Special Education is an educational approach that addresses the unique needs of children with disabilities to ensure that they receive appropriate instruction and support. Special education is provided at no cost to parents. There are two types of special education programs available to children with disabilities – a 504 Plan or an Individual Education Plan. The child’s disabilities will determine which special education program the student will utilize.
A 504 Plan is a part of the Rehabilitation Action of 1973 which safeguards that individuals with disabilities are not discriminated against in any program or activity receiving federal funding, including public schools. It is a plan that is developed to provide accommodations for students with disabilities that will allow them to fully participate in the general education setting alongside non-disabled peers. A 504 Plan will focus on accommodations that needed to remove the barriers to education for the student that are caused by the student’s disability. A 504 Plan will not alter the general education curriculum or provide a specialized curriculum tailored to meet the disabled student’s needs.
In order to qualify for a 504 Plan, a student must have a disability that substantially limits major life activities such as learning, reading, or daily living such as Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder, Dyslexia, Asthma, Diabetes, or Anxiety. A 504 Plan does not require a formal special education evaluation. In lieu of a formal special education evaluation, a parent or guardian can simply request a 504 Plan. Once requested, the school will assess the student and determine the student’s needs. After the student’s needs are assessed, the school will make the appropriate accommodations. A 504 Plan will provide specific accommodations such as extended time on assignments and exams, preferential classroom seating, access to assisted technology such as text to speech or hearing aids (sound amplification), or access to adaptive equipment such as special chairs or keyboards.
Individual Education Plan, known as an “IEP” is a part of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (“IDEA”) of 2004 which ensures that that disabled students receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (“FAPE”). Unlike a 504 Plan, an IEP will modify the general education curriculum or provide a specialized curriculum tailored to each child’s specific needs to prepare the student for employment and independent living.
To be eligible to receive an IEP, a student must undergo a Full and Individual Evaluation (“FIE”) through their local public school district. The FIE evaluates the child’s health, vision and hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status (speech) and motor abilities (occupational/physical therapy). If the FIE determines that a child is eligible for special education, the Admission, Review, and Determination (ARD) committee will determine what services the child will receive. Services for students with disabilities that need an IEP can include services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, along with modification of the curriculum, instructional materials, or assessments.
If a child is having behavioral problems in the classroom, often a Functional Behavior Assessment “FBA”) will be performed. FBA’s can assist in figuring out the cause of problem behaviors. A Behavior Intervention Plan “BIP”) can be established to help prevent problem behaviors by addressing their cause. A BIP describes the problem behavior, the reason the behavior occurs, and the intervention strategies that will address the problem behavior. Services for children having behavioral problems can include counseling for the student by a school counselor.
The biggest source of contention between parents and legal guardians of the child and the school surround services. Parents and legal guardians push for more services for the child and the school is offering less due to staffing and budget issues – not because of the child’s needs. Parents and legal guardians need to be aware that just because a child receives services such as counseling, occupational therapy, physical therapy or speech therapy, doesn’t mean the child will receive the same type of services they would receive from a private practitioner. Schools most often use a collaborative model in lieu of a clinical model. In the collaborative model, the professionals (occupational, physical and/ or speech) provide instruction to the teachers and provide ideas to implement in the classroom professionals such as using a certain type of paper, short pencils, headphones, seat cushions, or word processors.
A 504 Plan is geared toward ensuring that students have equitable access to the general education classroom while and IEP focuses on educational benefits often including direct services such as speech therapy or occupational therapy. Both plans ensure that students with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate education and are vital to guarantee that disabled students received the necessary support to thrive in the educational environment so that all learners enter into school with a promise and exit with a purpose.
