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We are just in the beginning phase of advocating for my 2E son who has ADHD, as well as Dyspraxia. So far, our plan is to go in with a few small accommodations for a 504 and we can adjust as needed. Our goal is to first, just acquire a 504. We are in a district that is difficult to work with, as they're a city district school system, and they'd rather shove you out to the county district for services. The schools are Elementary (K and 1) Academy (2-5) Middle and High. My son is transitioning to Academy so they don't know him.

Here's what I've done so far:
-I emailed the principal and requested we discuss scheduling a 504 meeting.
-She was open to most suggestions (except placing him in gifted). Things like prime seating in the classroom, teachers helping to make sure he doesn't forget to write down his assignments, and using graph paper to aid in his handwriting. She said those are well within the scope of 'best practice'. I've since been told that's how they blow parents off and say 'oh we already do those' without having to secure a 504.
-she asked if he was medicated (can she do that?)
-I asked about placing him in gifted, and she said he could do the work but would not be placed on the gifted roster since he didn't test in in K....he's going into 2nd and his 1st requested they test, but the school declined. I asked her to review his independent scores before making a final decision on gifted and sent scores to her.

What should I press for next? Any tips are welcome. It's intimidating and overwhelming. I'm looking at wrightslaw already but I'll admit it's a little over the top with information.....overwhelming. But I'm trying to comb through it all.

Thanks.

Good job so far.

A few ideas for possible next steps:

In general
1) Keep up with reading on:
- State Laws
- School Policy
- Wrightslaw
- 2e resources
- current government school educational climate, ushered in by common core and enforced by extensive data collection: schools and teachers are rated/ranked based upon achieving equal outcomes and closing gaps (which may be accomplished by capping the growth of kids at the top)

2) Document everything, with time/date, person(s) you spoke with. Keep this in a safe place at home. ALWAYS retain your original documents; if you wish to provide something to the school, provide copies. Document what was provided, to whom, and when. Follow-up to ensure it was received.

504
When the principal states that the accommodations which you have requested are best practice and are already being done, you might want to to suggest that then it would be no problem or inconvenience to formally document them in a 504.

Gifted
I think I would inquire as to why the school declined to test in 1st grade, for admissions to the 2nd grade gifted program. This may be key to opening the door for reconsidering their decision (or lack of in-school data upon which to base a decision).

Meanwhile, what does the "gifted program" consist of? Do you believe it would be a good "fit" for your child? Would it meet your child's needs for appropriate academic challenge and placement with intellectual peers?

I just spoke with the principal again. Here's what I've learned:

-The school psychologist is not working over the summer, so she's unable/unwilling to evaluate his scores to determine gifted eligibility.

-Any and all scores from his elementary school (grades K and 1) 'don't matter at this school' because now he's on ADHD meds and so any prior testing is invalid. (what in the world? if anything, his scores would be better!)

-they will not honor our independent testing results

-they still see no need for a 504 but will consider after 1 month of the next school year, but only if it's affecting his academics (which it won't because he's bored out of his mind)

I've reached out to our psychologist, who will advocate for us if we need her to. (for a fee, of course)

Ugh! I struggle with being a pushover to a point, and then getting really angry. So I'm trying to tread lightly and be friendly in advocating. They did agree to place him in a pod with two gifted certified teachers. Other than that, they're not willing to budge much. Looks like we've got a lot of fun ahead of us.

It is my understanding that for some kids, the meds may dull the mind, depending upon dosage.

Unfortunately, this is pretty typical.
To clarify:
- There is a process for identifying gifted individuals, usually involving an IQ test and often a private psychologist.
- There is a process for selecting students who are a good "fit" for a particular program of a government school's advanced academics, usually involving an achievement test.

Read all you can about 504s.

Money well spent, IMO. Read all you can about advocacy. Discuss strategy and approach. Ensure you are on the same page. Learn all you can from this professional, share resources, attend meetings together.

This is a start, I think. It is possible that these individuals may become your child's allies and help advocate for his educational needs to be met.

Did you document, document, document at home?
Did you follow-up with a friendly, concise letter of understanding after your meeting (summarizing agreements, next steps, timing, etc)? You may wish to draft this and run it by your psychologist/advocate when you meet to discuss strategy and approach.

PM'd you.

Actually, the school can ask if he is medicated. That's typically part of the health record collected by the school nurse, for good medical reasons (in an emergency, it's important to know what medications a child may be on, in case of interactions, side effects, toxicity, etc.). But you can certainly say you'll include that kind of information on the standard medical form, when you send it in to the nurse, rather than discussing his health record with the principal.

It's true that medication cannot be used in determining disability status. Nor can the school force you to medicate him, nor withhold accommodations because you choose to medicate or not medicate him. ADHD also definitely cannot be used per se as a factor in the gifted eligibility process, as that would be clear discrimination on the basis of a disability.

To be a little more specific, his disability status is determined on the basis of how he behaves while unmedicated - whether or not you choose to medicate him for school. (His accommodation list might be different if he needs different accommodations when medicated and you choose to do that. But aeh is right that they can't force you to medicate him or withhold accommodations because you do not.)

If you have not read up on 504 plans at wrightslaw.org and/or read From Emotions to Advocacy, I encourage you to do both.

Good luck!