Parent and Educator Resource Guide to Section 504 in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools
Procedural Safeguards.
Under Section 504, school districts are required to develop and implement a system of procedural safeguards to address FAPE concerns specifically, such as the identification, evaluation, and educational placement of students with disabilities.135
Procedural safeguards include notice; an opportunity for records review by parents or guardians; an impartial due process hearing, with an opportunity for participation by the student’s parents or guardian and representation by counsel; and a review procedure.
School districts must provide notice to parents explaining any evaluation and placement decisions affecting their children, and explain the parents’ right to review relevant records and contest any decision regarding evaluation and placement through an impartial hearing.136
Examples of relevant records could include: evaluation reports, report cards, a Section 504 plan, discipline records, and health records. Schools can provide parents with access to relevant records by, for example, providing copies of the records or allowing parents to review the records at the school and make copies.137
135 34 C.F.R. § 104.36. One means of meeting the procedural safeguards requirements of Section 504 is compliance with IDEA procedural safeguards. If a district chooses to use an IDEA hearing procedure, the procedure must nevertheless adhere to the standards and requirements set forth in the Section 504 regulations concerning identification, evaluation, and placement.
136 See OCR, Protecting Students with Disabilities: Frequently Asked Questions About Section 504 and the Education of Children with Disabilities (FAQ 45) (last modified Oct. 16, 2015), www.ed.gov/ocr/504faq.html.
137 Another law called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) addresses privacy rights regarding education records, including the right of parents to inspect and review their child’s education records. When a student turns 18 or enters a postsecondary institution at any age, the rights under FERPA transfer to the student. See the Department’s website for more information about FERPA, www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/index.html.
Scenario 10 – Procedural Safeguards
Ms. Lee told staff at her son’s school that she believes her son has a disability because he cannot seem to sit still and concentrate on his assignments. Although Ms. Lee has made multiple requests, the school has refused to evaluate him because the teachers do not believe the student has a disability. Ms. Lee does not receive any communication from the school about why they will not evaluate her son. Is the school’s approach permissible?
No, a school cannot simply ignore a parent’s request for his or her child to be evaluated, even if the school does not believe that the student has a disability. A school district is required to establish, implement, and inform parents about a system of procedural safeguards that are designed to help resolve FAPE-related disagreements regarding identification, evaluation, or educational placement of a student. As part of this system, a school must notify parents of any evaluation or placement actions and inform parents of their right to: (i) examine records or documents that the school relied on in making its decision about the student; (ii) request an impartial hearing that provides the parent with an opportunity to participate and permits representation by an attorney; and (iii) have an opportunity for review of the decision made at the hearing.
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