504 plan and denied honors class accommodations

zannah
Sun, 08 Oct 2017 21:33:13 +0000

I understand that your daughter receives accommodations under a 504 plan that includes waiving oral presentations as an accommodation for severe anxiety. Your daughter attends honor classes because anxiety does not adversely impact her firstacademically in high level classes.
There are two pairs of laws.

The first pair is the IDEA and an area of Section 504 that are applicable to students before high graduation. The IDEA provides special education and related services to children whose disability results in a severe academic impact. The 504 parallel (d or e or close) provides accommodations to children whose disabilities requires accommodations, but there is no adverse impact.

The IDEA further distinguishes between accommodations and modifications. Accommodations are traditional such as extended time, multiple day testing, extra breaks, reader, scribe, assistive technology, but are much less likely to change the essential demands of the task. Modifications are alterations that change test criteria fundamentally. Modifications include do overs, question clarification, reducing the choices from 4 to 2 on multiple choice questions, hints, explanations and reteaching, changing grading criteria, and other changes that significantly change the task to something easier. For example, some children may receive extensive modifications that allow them to earns A grades on easier exams.

The ADA, as amended, and the appropriate part of Section 504 evaluate persons with disabilities are evaluated against the same requirements as persons without disabilities. In college admissions, applicants with disabilities are held to the same requirements as other applicants. Students with disabilities maybe accommodated by extended time and other accommodations that
compensate for aspects of the the functional limitation of the disability.

I think you may be caught between a rock and a hard place. The ADA describes a student or adult to be otherwise qualified for admissions, employment, and so on. If a requirement for a class is waived, the student is not otherwise qualified. Accommodations for you student might include giving the speech to the teacher only, records or videotapes the speech, give it to a small group of friends. Waiving the speech is not a accommodation but a significant change in grading requirements. Neither the ADA or adult portion of Section 504 do not guarantee an outcome.

None of the laws guarantees academic success, but the IDEA probably comes closest. I think you student must attend the led rigorous class without public speaking or give the speech to someone that allows the teacher to evaluate and grade your student.