504 plan

[sjexpress]

Hi all. I need some help with questions about a 504 plan. About 3 years ago my son who was always difficult started refusing to go to school. He was in 7th grade at the time. Things were horrible. He ended up on home tutoring for almost half the school year. We saw psychiatrist who diagnosed son with anxiety disorder, mood disorder, and adhd. We went thru some medications and counseling. Things got better and son went back to school to finish out 7th grade. We also used the letter from the psychiatrist to put a 504 plan in place at the school to help son with the issues that caused the anxiety that made him too overwhelmed to attend school. Every year since then we have had a 504 meeting with the school and things were fine. My son is doing great at home and with school. We have not seen any doctors or counselor in 2 years now. No medications either. This year though, ( my son is in 10th grade now) the school wants to do away with my sons 504 plan. They say since he is doing well and we have not needed any medical intervention, there is no need for it and if problems start again, we will just start the process over again. I am absolutely against them dropping the 504. Things are good because of the few litte things the 504 plan provides for us. And believe me, it is mimimal requests that we have. I have just called the psychiatrists office and they said we need a whole new evaluation, etc.. and it would be a while until we get the appointment. Someone will call me back.
My question is, can any medical doctor ( like my sons pediatrician) give me a letter stating his diagnosis and the fact that a 504 plan would be in his best interest to avoid any problems or do we have to see the psychiatrist only for that? I do have the original letter given to us by the psychiatric. with sons diagnosis. Why does the school want so badly to drop the 504 plan? I hate that everything with the schools is a big deal. Thanks for any input or help

 

[runawaybunny]

My question is, can any medical doctor ( like my sons pediatrician) give me a letter stating his diagnosis and the fact that a 504 plan would be in his best interest to avoid any problems or do we have to see the psychiatrist only for that? I do have the original letter given to us by the psychiatric. with sons diagnosis. Why does the school want so badly to drop the 504 plan? I hate that everything with the schools is a big deal. Thanks for any input or help

I found a few links that don't directly answer your question, but may be helpful to understand the laws and your rights.

School Plans to Re-Evaluate My Child Without “Testing” - http://www.wrightslaw.com/blog/?p=7146#sthash.Qwz0G72M.dpuf

Student Placement in Elementary and Secondary Schools and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act - http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/placpub.html

Page 4 of this document has a section on reevaluation: Protecting Students With Disabilities - http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/allergy/2009.OCR.FAQ.504.46Q.pdf

Page 9 of this document: https://web.archive.org/web/20070713051830/http://nichcy.org/pubs/ideapubs/lg1.pdf

According to the last document law requires the school to reevaluate a student at least once every 3 years or more or less often if either you or a teacher requests it.

 

[4Tall]

As a parent, you can refuse to drop the 504. Then they have to do a whole review which will take many months, if they even do it. In the meantime, the services or accommodations continue as they have been under the 504. Your justification should be that your child still has his disability, but it is being taken care of by the 504 as well as x, y, and z that you do at home.

The district may continue to pester you to drop the 504, but as long as you refuse, the supports stay in place.