We never had 7 or 8 teachers trying to write the 504/IEP. Usually we had most teachers come in and give a report and get some feedback and only one or two would stay for the writing part of the meeting.
We didn't have all teachers stay for the entire writing of the report part of the meeting either, but our school required all teachers to attend the meeting, and they were allowed to leave once the accommodations list was reviewed. Some left beforehand, stating that they would agree to everything. The key was that they had to be there to agree to the accommodations (at some point in time) and to voice any objections that they might have - because if they hadn't technically "agreed" it would have caused more of a hassle for the coordinator and student etc when/if the teacher who hadn't been present objected to an accommodation written into the 504. If a teacher popped in for the first part of the meeting, said they would agree to whatever we decided on, then left, they had less ground to stand on in arguing over an accommodation after the 504 is written than if they had never been present or weren't invited to the meeting.
While it's not legal to *not* follow the 504, it is a plan that has to be workable otherwise it simply won't get followed. This is just a for-instance. Suppose you write in an accommodation for turning in assignments via email. One of the teachers isn't present at the meeting. That teacher doesn't want assignments turned in via email, so he arbitrarily chooses not to accept them. It may be in the 504, but he, in turn, can say he didn't agree to that accommodation. Does this mean your student won't have FAPE in his classroom? Not necessarily, because there are other ways to get assignments turned in and accomplish the same accommodation goal - which the teacher *could* have brought up at the 504 meeting if he'd attended. If he had attended, he could have voiced his concern about why email wouldn't work for his class, and offered up a different option, which could have been written into the 504. Probably not the best example, but things like this have happened to our ds.
The law for 504 is the representative chairing the meeting and at least one teacher. But more can come if available. I find the more there the worse the plan for my son. One chair, one or both parents, and two teachers is the most I want. Once you get seven or eight teachers, gets to be a mess writing the thing.
I haven't found that having more teachers makes anything worse; it helped us because we could avoid situations like I mentioned above. What helped us also was going in with very clear accommodations, documentation of need, and a reasonable expectation that the accommodations we were asking for could actually take place. The actual plan wasn't technically written at the meeting, it was agreed upon and the 504 coordinator drafted it after the meeting was over, then circulated it to us (parents and student) to be sure it reflected our understanding of what was said at the meeting.
polarbear
