Do Deal teachers follow 504 Plans?

[Anonymous]

OP what is in your 504 for social skills?

Have you reached out to a guidance counselor at Deal? IEP or not they should be able to help, perhaps even organizing a lunch bunch or something similar.

[Anonymous]

OP you have some time to get your child into a social skills group publicly and privately.. Even possibly improv or other social support before Deal. Best to find him a solid interest

[Anonymous]

Sorry, OP, didn't mean to hijack your thread. I am going to listen now to others' info about Deal. Thanks to all PPs. I may start another thread later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are new to the school and haven't been contacted about the 504 accommodations. I wanted DC to get acclimated but I'm starting to wonder if the teachers know DC has a plan. Suggestions?

504 plans pretty much need to be updated each year. Perhaps I"m misunderstanding, but I would not assume that the accommodations from the old school have been shared with new teachers at all.

Contact the guidance counselor and schedule a meeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can a student get an IEP just for the social aspect even though he is performing at or above grade level?

special ed teacher here. usually, no. as a special education teacher, i'm really supposed to only support academic (reading, writing, and math) instruction at kindergarten and above. my training is that no matter how challenging the behavior, or needy the child, if they are meeting grade level academic expectations they do not qualify for special education. of course, lots of schools break the rules, but generally speaking, most public schools will tell you that a child performing at grade level does not need special education services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can a student get an IEP just for the social aspect even though he is performing at or above grade level?

special ed teacher here. usually, no. as a special education teacher, i'm really supposed to only support academic (reading, writing, and math) instruction at kindergarten and above. my training is that no matter how challenging the behavior, or needy the child, if they are meeting grade level academic expectations they do not qualify for special education. of course, lots of schools break the rules, but generally speaking, most public schools will tell you that a child performing at grade level does not need special education services.

Fortunately the determination of who qualifies for IEP services is not left up to special education teachers. Because this is patently untrue.

IEPs can also include instruction and services for students from other specialists - e.g. speech language pathologists or psychologists. An example would be if a student has difficulty interacting with other students to the deree that he/she cannot participate in group projects, or oral presentations, those deficits can be addressed through social skills groups or other instruction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can a student get an IEP just for the social aspect even though he is performing at or above grade level?

special ed teacher here. usually, no. as a special education teacher, i'm really supposed to only support academic (reading, writing, and math) instruction at kindergarten and above. my training is that no matter how challenging the behavior, or needy the child, if they are meeting grade level academic expectations they do not qualify for special education. of course, lots of schools break the rules, but generally speaking, most public schools will tell you that a child performing at grade level does not need special education services.

You need new training.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not necessarily recommend Deal for a child with social issues. Have you looked at the smaller middle schools?

You can get an IEP for a child with social issues who is preforming above grade level and has no documented medical condition.

DC is multiple grade levels above his peers, but he has severe speech impediment, unexplained muscular issues that leads to difficulty with simple tasks, and severe emotional issues. There is no documented "medical condition" but he receives speech therapy multiple times a week, counseling, and occupational therapy. I tried for an autism diagnosis originally because I was given similar misinformation, but it was ruled out by our pediatrician as DC is "too high-functioning". Thankfully, he had a teacher in 2nd grade who advocated for an IEP, had him tested, and he has received support since then.

Ok, your child has a lot going on, speech language impairment along with emotional issues (ED) and muscular issues are all qualifications for an IEP alone.

From what PP described her child has a 504 for social issues, she didn't mention anything else. To qualify for an IEP when the child has no problems academically there has to be something which makes them qualify besides academics which are part of the law. "Other health impairment" is a catch all category for ADHD type children but I doubt her child would qualify for that. Maybe ED but that is pretty hard to establish for a child who only has social problems and not behavioral problems.

PP with 4th grader -- Deal has a great special ed department. If you are in a feeder school they speak with your special ed coordinator in 5th grade and can give a lot of guidance as to what Deal will look like for your child. I was hesitant about Deal for my child with an IEP (not 504) but it turned out really well. They used to have a specific 504 coordinator, we met with her when we were thinking of moving to a 504 instead of IEP. Not sure if she is still there or how they handle the 504s.

[Anonymous]

I have an 8th grader at Deal with a 504 plan and have had meetings with the special Ed coordinator, at least one team teacher representative, and the grade social worker every year within a couple weeks
Of school starting. I have had to bring it up on occasion with teachers who were not aware and then they have been very accommodating.

[Anonymous]

Pp here. I would contact the student services assistant principal and the social worker for your child's grade. (I don't want to put their emails here in case it changes in the future for people who may refer back to this thread)but you can find them on alicedeal.org under staff directory.

[Anonymous]

My Deal 6th grader has a 504 plan and it was implemented with no issues thus far.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for all the encouraging words about Deal. How I wish there was a meet up IRL for parents whose kids have 504s/IEPs at Deal. I could use more words of wisdom navigating these waters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks so much for all the encouraging words about Deal. How I wish there was a meet up IRL for parents whose kids have 504s/IEPs at Deal. I could use more words of wisdom navigating these waters.

So start one. Just ask school to post a notice in the newsletter and see who shows up. Lots of schools do this.