Section 504

Overview

The North Kansas City School District seeks to identify and evaluate students who may have disabilities as defined by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The district will provide students with disabilities a free and appropriate public education as required by law. No qualified student with a disability shall, on the basis of disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any district program, including nonacademic services and extracurricular activities.  

The superintendent or designee is directed to create procedures to assist the district in properly identifying, evaluating and serving students with disabilities who need accommodation to participate in the district's educational programs.

The School Counselor will act as the Case Manager for the individual student's 504 plan. Please reach out to the counseling team at your school with any questions. 

Evaluation and Eligibility

Evaluation

The district will conduct a 504 evaluation of any student who needs or may need accommodation due to a disability before making an educational placement or making a significant change in the placement of the student.

Once notified and provided information that a student may have a physical or mental impairment that could qualify as a disability, the compliance officer will organize a 504 team. The compliance officer or designee will contact the parent/guardian and the classroom teacher(s) for additional information for the 504 team to consider and will provide the parent/guardian and/or student a copy of the procedural safeguards (IGB-AF1) and notice of evaluation. The compliance officer or designee will obtain written consent for any additional formal assessment. If the parent/guardian refuses to consent, the district may request a due process hearing as described below.

The 504 team will meet to examine the existing information and determine whether additional information or testing is necessary and, if so, what information should be obtained before making a decision. The compliance officer or designee will assist the 504 team in obtaining additional information. The compliance officer or designee is responsible for ensuring that:

1. Tests and other evaluation materials have been validated for the specific purpose for which they are used and are administered by trained personnel in conformance with the instructions provided by their producer.
    
2. Tests and other evaluation materials include those tailored to assess specific areas of educational need and not merely those that are designed to provide a single general intelligence quotient.
    
3. Tests are selected and administered so as to best ensure that when a test is administered to a student with impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the student's aptitude, achievement level or whatever other factor the test purports to measure, rather than reflecting the student's impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills (except where those skills are the factors that the test purports to measure).

Eligibility

The 504 team will decide if the student is eligible for accommodations under the law. To be eligible as a student with a disability, the student must have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Not all students with medical impairments are eligible as disabled under the law. In interpreting evaluation data, determining eligibility, and making placement decisions, the 504 team shall:

1.         Draw upon information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social or cultural background and adaptive behavior.

2.         Ensure that information obtained from all such sources is documented and carefully considered.

3.         Make a placement decision that complies with the law.

When making a determination, the 504 team will consider the effect the impairment has on the student's performance in comparison with children at the same age or grade in the general population. The 504 team will not consider mitigating measures except for ordinary eyeglasses or contacts.

Once the 504 team determines whether the student is eligible, the district will notify the parents/guardians of the decision in writing and will document the reasons for the decision. If the 504 team determines that the student has a disability as defined in law, the 504 team will determine educational placement.

Educational Placement

The 504 team will decide the educational placement necessary to provide a free and appropriate public education. The accommodations or services determined necessary by the 504 team and the details regarding those accommodations will be recorded in the 504 plan, provided to the parents/guardians in writing and maintained by the district. Information regarding the 504 plan will be provided to all district staff as necessary to ensure that the accommodations are provided to the student. Accommodations will include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Academic Setting – Students with disabilities must be educated to the maximum extent appropriate in the regular education environment with students who do not have disabilities unless it is demonstrated by the district that an appropriate education cannot be achieved in the regular environment with the use of supplementary aids and services. This may require modifications to desks, seating arrangements, methods of communication or flexibility to leave the room.
    
2. Nonacademic Setting – Students with disabilities will have the same opportunity to participate in nonacademic activities and services (including meals, recess periods, counseling opportunities and other services) as students without disabilities and will participate in those activities and services with students without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate.
    
3. Facilities Accommodation – The district must provide facilities to students with disabilities that are comparable to the facilities provided to students without disabilities. Students must have access to restroom facilities, cafeterias, playgrounds and classrooms. When the 504 team places a student in a setting other than the regular educational environment, it must take into account the proximity of the alternate setting to the student's home.
    
4. Transportation – Students with disabilities will be provided appropriate transportation at a cost that is no greater than the cost of transportation provided to students without disabilities.