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

My Child has ADD; do they qualify for Special Education?

Without wanting to come across circumspect, the best answer to this question is MAYBE.  There are certainly cases where students are serviced under Special Education who are not learning disabled or meet the criteria for having an emotional handicap. In fact, in my years of teaching, I have always had at least one, often more, students whose only "issue" is that they have ADD.

So how does a parent get to the point where their child gets the additional servcies that come with an IEP? Its not a short process, I want you to know that going into it.

And why does it often take so long for a student with ADD to be indentified as needing an IEP? I hope to address that point as well in this post.

Remember, the whole goal of education is to provide a FREE AND APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION to all students. Along with that, the federal guidelines established under 2004's IDEA show a push toward maintaining a "Least Restrictive Environment" for all students.  This regulation is in direct contrast to the way things were handled fifty years ago when students who didn't fit the typical picture would be sent off to either a special school or an institution.  Times have changed dramatically since then and I would like to think we have learned a thing or two along the way.

With that in mind, when a student exhibits behavior in the classroom, say, "typical ADD behavior", many things need to happen, in sequence, before a student is identified as needing special education. General classroom interventions are the first place to begin.  I will have a seperate post on things that have been proven to work with students who are easily distracted. When those classroom interventions show they are not successful, the next step in the process is NOT an IEP.  Since ADD is a medical concern, the logical next step is for the child to be serviced and proctected under what is called a 504-plan.  Just like an IEP, a 504 is a federally recognized, legally binding contract between the parent and the school, and it should lay out reasonable accommodations that your child is entitled to in order to help him or her be successful.

An IEP is advised for students with ADD only when other resources have proven to be 'not enough' to help the student.  Some parents do want to jump straight into an IEP once the diagnosis of ADD is handed down by a doctor (and remember, schools cannot diagnose. This is not to say that teachers are incapable of noticing the behaviors associated with a student with ADD, but since ADD is often treated with medication, it is only diagnosed by a doctor). I would caution them to do this for the following reason. 

The nature of an IEP basically states that for whatever reason, that child is "disabled". While that may be true, and again, in my years' of teaching, I have met students who were truly disabled by their condition, remember, no one wants to call a child disabled when he or she is not.. it feels wrong to educators, to parents and especially to the children affected.

So, the long and short of the question is this - can a child with ADD qualify for and receive Special Education servcies? Yes.  However, as a parent, it is your responsibility to ensure that your child is successful in the LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT POSSIBLE before placing him or her in Special Education.

Educationally yours,

SpEd Guru