Top IEP & 504 Tips for Twice-Exceptional Families

A time of new beginnings: Flowers are blooming; eggs are hatching; and American parents are navigating the ins and outs of IEPs/504s at the end of a school term. This time of year usually brings with it a few specific questions around IEPs and 504s, so I wanted to take a moment and answer a few of the most commonly asked questions.

Q. What is an IEP/504?

IEPs (Individualized education program) and 504s (Section 504 of the American Rehabilitation Act of 1973) are both designed to support children with disabilities thrive in U.S. public schools. They fall under Special Education, and while both are similar, they have different rights, protections, and uses within public schools. Read more about them here.

Q. I’ve noticed my child is struggling with X, Y, Z. Should I start the special education process now or just wait until next year?

In general, it’s best to start the process as soon as you recognize an issue. Once a school is notified in writing of a request to evaluate a child for placement in special education, they have 15 days (in most states) to set up an assessment or respond in writing and 60 days to conduct an IEP meeting, excluding breaks more than 5 days.

Unfortunately, this process is often long. It’s not supposed to be, but it is. Start as soon as possible. If nothing else, it starts the clock on day 1 of the new year. The whole special education process has timelines in place, and it is a good idea to ensure compliance by understanding these timelines in your state and school district.

Q. Can I get a 504/IEP for giftedness?

That depends. Giftedness is not federally protected, but can be protected by state. This means that it can be very difficult to get gifted services for 2e children. On the other side, 2e children do have some rights that are important to remember.

1. IEPs and 504s cannot be denied based on grades or performance. This means that any child with a disability as identified under IDEA or ADA can receive an IEP or 504. Failing is not a prerequisite to support. Read more about this here.

2. Children with disabilities cannot be denied access to gifted programs. This is considered discrimination. A twice-exceptional (2e) child who meets the cutoff for gifted programs can’t be denied solely because of an IEP, 504, or disability.

3. Schools must not use a single measure to determine access to services. This means that schools can’t just use grades to determine disability, but must instead use a variety or respected tools to understand the whole child and the effect of a disability on that child’s life. This is really important with the masking that can occur with 2e children. Read more here.

Q. What’s the difference between a 504/IEP?

Both 504s and IEPs have their place in supporting students. The quickest way to explain it (but maybe not the most nuanced way) is that 504s offer accommodations for students to meet the same educational expectations as their peers, while IEPs create specific educational expectations for a child. Services, such as reading, math, etc almost always fall under IEPs.

Both IEPs and 504s are legally binding documents, although they fall under different laws and the rights and protections vary under each. Additionally, IEPs are only for grades k-12, while 504s can follow a child to college or trade schools. Read more about the differences here.

Q. Can my school make changes to my 504/IEP without me?

A school cannot make changes to an IEP without notifying parents and having the parents sign off on the services. However, schools can make minor changes to 504 plans, but cannot revoke them or refuse to follow them without notification to the parents.

Q. What is the one piece of advice you give all parents?

A few things that I tell all parents:

1. Get an advocate. Have this person in place from the very first meeting. If you can’t have an advocate at that first meeting, go with a friend or a trusted advisor. Do not go to these meetings alone. It can be incredibly overwhelming to walk into a meeting with 5-10 specialists, and they all tell you how broken or wrong your child is. No one should experience that, period. Especially not alone.

Hiring an advocate or bringing a friend does not make a meeting confrontation, although some people will tell you this. Having a person who knows the rights and responsibilities of all parties should not be seen as “confrontational,” but rather a proactive move on the part of the parent/guardian to do the very best thing for their child, just as they assume teachers and staff are doing.

Here are some tips on what to do if hiring an advocate isn’t in your budget

2. Take time to remember your child’s strengths and gifts. The special education process is broken. It’s designed to remediate weakness and challenge, which often seems to distill children into their most vulnerable, rather than celebrate their strengths. Before going into these meetings, really take a moment to remember and list your child’s strengths. This will give you a place to speak from when developing a strength-based IEP/504.

3. Write everything down and keep all your records. The special education process relies on written requests, written responses, etc. A verbal conversation has the ability to get forgotten or not shared with all of the appropriate parties. Additionally, the process relies on strict timelines from when things are submitted in writing. Keep copies of everything. Track dates of requests, services, meetings, etc.

The best-case scenario is that the whole process is seamless and all parties work well together to create a perfect solution for a child. This rarely happens, even with the most well-meaning participants.

The special education process in the U.S. can be daunting, but it’s not impossible to get services that support children.

Remember, we aren’t lawyers, and this is not legal advice. Hopefully, though, we’ve given you an entry point into the process.

We know you can do this!

Just being here and reading this is progress. This isn’t an easy process, but you’re doing great!

Stay tuned!

Next week, we’ll provide some plans on helping your IEP Team create strength-based IEPs and 504s.

Comment below and let us know your biggest takeaway from this article or any burning questions you have!

Disclaimer- this is not legal advice