip that takes place during the school day. During the past two field trips, downhill skiing and cross country skiing, my daughter has expressed significant feelings of frustration that balloon into panic attacks/meltdowns. This has, at times, led to the need for a separation from the group with one-on-one support by staff or alone time. We do know that physical activities a…