Section 504

A Section 504 Hearing is a hearing that parents can request under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which is a civil rights law, to have a hearing officer determine whether his or her child who needs disability accommodations is receiving an appropriate education with the necessary accommodations. This is very different than a Educational Due Process Hearing and involves very different rights and requirements. The main thrust of Section 504 is whether the child's disabilities are being appropriately accommodated for his or her needs.

Education law varies from state to state and in Indiana disciplinary procedures can vary from district to district. The information below will provide you with some very basic information and help answer some frequently asked questions, but the information on this website is not legal advice and is not meant to be a substitution for seeking the advice of competent legal counsel. Your case is unique and you need legal advice that is specifically tailored to fit your needs. Our H&Z education team is here to provide you with the advice you need to make decisions that will have a lasting impact on your child's life.

Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which is a federal civil rights law, parents of children with special needs, which range from ADHD to paralysis, are entitled to challenge their child's accommodations if they believe it is inappropriate to meet their child's needs.

In situations where a parent has been unable to work with a school to get an appropriate accommodations for their child, a parent has the right to request a hearing to resolve the disagreement with the school regarding the child's disability, identification, evaluation, eligibility, placement, accommodations, services, or reimbursement of services.

The law does not require parents to hire an attorney to pursue a due process case and many parents try to navigate this system on their own. However, it may be wise to consider hiring an attorney experienced in this area. Federal education law is a very complex field with both federal and state laws that may affect a hearing officer's decision. An attorney trained in education law can be very helpful in guiding parents through the minefield of statutes, regulations, and case law that surrounds this field. However, it is very important that the attorney that is hired is one who is trained in education law and has worked in the area of special education. We advise that you ask whomever you retain about their background and whether or not they have pursued Section 504 Hearings, and how many, on behalf on parents and children in the past.

Under Section 504 a parent represented by legal counsel during the proceedings of a Section 504 hearing, appeal or civil court action is entitled to reimbursement of legal fees if the parent ultimately prevails. When there are a number of issues in a case and the parent only prevails on a few of those issues there are situations where schools argue for a reduction in the payment of the attorney fees, given that the Plaintiffs often do not win on every single issue in litigation.

Section 504 Hearing request is submitted in the form of a formal letter written by either you or your attorney stating the statutes violated and the issues to which the Hearing Officer will be asked to decide. This letter is provided to your school's principal and then an Hearing Officer is appointed by the school district.

The hearing officer will contact the school and your attorney to set up a time for a pre-hearing conference, most often this is done in the form of a conference call. At that conference the issues are clarified and formalized and dates for discovery and the hearing are set. The conference call includes all the parties involved in the due process matter, the parent(s), school's representative(s), school's attorney, your own attorney and the hearing officer.

After the conference call both the parents and the school will prepare their case for hearing. My office will give you "homework assignments" to help me prepare your case for hearing. This is helpful to me, as no one will know your case and the facts better than you do, and it helps keep your legal fees lower.

Mediation can be good in complex education situations involving multiple issues or litigation. It is a process in which the parties with or without their attorneys sit down with a neutral party (the mediator) to discuss the disagreements between the parents and the school regarding the child's disabilities.

Generally yes. While the parents have the most in-depth knowledge of their child's case, in most situations the debate is over your child's medical, physical, psychological, and intellectual needs. For instance, if your child has a bi-polar disorder and the school is failing to provide adequate programming, a good behavior modification plan and accommodations – it is important that you have a pediatrician, psychiatrist, or other professional that is aware of your child's needs and can help advise the hearing officer as to what is needed and what is appropriate. If you have a child with autism, who is 4 or 5 year old, and you are requesting that ABA therapy be part of his or her education, it is essential to be able to have supporting experts to testify as to your child's specific and individual needs.

Section 504 has no statute of limitations, however State law places a 10 year statute of limitations on federal laws with no time limitation.

A Due Process Hearing is like a "mini-trial." Each side presents an opening statement and calls witnesses. The witnesses include school personnel, administrators, physicians or psychologists, therapists, and parents. Each side calls their own witnesses and illustrates to the hearing officer their view of the case.

At the end of the hearing, the hearing officer will state when the decision will be made and state that it will be mailed to the attorneys for both sides. Once we receive the decision we will notify you. Each party has a right to appeal the decision. Any appeal must be filed in Federal Court within 20 days. A successful appeal will have to show that the hearing officer's decision was one of the following:

(1) Arbitrary and capricious; (2) An abuse of discretion; (3) Contrary to law, contrary to a constitutional right, power, privilege or immunity; (4) In excess of the jurisdiction of the independent hearing officer; (5) Reached in violation of an established procedure, [or] (6) Unsupported by substantial evidence.

PARENT RESOURCES

The links below are to other websites that are not affiliated with H&Z in any way and we cannot warranty the accuracy, legal accuracy, usefulness or anything else about anyone else's web site materials, which can be changed on a daily basis and are under the control of others. Thus, these links are offered for educational purposes only. They are not to be considered to be legal advice. If you need legal advice about your particular case, please contact Catherine Michael at 317-824-9000.


http://www.wrightslaw.com/


This is an organization that publishes books and documents in order to be advocates for schools, but the materials they sell are excellent. And they can give you an idea of what arguments / tactics the schools will use in your case -- and what the weaknesses are in those arguments / tactics.

http://www.lrp.com/
http://www.specialedconnection.com/
http://www.mayerslaw.com/
http://rsaffran.tripod.com/legal.html

Indiana Department of Education
http://ideanet.doe.state.in.us/

The First Steps web site is a great resource for early intervention....
http://www.state.in.us/fssa/first_step

http://earlychildhoodmeetingplace.indiana.edu

With this website, you can plug in a school and find out how that school is doing by test data and other measures of performance. They also have analyzed what works and what doesn't and have tips and tutorials.
http://216.30.107.242/us/us_home.asp

Directory of State Departments of Education: http://www.fetaweb.com/help/seas.htm

Directory of Parent Training Information Centers: http://www.fetaweb.com/help/ptis.htm

Directory of Best School Websites:
http://www.fetaweb.com/best.htm

Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities:
http://www.fetaweb.com/help/states.htm