Understanding Section 504 & IEP

A plan for a student's special education services at school. This includes measurable goals that the student is working towards mastery on that address their disability related needs.

There are two requirements for a child to have an IEP.  

First, they must criteria as a student with one or more of the 13 disability categories listed in IDEA.

• Speech Impairment
• Specific Learning Disability
• Other Health Impairment (OHI)
• conditions that limit a child’s strength, energy, or alertness.
• Autism
• Emotional Disturbance
• Vision Impairment
• Deaf or Hard of Hearing
• Deaf-blindness
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Intellectual Disability
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Multiple Disabilities
• Noncategorical Early Childhood (NCEC)*

This is a disability category specific to Texas, as individual states can choose how they want to assign disability categories, as long as they cover all of the federal disability terms and definitions.  The broader, IDEA term, is developmental delay.  NCEC is used for students age 3-5.  It is often difficult to identify disabilities in very young children. With early intervention and appropriate services, children may not need special education by the time they reach first grade. The NCEC category allows preschoolers to benefit from special education and related services without being labeled with a specific disability.  In Texas, a child between the ages of 3-5 may be described as “NCEC” if he or she has met criteria with one of the following:

• Intellectual Disability
• Emotional Disturbance
• Specific Learning Disability
• Autism

Second, the disability must impact the child's educational performance in such a way that specialized instruction is required to progress in the general education curriculum.   For preschool age students, the impact evaluated is their active participation in preschool activities. 

If a parent or educator suspects a child may have a disabling condition that requires specialized instruction, the referral process should be triggered. Information is gathered on how the child functions in the academic setting from educators as well as in the home and community setting from the families. 

Evaluation staff then review the information and determine if there is a need to evaluate for a disabling condition.  

The evaluation consists of a multidisciplinary team that provides information and may complete direct testing as part of the Full and Individual Evaluation (FIE).

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

This is a federal special education law for children with disabilities.

There are legal requirements about who participates in the creation of an IEP.   The ARD committee, or IEP team, that must include:

• The child’s parent or caregiver
• At least one of the child’s general education teachers, typically a teacher who is responsible for implementing a portion of the IEP
• At least one special education teacher, typically the service provider for the student
• A representative that can speak to the instructional implications of the evaluation results
• A district representative with authority over special education services

When a new evaluation for a disability category is being reviewed and accepted by committee, initially or as a reevaluation, an evaluator that can interpret the results must be present.  This may be an educational diagnostician, a licensed specialist in school psychology, or a speech and language pathologist. 

The IEP sets learning goals and describes the services the school will provide. It’s a written document.

Critical portions of the IEP include:

• The child’s present levels of academic and functional performance
• Annual IEP goals for the child that address needs determined in the present levels section utilizing specially designed instruction (often capitalizing on strengths determined in the evaluation or from classroom data)
• The services the child will receive, including the time, duration, frequency, and location
• Any accommodations (changes to the child’s learning environment)
• Any modifications (changes to what the child is expected to learn)
• State and district assessments.  This could indicate a need for alternative assessments, accommodations on the assessments as written, or a commination of the two
• To what extent the child will be included in general education classes and school activities

Families must consent in writing for the school to evaluate their child. They must also consent in writing before the school can provide the services outlined in an initial IEP. 

When the LEA wants to change a child’s services or placement, it has to discuss the recommendation with the family through an amendment or brief ARD/IEP meeting, and provide notice of the change in writing before the change. This is called prior written notice. 

Notices are also required for any IEP meetings and evaluations.

Three notices of a meetings are sent to families.

The ARD committee/IEP team must review the IEP at least once a year.

The child must be reevaluated every three years to determine whether a disabling condition continues to exist and to recommend if services are still needed.