Special Programs | sjhcounselor

IDEA

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the nation’s federal special education law that ensures public schools serve the educational needs of students with disabilities. IDEA requires that schools provide special education services to eligible students as outlined in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). IDEA also provides very specific requirements to guarantee a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment (LRE). FAPE and LRE are the protected rights of every eligible child, in all fifty states and U.S. Territories.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Children between the ages of 3 and 21, who meet the eligibility criteria in one of thirteen qualifying disabilities and who require special education services because of the disability can qualify for services under IDEA.

504

Students can qualify for 504 plans if they have physical or mental impairments that affect/limit any of their abilities to:

walk, breathe, eat, or sleep/stand, bend, lift, or work/communicate, see, hear, or speak/read, concentrate, think, or learn
Examples of accommodations in 504 plans include:
preferential seating
extended time on tests/assignments
reduced homework/classwork
behavior management support
adjusted class schedules or grading
Oral testing
pre-approved nurse's office visits and accompaniment to visits
occupational or physical therapy

The goal of 504 plans if\s for all students to receive the services, accomodations, or instructional/educational aids that need to ensure they can be educated in the regular classroom.