Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional 504 help needed

My dd has had a great year in middle school. Unfortunately, one of the teachers who really gets her is leaving. We sat down with that teacher and she helped us come up with a list of changes to my dd's 504 based on what she has seen works best with dd. I sent a politely worded email with draft language to the counselor who handles 504s. She said that she wanted to wait until the new teacher had been hired "to see if she will be able to accommodate our requests." I sent back a terse email stating that 504s are about meeting the student's needs now and in HS, not whether a particular teacher is willing to do so. Do I have any other recourse? School is out and I'm not sure about how much longer they will be there.

I'll be interested in the replies knute, as our ds' school has a similar approach/attitude. There's a small part of it that makes sense - the team needs to agree accommodations are needed and appropriate, but the accommodations aren't meant to be designed at the teacher's convenience, they should be designed to provide FAPE.

In your situation (if you were in our district), there wouldn't be anything that would happen at this point in the year - the counselors are gone once school is out, and 504 plans aren't reviewed until school starts in the fall. Until that annual meeting in the fall takes place, the 504 plan from the previous year (or previous school) is considered to be still in place and has to be followed. Our school specifically wants the new teachers for the new school year to be the teachers present at the 504 meeting, so that they understand what the accommodations are and can bring up any concerns about the accommodations - all of which I think is fine, as long as they aren't saying they can't do something because it isn't convenient or they don't want to etc. I think it's possible that's all your 504 coordinator meant by waiting until fall when the new teacher had been hired. I think it was a *good* thing for our ds that his 504 meeting was held in the fall with his new teachers because when there were issues during the school year we were able to refer back to the meeting at which these specific teachers had agreed to the accommodations. If you want to get the 504 updated before the start of the school year, I'd send your request for an update in writing to whoever the head of your district's 504 program is, cc the school counselor, and request a reply within 10 days. I am guessing that the person who is in charge of 504s for the district is likely to still be working over the summer.

Since this year's teacher helped you with the draft recommendations, I'd get a letter from her listing them if you can, to lend credibility to the request.

Good luck!

polarbear

Your response sounds exactly on-pitch, Knute-- I'd maybe follow it up with a phone call if this is still within the contract year (it might be, if it's the week after-- and in some districts, there is staffing in the office for a few weeks during the summer).

I agree that a fall 504 meeting as a routine thing is a great idea-- but changes can happen when they need to. Clearly, a teacher who knew your child in a classroom setting saw genuine needs, and took the time to outline accommodations for classroom use. That's HUGE-- because nobody but a classroom teacher is really in much of a position to say what can/can't happen in the flow of a classroom-- that's why it's such a good idea to have teachers as part of the 504 team.

Good luck.

I think it is a good idea to wait and have the new teacher present for 504 meeting if that's possible. You can bring the list from old teacher, keep your positive focus on helping your child, and explain what everything means and how/why it helps if the teacher is open-minded and communicative.

Before this last year started, our "504 meeting" was just a phone call with coordinator, pretty much reaffirming the one that had been written years ago. BIG MISTAKE. In fairness, I had no idea what DS was facing at his new school (first year in middle school), and his 504 accommodations had never really been necessary before--and were inadequate to the situation.

I have this optimistic slant that had we all met at the beginning of the year, some of the problems might have been avoided. His core teachers were all inexperienced teachers in the first place--and even less experienced with 2E/504. I don't think they understood what the 504 meant (and, therefore, did not seem to take it seriously). Since you don't know the new teacher's background and experience, a face-to-face meeting could be very useful for your child.

It also gives you an opportunity to present yourself as a reasonable, informed, and involved parent. You can smile and nod and repeat the mantra that this is a benefit for your child, and you are happy to help and communicate as much as is needed.

Normally, we have our 504 meeting in the fall. I fell some sense of urgency with this because the two teachers who have been DD's emotional support are leaving. I'm having a hard time accepting that the new teachers, both in writing intensive classes, could possibly come up with a better proposal than a teacher who has had my kid in the classroom for the past year. Even more compelling for me, the teacher who came up with the proposed accommodations has a similar profile to DD. I'm not saying that the new teachers won't have something to add but I want to get this teacher's recommendations in the plan.

We always had my daughters IEP meetings at the end of the school year. Partly it was just timing but it worked out well because a teacher who has been working with a child all year has a better idea of what they need the next year than one who's still trying to get a handle on them. I think it's very reasonable for the old teacher's to be the one to come up with the accommodations.

And my understanding was we could change our 504 (DS has a 504) at any time if new or changed accommodations were needed. But getting any change while school is out for the summer would be difficult. What happens in my school district is the schools basically shut down about a week after school is out for about 6 weeks. (They don't get paid during most of the summer) And then staff & counselors become active again 3-4 weeks before the school year begins. So you might need to wait till August till you get any response. Check with the district or school for their schedule.

The input from this year's teachers is invaluable, and you want that to be considered and included in next year's 504. That doesn't mean that the input from next year's teachers isn't also valuable. You've done exactly what you need to do to capture input from one of this year's teachers (do you have the same input from the other teacher who is leaving?). It sounds like you're just running into the end-of-the-school year time when everyone is busy or has already left and it's not easy to pull together an update meeting. My guess is that if you'd made a request (for the same reason) for an update meeting 1-2 months before school was out, the meeting would have come together. Chances are you didn't know they were leaving then.

I wouldn't panic and assume that their input won't be included in next year's 504 - you have documented information from at least one of the teachers, thoughtfully put together. You've made a written request to update the 504. When you have the 504 meeting in the fall with the new teachers, include the information from the teachers, preferably in a letter form that comes from them. Make sure it's discussed and considered. Fight to include it if you have to. My guess is that the new teachers will *want* to hear the input from the previous teachers, specifically because they haven't taught your dd yet.

polarbear