Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Frustrated and exhausted mom

I am sorry to hear he has been experiencing these difficulties.

There are a couple of different issues here that I am seeing.

First, there is the immediate and relatively contained issue of what the appropriate disciplinary response is to the specific incident. If it was contrary to the rules to remove the test to complete out of class, then taking the consequences previously known for this action is not unreasonable. One zero in a year of As and Bs is unlikely to have devastating long-term effects on his transcript. Explaining the circumstances and intent of the action may have more value in underlining the need for a disabled child to have appropriate accommodations than fighting for a lesser consequence might. I personally think it is more important to give administration a different view on the narrative than it is to alter the consequence. But you know your child best, so if there is a significant value to him for you to try to push back on the consequence, then of course, you may wish to do so.

Second, there is the question of his disability rights and implications for both discipline and education. The school has known for some time that he is a student with disabilities, regardless of their provision of a 504 or lack thereof. As a student with a known or suspected disability, he does have protections, but they are mainly applicable when the behavior can be established to have been a manifestation of his disability. In this case, even if the disability is what induced him to take the action, it is less likely that the action was a manifestation of his disability (in the sense that, say, swearing might be a manifestation of a child with a vocal tic's disability). He presumably knew it was against the rules and did it anyway for reasons that might motivate any young person of that age, with or without disabilities. That would simply be age-appropriate poor decision-making, and something to learn and grow from.

That the incident unfolded the way it did, though, does suggest that there is some additional data to bring to the district with regard to the appropriateness of a 504. The AP exams are timed, and with a 504 for extended time, he could receive extended time (and/or typed response, which might make a difference on an AP test with essay writing on it). If there is a pattern of running out of time to complete tests, then this is arguably evidence of educationally-relevant impact, such that extended time is necessary for him to have equitable access to his education. They have normative testing data that the AP accommodations board would accept for at least 50% (and, I suspect, 100%, from how you are describing it) additional time. Perhaps they have no interest in posting additional AP scores of 5 to their district score card?

Behavior is communicative and meaningful, and his behavior in this case suggests that perhaps he is experiencing stress related to time limits. That is an educationally-relevant impact as well.

Thank you aeh for such thorough explanation, which i will use to guide next steps in the coming weeks

purpleviolin,
You've received excellent advice, I'll just add a mention of wrightslaw, a great resource (which you may already be familiar with): https://www.wrightslaw.com/

This recent Wrightslaw post may be of particular interest:
Are Kids with Passing Grades Eligible for 504 Plans and IEPs?
April 16, 2023
https://www.wrightslaw.com/blog/kids-with-passing-grades-eligible-for-504-plans-ieps-yes/

This page of the Wrightslaw website lists many of their articles and updates on 504s. https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/sec504.index.htm

Hopefully, something in this list may benefit your child, and also future readers of this thread.

As always, indigo has curated a very useful list of resources. I'll highlight (emphasis mine) one of the critical passages from the OCR guidance linked inside those resources:

(Page 12—Resource Guide on Students with ADHD and Section 504 https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201607-504-adhd.pdf)

"Someone with ADHD may achieve a high level of academic success but may nevertheless be substantially limited in a major life activity due to his or her impairment because of the additional time or effort he or she must spend to read, write, or learn compared to others.

In OCR’s investigative experience, school districts sometimes rely on a student’s average, or better-than average, grade point average (GPA) and make inappropriate decisions. For example, a school district might erroneously assume that a student with an above average GPA does not have a disability, or has no unaddressed needs related to the disability, and therefore fail to conduct a Section 504 evaluation of that student, even if that student is suspected of having or has been diagnosed with ADHD and receives family provided academic supports outside of school.

In passing the Amendments Act, some Members of Congress emphasized that “it is critical to reject the assumption that an individual who has performed well academically cannot be substantially limited in activities such as learning, reading, writing, thinking, or speaking.”

Thank you aeh and indigo. These are extremely helpful tools I can use against administration who said the following:

Good afternoon everyone,


We will not have another 504 meeting nor another IEP meeting unless there is compelling new information that can be provided. I understand that A may feel like the school-work is too much for him (like 7-8 hours to read one chapter in historu). I do want to remind the team that A is taking three honors level classes and two AP classes as a Sophomore. It is not an easy load. Although he is making three “Bs” and three “As” right now, I suspect some of those Bs will become “As” as he made straight “As” last semester. Because of this, it is clear that he is indeed, accessing the curriculum and doing it well.

aeh, your expertise has once again brought laser-sharp focus.


purpleviolin, I'm so glad this gives you the "compelling new information" needed for further advocacy. Here's a round-up of posts on advocacy, crowd-sourced as parents contributed on this forum over the years: Advocacy as a Non-Newtonian Fluid. Remember, we cannot work "against" a school or district, we must work "for" meeting a child's needs (including correctly assessing those needs and determining appropriate supports)... in doing this we may "raise awareness" and provide "guidance" as to what various experts and the law have set forth.

Please share all information and discuss strategy with your son, proactively. This may entail several conversations. It is not unusual for a school or district to attempt a "divide and conquer" strategy. Your family members must all be on the same page. This may be especially crucial as your son is in high school and may be expected and/or required to self-advocate.

Seeing that response from the principal, they may think he is taking on too much and nondisabled students would have the same issues.
When you had your 504 meeting, did they accept that he has disabilities affecting a major life activity and then determine that he has full access to the curriculum? Or did they deny the disability? Not finishing a test is "new information" for sure.

And if you are not successful in pursuing this, there are other avenues to force the issue--- mostly to take a closer look at what the school is doing. In my area, we have advocacy groups that provide free advocacy, and there are paid advocates and lawyers. Any of those would help to gather data for you if you don't already have a ton. You need data to counter the school system data.
There are also your due process rights. And in many states, there's a process to accept and investigate complaints for both Special Education and 504s. But before I would do that, I'd gather a lot of data-- otherwise, your school system looks like they followed the law (doing an assessment, gathering data on educational impact and holding meetings). You will need to show they missed something

purpleviolin, in case this may be of interest as you prepare for your meeting: this old post has links to several sources providing checklists and wording for possible 504 Accommodations
http://giftedissues.davidsongifted....ists_for_possible_504_ac.html#Post234023

Again, be sure to discuss with your son, and ensure you are in agreement and working together toward the same goals, prior to meeting with the school.