504 Plans - Roseville,CA

Contact the counselor of the school to move things forward. They will be the ones in charge of the meeting, not the principal.
There is a set list of accomodations that are available for 504 students. More often than not special education coordinators will try to go with the least amount of accomodations with which the student can function and be successful. More accomodations can actually be restricting versus fewer ones. The meeting will involve the input from teachers, your son, and you to help determine what is best for him.

I hope this helps. If you have specific questions you can PM me. I was a special education core teacher for 5 years before moving into regular core.

2txtots suggestion was just what I was going to say. I will add that if you see a therapist or someone who is helping your son on the side, also ask them what their recommendations might be. My son has vision issues; when we met for the 504 before school, I had his evaluation handy as well as suggested accommodations the therapist had given. (Having that list from her also felt validating, too!)

The way the meeting goes depends much on the personalities of everyone involved. No matter the order in which things go, you, of course can offer suggestions for accommodations or not, depending on what you want to do. With some personalities they will encourage you to take the lead. However, if you're not comfortable taking the lead, they will. Other personalities will immediately take the lead but they will give you many opportunities for input.

It's recommended that you send a written request for a 504 eligibility determination to both the 504 Coordinator (usually someone in the special ed office) and the 504 compliance officer (usually the principal). Send it by certified mail. Seriously. Then, they'll contact you to set up an initial meeting. Bring all the evidence that your child qualifies for a 504 plan (that they meet the critera for a disability as it's defined in Section 504). Maybe even bring a signed letter from a doctor and test results.

Usually the first meeting is just an elibibility determination. After all the parties (could include school psychologist, nurse, teachers, etc) agree that the child qualifies, then they set up a meeting to discuss accommodations. It might take several meetings to get all the accommodations worked out. You will definitely be a part of these meetings, and should take the lead in suggesting accommodations.

After the plan is worked out and signed by all the teachers, the 504 compliance officer (principal) is responsible for making sure the accommodations are being carried out.

Contact your local PTI center for support and printed resources. http://www.yellowpagesforkids.com/help/ptis.htm
They may also be able to direct you to a parent advocate who can help you through the 504 process. But just be aware that some parent advocates are employed by the school district, so they may not really be all that helpful....

A 504 has been working for us since 2nd grade. I think they are great as it is a sort of meeting of the minds of all the folks that are in your son's educational life.

Our son had some fine motor skill issues and they suggested that we buy pencil grips. So simple, so cheap but we would have never thought about it.

My suggestion would be to sit down and think about what your son's biggest challenges are and then think of something that might help or throw it out to the group and see if they have anything.

Examples are: if your son forgets to bring home textbooks, ask for an extra set at home.
If your son has trouble taking notes, you can purchase a livescribe pen. Then he can take notes, but the device records the teachers voice along with it. He can then go back into his notes, tap the pen at that place and hear the teacher's voice.
More time on tests or he can take tests in a separate room.
We also have a tutor to lessen hw battles at home and permission to do every other problem on hw assignments.
Also, we type or actually my son now types some of his assignments and that makes it much easier for him.
Good luck. its a hard road but schools are willing to help and want to see your child succeed.