Spina bifida, 504 plans and middle school

I wanted to talk a little bit about Anna's transition to middle school and updates we've made with respect to her 504 plan.  My goal and hope is to provide assistance to others in the spina bifida/hydrocephalus community.  If you click here, it will bring you to a reference sheet for 504 plans for kids with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.  We have found this extremely helpful in describing how Anna functions to teachers and school administrators.  Bring copies to your IEP/504 meetings!    

When Anna started the 6th grade in September, we knew we would most likely have to update her 504 plan for middle school.  This year, she has 5 different core classes with 5 different teachers, in addition to 2 specials which change up every 30-60 days.  School is different and more complicated this year.

For a bit of background information, Anna began preschool under an IEP in order to receive PT and OT services.  That continued up until 3 years ago when the school deemed her capable of rolling off of OT and PT.  Rich and I were a bit surprised when that happened as we always assumed she would be on some sort of plan due to the fact that she was born with spina bifida and is required to receive nursing services.

At that point, someone with the school pulled us aside and recommended starting the process of securing a 504 plan for Anna.  While everyone at the elementary school was aware of Anna's needs and no one anticipated any issues, that could/would change when she moved up to the middle school and rolling a child from an IEP to a 504 could be easier than waiting two years to petition for a 504.

What's the difference between an IEP and a 504 plan?  There are many differences but a teacher friend best described it at dance the other night when someone asked that very same question.  Very basically, with an IEP, the curriculum is changed in some way in order to meet the student's needs.  With a 504, the curriculum is unchanged but accommodations are made for the student.

So Anna's had a 504 plan for the past three years and, honestly, there's never been an issue.  I've never had to remind anyone of any of her accommodations.  Everyone at the elementary school was very willing to help out.  We really didn't know what to expect for middle school though and decided the best approach would be to wait and see how the first few weeks of school played out.

One of the benefits to being at home full time now is hearing everything (and I mean everything) that happens at school firsthand.  The girls jump in the van after school and they start talking.  Based on what the girls were telling me, I began to make a list of potential concerns.  For example, arriving to class late.        

The first month of school passed by without incident and I continued to take notes based on what the girls were telling me.  I knew at some point the school would contact us about updating Anna's 504 but I feel it's better to be proactive versus reactive.  That being said, I didn't want to run up to the school without a plan and without knowing what Anna really needed.  I know I can contact the school at any time if we have concerns and accommodations included in 504 plans can be changed whenever needed, but everyone's busy and I want to limit the back and forth.

And then something happened that caused me to call the school and set up an appointment.  The incident ended up being a complete non-issue, but again, I wanted to be proactive rather than reactive.  The incident?  The girls have a math quiz/test at least once a week.  When the teacher hands back a quiz/test, their homework that night is to get the quiz/test signed and to correct any incorrect problems.  I think this is a really good idea as it forces students to (hopefully) learn from their mistakes.  Allie and Anna come home from school one Thursday afternoon with a math test.  I signed both, they made corrections, stapled it together and were good to go for the next day.

They had math first period that Friday.  The tests were handed in to their teacher and they thought they were all set.  During last period, Anna was in science and her science teacher handed out a paper telling the students that it was for math and she couldn't answer any questions because she was only told to hand out the sheet.  I didn't know any of this until we arrived home from school that afternoon.  At some point during the day, their math teacher had decided that instead of making corrections to the test on a separate sheet of paper, the students needed to fill in a sheet showing which problems were incorrect, why they were incorrect (math fact error, etc.) and then the corrections should be made on the back.

Anna hadn't even looked at the sheet.  She was in science class and no instructions or directions were given.  Allie had received the sheet during that last period as well but she looked at it and returned to the math classroom before leaving school to retrieve the test that she had already handed in.  I'm not sure why their teacher handed it out later in the day but I'm assuming it's because there must have been too many students who were not handing in corrections or were half-assing it.

Kids with hydrocephalus need clear instructions.  That's life with hydro and a shunt.  Because Allie had her copy of the test at home with her that weekend and I had assisted Anna with her incorrect problems on Thursday afternoon, we were able to redo the corrections on the new sheet.  I wrote a long note to their teacher explaining why and how Anna made the corrections over the weekend and that her original corrections had been handed in Friday morning.  I also noted how she has hydrocephalus and needs clear instructions and didn't receive any for this assignment.  It's important to note here that we had no idea when it was even due back to the teacher and homework, including following directions for homework, is a part of your class grade.

So this all ended up being a complete non-issue as the due date was Tuesday.  So on Monday during math, Anna took her turned-in test back and that afternoon, we pulled together the packet in the order the teacher wanted, which was explained on the new sheet.  This pushed me to contact the school though because what if it had been due on Monday?  The teacher could have very well taken off points because Anna wouldn't have had the original test stapled to the back.  (I know that sounds crazy, but we've seen it happen.)

This was actually a re-assessment year for Anna and she wasn't on their schedule until February but the school was fine with pushing up the date to October.  Rich and I met with school administrators at the end of the month.  The first thing they do is go through a chart in order to determine whether she qualifies for a 504.  It is my opinion that she will always automatically qualify given that she was born with a medical condition but we still go through the chart regardless.  After we confirmed continuation of her 504, and I want to note that there was absolutely no push back from the school, we discussed her academic status.

One of Anna's teachers was there as a representative but she had feedback from all the teachers and Anna is performing at or above grade expectations.  Here's the list of what we wanted to see added to her 504:

1. Anna will receive CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS on all assignments.
2. There will be no negative consequences if she's late for class (for whatever reason) or if work/supplies are forgotten in her locker.
3. She will be given additional time (if needed) to complete quizzes and/or tests. 
4. Her grade in gym will not be negatively impacted due to her physical limitations.  (Her 504 already included a clause allowing her to choose lower impact activities when she feels necessary.)

I asked for Anna's input on all of this before the meeting.  We discussed her concerns and what happens during the school day.  She even read through this list before the meeting.

What I learned at the meeting is that they are all there to help the kids.  Everyone is very understanding.  They want to teach all the kids responsibility but, at the same time, they recognize that we're all human.  We all make mistakes.  How many times have you, an adult, left the house without your keys, wallet, phone, etc?  I felt a sense of relief after the meeting, knowing that Anna is in good hands.  No one argued with our plan additions and it was a very stress-free meeting.

Anna's holding her own in middle school.  She's one tough cookie.  Term 1 is complete and I can proudly report that all three girls made the honor roll!