My child has an IEP for speech. The school wants to give her a 504 plan instead.?

Question

We think she has an auditory processing disorder but it hasn't been diagnosed. Should I keep her IEP so she is still a special education student?

Answer 1

Do NOT get a 504! That document does not provide any services, all it does is set up a system in which she will not have her civil rights violated, it's good for kids with allergies or other medical conditions that affect their physical ability to attend and interact within the school building. It has nothing to do with speech. An IEP actually sets up legal documentation of her needs and the services that the school will provide to meet those needs. It also mandates reasonable goals and sets who is in charge of each of those goals so that someone is held accountable for those services and goals.

In my experience, any school who is trying to get rid of an IEP is trying to get rid of services. Someone else suggested wrightslaw, I would definitely second that, and suggest that you contact your local disability law office, so that they can help counsel you through this or even help you get in touch with appropriate groups. You could even go through local disability support groups, even if not associated with APD (I know it's hard to find groups for that).

and whomever said that your child will have a different diploma, that is not necessarily true. Children who get those have had severely modified work throughout high school. There are many kids with IEP's who graduate with a normal diploma because they do most of the work, prove that they understand the concepts, and have good IEP's written with graduation in mind. I know many many kids with aspergers who have had normal diplomas.

Answer 2

What you need to focus on in an IEP vs. 504 situation is the amount of educational impact her disability has on her educationally. There are tests that measure auditory processing, and you are well within your rights as a parent to request that the school do such testing. 504 is an unfunded mandate and Special Education has federal dollars, so it would make more sense (if your daughter qualifies for Special Education Services) to go with the IEP/Special Ed. But in the end, do what is best for your child, whether it be a 504 plan or an IEP. Good Luck!

Answer 3

It really depends on the extent of services your child may need now and in the future. You are more likely to receive extended services based on the IEP status, however the 504 does not necessarily come with the "stigma" of the special ed IEP. Also, the 504 plan should require that all teachers make modifications as specified at the beginning of each school year and/or as a result of any subsequent 504 meetings. I believe the only difference is that a school psychologist does not have to be present at a 504 meeting like they do with the IEP.

In my opinion, I say keep the IEP--it will provide anything that your child may need in the future that you may not even be aware of yet. Schools however prefer the less restrictive 504 or even more popular: the SST (Student Study Team) because there are less legal liabilities attached to the latter two.

Good luck!

Answer 4

IEPs are documents for special education, if she gets services like speech therapy or special ed, this enables that.
The IEP is a federal mandate. Schools must follow it.

Schools must also follow 504 plans but students on 504 plans are NEVER in special education. That means your daughter wouldn't recieve speech therapy or any special ed services. Your daughter would recieve accomodations, such as being able to write responses instead of verbally stating them, whatever the teacher suggests. This is also a federal mandate but enforcement is a lot less strong.

I suggest NOT going with the 504 plan. The IEP will more likely afford your daughter more services.

Good luck! Did they say why they want to take her off an IEP?

Answer 5

Keep the IEP and request an evaluation for the processing disorder. It is much easier to have an IEP adapted for an addtional, qualifying diagnosis then to have to start from square one all over.

Know, however, that to be on an IEP, a child must meet certain requirements in not only what the disabilities are, but in the levels of delay they result in or the level of adaptative assitance they require. If your child was on a speech IEP and has made tremendous progress, decreasing the percentage of disability to where it falls below the qualifying line for Special Ed, then she would only be eligable for a 504. The same can be said for processing disorders and other types of learning disabilities...simply having the diagnosis does not garuantee special ed services. Your daughter would need to be working at a signifigantly lower educataional level than her current placement to qualify. My daughter, who has a processing disorder as well as ADD, was only about 8 months behing her peers in her test results. The gap was not rated signifigant enough to qualify for a full IEP, but she was placed on a 504 for some testing accomodations. Now, in the year she was on the 504, and as the work load increased in the areas that her processing disorder effected most, the gap increased. We chose homeschooling as the best option for her needs, but had we stayed in school she would be on a full IEP by this point. So be sure to keep an eye on things...if you end up with only a 504, there is always a chance they may have no choice but to change it as she progresses in grade level and work loads increase and the work becomes more independent and written format becomes the norm.

Answer 6

The first step before you do anything is to have her tested . Until then, STALL!

But think carefully about keeping her under the IEP--often chidren are better off under a 504 plan. At the very least, you don't have to worry about her being given an IEP certificate (almost worthless) instead of a high school diploma

But the biggest consideration is: what does your child need. She should definately have regular classes (with reasonable accomodations) as much as possible, with special ed classes apart from other students kept to a minimum. And since there is no cognitive imparment, she should have a full education, evenif it means taking longer in school. Anything less will cripple her later in life more than the impairments.

Answer 7

Yes, every little bit that she can get is better than none.
As long as she has an existing IEP it is easier to modify it if there are other problems that might arise after further testing. If she is in public school in the US then you could ask for another IEP meeting (that is a right you have) and in the meeting you can request that a test for the APD be done. The school system is required by law to allow the meeting and required by law to try in every way possible to make sure she gets all the testing she needs.

Answer 8

In order for your child to have an IEP she must have a learning disability based upon her initial findings- evaluation report to get her eligible for the IEP. Your school district/early intervention must provide you with specific information and have recently completed another evaluation to drop a student out of special education services (IEP). Your child needs to qualify for services, if your child does not meet specific criteria based on special education law, then you may drop the IEP. A 504 plan is used, and lately has been used for children with ADD or ADHD, to set up accommodations for the child which are very different than goals and objectives. IEP's contain goals based upon the child's needs and it require school districts to review progress. Before you make a decision, you need to in writing request for a re-evaluation by an independent party. If you think she has an auditory processing disorder you need to speak to your child's pediatrician and be referred to a developmental pediatrician. Best of Luck.

Answer 9

I hate doing this, answering a question with a question, but why are they wanting to 504? Would transitioning out of special ed/speech be a benefit to her at this time? Has she had much success while being serviced in sped?
That's been my experience... transition to 504 just to keep an eye on her situation instead of exiting her out completely. (Because there is a limit to how many students may be serviced per teacher, is this a staffing issue? There are so many things that come to mind.) Just some things to consider...

Hope this helps,
Mon :-)

Answer 10

How will a 504 plan help with speech? 504 is to help child with accomodation and modifications. For example, if a child has slow processing speed, having a 504 will allow things like 'more time at lockers' 'shorter time to take tests' ect. 504 will not HELP with slow processsing speed. KWIM?
504 will NOT help with speech.
Anyway, before the school can exit a child from sped, they have to do a full evaluation to determine child no longer needs sped.