Does The School HAVE To Follow My Child's 504 Plan?
By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 I get frequent calls from parents with children on 504 Plans (disability accommodations plans) which seem symbolic due to lack of implementation at school. Failing to follow the 504 Plan is completely and totally improper and schools can get in big trouble for ignoring 504s. Some issues I see with 504 Plans are: 1) Poorly written (e.g. not adequate number or specific enough accommodations), or 2) Lack of enforcement, or 3) No 504 Plan. Presuming there IS a 504 in place with some form of accommodations included, parents should not be faced with the issue of compliance with the 504 by school personnel. It should be written and done, right? Unfortunately, 504 implementation issues are common. For example, the 504 states that the student is to be seated in the front of the classroom, and the teacher refuses. Or, the student is to be given classroom notes, but these never a...