What is a 504 plan in Arizona? 504 plans fall under a federal statute, specifically, section 504 of the rehabilitation act. Schools can develop a 504 plan to give students with disabilities the support they need. 504 plans also focus more on accommodations. To create a formal 504 plan, students do not actually need to participate in evaluations or screening processes. And these students might not even qualify for special education. 504 plans, as I said, focus more on accommodations and this can be within the regular classroom. So, this might mean accommodations to the environment, how the curriculum is presented to the student, and the list just kind of goes on from there, whatever the student needs to participate in the classroom setting.
Also, underneath the 504 plans, parents are not mandated to participate in the process. So, they might not be invited to the meetings or the creation of the 504 plans. However, parents do need to be notified if their child is going to participate in any type of evaluation. If you’d like more information on this process, we’re happy to help. Other blogs of interest include: