“An accommodation is a change in a course, test or requirement that a student with a disability needs in order to have access to participate in a course. IEPs also offer modifications while 504s offer accommodations, which public school attorney and special education expert Miriam Kurtzig Freedman said vary drastically in their intention despite their similar sounding designations. Public schools create 504 plans for students, which are personalized learning plans that outline student-specific accommodations to ensure equal learning opportunities.ĥ04 plans are different from Individualized Education Plans, which are given to students whose learning disabilities affect their performance substantially enough to require specialized instruction, while 504s are meant for students whose disability interferes with their learning. Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, every qualified student with disabilities is protected from discrimination in federally-funded education programs. It was several thousands dollars, somewhere in the $7,000 to $9,000 range, and I was looking at changing school districts and physically moving our family away.” “I pretty much blacked out (the costs of getting an accommodation) because it was so traumatic. He got his IEP at the end of fifth grade,” McCormick said. “We started asking for additional support in first grade. McCormick said for her son, the process was taxing both financially and emotionally. While PAUSD excels at educating many students, parents like McCormick say those needing special accommodations often face significant challenges and families face additional costs to access the same quality of education. However, securing these accommodations was no small feat. “It’s the reason why he still hasn’t given up on himself academically.” They’re educators that care deeply about his success, and he knows that he can lean on them for support,” McCormick said. His academic support team at his middle school is solid. I don’t think he would be as confident today if you didn’t have accommodations. McCormick said having testing accommodations as part of a 504 plan has been transformative for her son’s academic journey. And as a sort of protective shield, he has the opportunity to retake any sections on his math tests, removing the stress of any potential simple mistakes. He has focused time to finish all his week’s homework. In the small, cozy classroom, he receives 2-1 individualized attention from teachers who are supportive and caring. Alec Bonnard, Cayden Gu, and Heather Songįor Lori McCormick’s son at Fletcher Middle School, his Academic Success class - a key part of his Section 504 plan - seems almost too good to be true.

504 plan accommodations for testing