What's the difference between a 504 plan and an IEP?

Both of these documents protect children with disabilities in their school environments, but are different in the needs they address.  And while it is possible for a child to have BOTH a 504 plan AND and IEP, it is generally rare.

Let's begin with the least restrictive of the two - the 504 plan. Like the IEP, a 504 is a federally mandated and binding agreement between the school and the family that certain conditions exist for a student and that certain accommodations will be made for that student so that he or she can be successful and healthy in school.

Generally, you see a 504 plan for a child with a medical issue which prevents that child either from participating fully in the curriculum or whose health may be affected without specific considerations.  These issues range from a child with asthma or diabetes, to a child with food allergies, or even a child with ADD.  In most cases, there are certain considerations that the school needs to make, but for the most part that child can be fully surrounded by her peers and be in class.  Considerations may include a nut-free table in the lunch room, or even specific rooms or even whole campuses being nut free.  It could be allowing an asthmatic child to keep his inhaler with him, though the school has a strict policy that all medicines be with the nurse.  It could be allowing a child with diabetes to eat whenever he needs to.. all things that should be written down for the protection of the child, but that generally can be managed without removing the child from the regular school environment.

An IEP, then, is one step further away from that unrestrictive environment.  A child whose learning is becoming affected because of his or her medical condition may then qualify as a child with an Other Health Impairment and is awarded the protection and more significant accommodations to help him be successful.

Generally, under Other Health Impairment, we don't see children with diabetes or asthma; we see more students who have other emotional or behavioral concerns which impede their ability to function fully in the regular class environment.

This is not to say that co-morbidity does not exist, and you won't see a child with both a learning disability for which he has an IEP and something like asthma, for which he has a 504 plan.  However, when the 504 was originally written for either a behavior or emotional reason, such as ADD or a mood disorder, then once the child needs an IEP, the 504 is no longer recognized as the guiding document, and since the rules governing IEPs are even more strict that those of a 504.  Once an IEP is written, the team generally considers that 504 plan to be null and void.

Educationally yours,

The SpEd Guru