504 plans

Are we required by law to have a 504 plan on every child who has ADHD, asthma, vision or hearing problems, previous head injury, etc. or will a nursing care plan work?

I am a School Nurse in Northwest Indiand and we do NOT do 504 for every child with Asthma, etc. We only do 504 plans if it may interfere with the learning process. I have 15 child at my school with possible anaphylatic reactions to various things. we do 504 plans on them. Each situation is reviewed by the principal and he determines if a 504 is needed.

Hope this helps

Poodlehead

The most recent issue of the Journal of School Nursing had a EXCELLENT article on determining who needs a 504.

http://www.nasn.org/josn/journal.htm

Moses, M. Gilchrest, C. & Schwab, N. C. (2005). Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act: Determining eligibility and implications for school districts. Journal of School Nursing, 21, 48-59.

If you are not a NASN member, you can pay to view one article, but it is more economical to join and be able to access all 6 years of back issues.

I am a School Nurse in Northwest Indiand and we do NOT do 504 for every child with Asthma, etc. We only do 504 plans if it may interfere with the learning process. I have 15 child at my school with possible anaphylatic reactions to various things. we do 504 plans on them. Each situation is reviewed by the principal and he determines if a 504 is needed.

Hope this helps

Poodlehead

In TN, you are not required by law to have a 504 plan. I have no 504 plans in my system, but I do have IHP (individual health plans). These are a little different than care plans, because they relate to how things will be handled at school only. I work very closely with my parents that have children with 504 type of illnesses. At the first of the year, I review all the student health histories that are returned, and send IHP specific to that child, home for parents to have input and take to MD. I don't get that many returned, but I call the parents of the ones I am concerned about, and also call parents of any students that I have incidents with, such as asthma, etc. My first year, I had a parent tell me that she only had a 504 plan, because the prior nurse and school was not cooperating with her. Her child has CF. At the first of each year, she and I just meet with the principal to see that everything will be taken care of, then I notify any involved teachers. This is a need to know situation. Same with other 504 type students.

"In TN, you are not required by law to have a 504 plan....." Section 504 is a Federal Civil Rights law preventing discrimination based on disability and it specifically states that it is applicable to all public schools in the United States. In legislation, federal trumps state laws unless state requirements are more rigorous / restrictive.

For the full text of Section 504:

http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=15

In TN, you are not required by law to have a 504 plan. I have no 504 plans in my system, but I do have IHP (individual health plans). These are a little different than care plans, because they relate to how things will be handled at school only. I work very closely with my parents that have children with 504 type of illnesses. At the first of the year, I review all the student health histories that are returned, and send IHP specific to that child, home for parents to have input and take to MD. I don't get that many returned, but I call the parents of the ones I am concerned about, and also call parents of any students that I have incidents with, such as asthma, etc. My first year, I had a parent tell me that she only had a 504 plan, because the prior nurse and school was not cooperating with her. Her child has CF. At the first of each year, she and I just meet with the principal to see that everything will be taken care of, then I notify any involved teachers. This is a need to know situation. Same with other 504 type students.

"In TN, you are not required by law to have a 504 plan....." Section 504 is a Federal Civil Rights law preventing discrimination based on disability and it specifically states that it is applicable to all public schools in the United States. In legislation, federal trumps state laws unless state requirements are more rigorous / restrictive.

For the full text of Section 504:

http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=15

Hi bergren,

Thanks for clarification. Yes it is federal law, but my understanding per our lawyer at school nurse meetings is that a 504 plan is not REQUIRED, if there is no perception of descrimination on either side. We have no state law that trumps this in TN. Yet a parent or school staff may in some circumstances need 504 plan in order to get the others to comply.

The purpose of the 504 plan is to ensure all in district who interact with the child understand what is required by the district to accomodate the child's disability. It is a preventative proactive method of making sure persons who are not familiar with the Rehabilitation Act do not deny a student education or school expereinces that the student has a right to recieve. I have heard it stated also by lawyers that if the district provides all the accomodations that a 504 plan would have documented, then a student's civil rights would not be violated. So having a IEP or an IHP that in essence does the same thing and is communicated is, in your case, substituting for a formal 504 plan. However, not all studnets with 504s have IEPs and not all IHPs are shared with all who would need to know specifically and only aobut accomodations. Violations of disabled student's rights is common (making mom go on field trips, barring student from some after school or travel experiences, not providing privacy for health procedures) , and having the 504 in place and read by all who interact with the child prevents incidents that cause parents to request a hearing which costs the district big bucks (paid mostly to the district's lawyer who, ironically, is telling you the 504 plan is not necessary). Read the Journal of School Nursing article above - it is much more eloquent than I and was the best I have seen regarding the issues that school nurses face with 504s.

As I understand 504 is an antidiscrimination law inacted when a student enters the school. IDEA is an equal access to educate thta is applicable outside the school building per say. A student may be bothe 504 and IDEA qualified and may have an Individualized Health Plan under either.