Gwen Zittoun discusses useful guidance included in the latest guide on Section 504 released by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). This article originally appeared in SpecialEdConnection®.

Download: Printable PDF

Review noteworthy scenarios from OCR’s latest guide on Section 504

For the most part, OCR’s Parent and Educator Resource Guide to Section 504 in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, published Dec. 28, serves as a reminder to districts of their obligations to students with disabilities under Section 504.

What makes it stand out, however, is that in it OCR breaks down the basic steps of Section 504, said Gwen J. Zittoun, school attorney with Shipman & Goodwin LLP in Hartford, Conn.

“This is almost like the outline of a procedures manual,” Zittoun said. “We haven’t received anything like that from OCR in the past.”

The agency tends to favor FAQs, which can be helpful for fact-specific issues but aren’t as useful for training staff on the overall aspects of the law, Zittoun said.

In this guide, OCR explains at length the meaning of disability under Section 504 and the process for determining if a student is eligible. The guide includes comparisons between Section 504, Title II of the ADA, and the IDEA as well as important reminders, including:

• A student with average or above-average grades can still have a disability under Section 504.
• In determining eligibility, teams must consider other major life activities besides learning.
• A student may be protected from discrimination even if she doesn’t need any services or accommodations through a 504 plan.
• Schools cannot require a parent of a child with a disability to attend a field trip to care for the student.
• Retaliation based on a parent’s advocacy for their child with disabilities is prohibited under Section 504.

To illustrate these and other points, OCR proffers 11 scenarios. Consider using these as case examples for your next staff training session. Review a sample of three scenarios districts face, edited for length and clarity, followed by expert analysis of each:

Scenario: A fourth-grade teacher notices that a student has trouble concentrating during class and takes significantly longer than most students to complete in-class assignments. The teacher doesn’t think the student needs special education services because she is earning B’s and C’s. What should the teacher do?

OCR says: “The teacher needs to inform the proper individuals in the school system that the student needs to be evaluated.”

This has been one of OCR’s frequent messages in the past several years, Zittoun said. A student’s average or even above-average grades do not disqualify him from Section 504.
Continue Reading Gwen Zittoun Quoted in Special Ed Connection Article “Review noteworthy scenarios from OCR’s latest guide on Section 504”