IEP v. 504 Plan

IEP Defined

The Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is a plan or program developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives specialized instruction and related services.

504 Plan Defined

The 504 Plan is a plan developed to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under the law and is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives accommodations that will ensure their academic success and access to the learning environment.

Subtle but Important Differences

Not all students who have disabilities require specialized instruction. For students with disabilities who do require specialized instruction, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) controls the procedural requirements, and an IEP is developed. The IDEA process is more involved than that of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and requires documentation of measurable growth.

For students with disabilities who do not require specialized instruction but need the assurance that they will receive equal access to public education and services, a document is created to outline their specific accessibility requirements. Students with 504 Plans do not require specialized instruction, but, like the IEP, a 504 Plan should be updated annually to ensure that the student is receiving the most effective accommodations for his/her specific circumstances.

Disabilities in College

The law affecting college students with disabilities and the process of obtaining assistive technology in college are completely different from the K-12 world. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is not in effect in higher education. Colleges have no legal responsibility to identify students with disabilities or involve parents in decision making. In higher education the relevant law is a civil rights law - it protects people with disabilities from discrimination in admission to college and anticipation in college activities. The two federal laws that provide this protection are Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under Section 504 and the ADA, colleges must provide – at no cost to the student – “reasonable accommodations” to make their programs accessible to students with disabilities. Examples are scheduling a class in a first floor classroom to accommodate a student who uses a wheelchair, providing sign language interpreters for a student who is deaf, and arranging for extended time on tests for a student who has learning disabilities.

In higher education the responsibility for documenting a disability and requesting accommodations falls on the student, not the educational institution. The college is not required to find or assess students who have disabilities. If a student chooses to keep his/her disability a secret, that is his/her prerogative, and the college is not required to provide any accommodation.

Learning that IDEA does not apply to higher education and that college students have a much greater responsibility if they are to receive accommodations (and parents have a greatly reduced role) is often a shock for student and their parents. A good example of how this differs from the K-12 IDEA world is that although a reasonable accommodation may be extended time on tests and/or a distraction-free environment for testing, the law does not required colleges to modify the contents of an exam. They are also not obligated to provide students with disabilities more intensive tutoring services than they provide to non-disabled students.