Legal Help for Individualized Education Program and 504 Plans in NJ
Is your child struggling at school? Do you believe the school system is meeting your child’s educational needs? Did you know the school has an obligation to meet those needs? We can help.
There is an old Chinese proverb which tells us that “Learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back.” Yet we know that advancement in learning requires more than hard work, it requires that a student be taught using methods which are appropriate to his or her skill level.
For example, I am a college professor and I’m also a dad of twin four year olds; both of them I teach. It would be folly for me to use the same educational techniques on my preschool sons as I do with my sophisticated college students.
In short, for education to be effective, a teacher must cater the lesson to the student. The law recognizes this fact and simultaneously recognizes that not all students learn in the same way or at the same pace.
Consequently, there are a host of services which a public school is required to provide to any student who is deemed in need of additional support. Two of these aids are Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans.
IEPs and 504 Plans for K-12 Students in NJ
For those readers who are unfamiliar with these terms let me summarize them by explaining that an IEP and a 504 plan are formal programs of specific supports and services which are offered to K–12 students who have been identified as having either a learning or an attention difficulty.
An IEP is governed by the federal special education law known by the acronym “IDEA”. The law is formally known as The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. A 504 plan, on the other hand, is governed by a federal civil rights law, specifically Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Differences Between IEPs and 504 Plans
While IEPs and 504 plans share some commonalities there are important differences which distinguish these two important special education laws.
The IEP, at no cost to the parent or guardian, is designed to provide services that are individualized to meet the unique special education needs of the student.
A 504 plan, again provided at no cost to the parent or guardian, is designed to focus on the actual learning environment and changes made thereto in order to adequately address the specific needs of the student who is to benefit from the plan.
The purpose of both an IEP and a 504 plan is simply to educate children with special needs. To qualify for an IEP the child must display at least one of 13 specific disabilities set forth in the statute and that disability must have a deleterious effect on his or her education. In order to qualify for a 504 plan the child must show any disability which hinders the learning process.
Both the plans are not simply created by the school and then imposed on the student but are meant to be co-authored by the child’s parents and the teachers along with other qualified professionals.
If you believe your child would benefit from either an IEP or a 504 plan, please contact the law offices of Gruber, Colabella, Liuzza and Thompson for a free consultation with our NJ Education Law attorney Dr. Daniel Agatino.