504 Plan vs an IEP
Question
Can you please explain to me what the 504 plan is. My son is being considered for the IEP Program and I need to know what the 504 plan offers.
Answer
Greetings Carol!
You ask a good question that a mother of a child with special needs should consider.
The 504 Plan provides simple interventions for your son in the regular education environments. Examples of the uses of 504 plans are interventions such as an allowance for a "fidget toy" for children with ADHD in the clasroom setting, test modifications, such as extended time, break time in the middle of class, and preferential seating. The 504 Plan is approved or disapproved by the Principal of the school primarily, or an appointed person such as the Special Education Coordinator in your son's school.
To get an IEP your son must first be classified as Learning Disabled, Autistic, Visually Impaired, Emotionally Disturbed, etc. These are labels--nothing more. They do not define who the child is or his whole disability. The purpose of the label is to provide services for your son.
IEP services include counseling, speech, nursing services, various test modifications (separate location, questions read, directions read, administer in small groups, and more). There are many additional services which may best suit your son. One of these may be the type of class he is in, which can vary from the regular education setting, receiving extra help, to a special classroom, or a separate school if necessary.
But perhaps one of the best things about an IEP is the fact that it is made to fit your son's needs. YOU as the parent have a lot of input on what you think would be best for your son.
Additionally, the 504 Plan, and the IEP can carry over past the their High School years to college, and other types of academic settings and some vocational tests.
The best way to consider which would be best for your son would be to determine if he needs a small intervention, or more help to be successful. I personally have come to appreciate the IEP as a parent. While both the IEP and the 504 Plan are legal documents, the IEP holds a little more strength in the eyes of a school and teachers. They hear the "I must comply," versus "Oh! I should do this."
One of my sons has an IEP the other has a 504. The one with the 504 seems to require my wife to make yearly visits to point out the plan to each teacher. My son with the IEP receives has teachers meet his needs more readily.
Now, what I have not said, is that if your son does not qualify as needing "Special Education" services, he should qualify for a 504 Plan.
Talk to your all of your son's teachers and hear what they think about how his needs should be met for his academic success. Sometimes one teacher will see things another will not. Sometimes one teacher will have tried an strategy that works the others have not. Take what each of them say to you, and look at their input together. Remember if you do this that we all do not look at life the same way, and to expect some entirely different perspectives on your son.
Please let me know if this helps you. If you need additional help please feel free to contact me again.
Sincerely,
Paul Sutliff, MS ED