IEPs and 504 Plans

A parent wonders whether a child can be on an IEP and a 504 Plan at the same time.
Q
My high-school senior has an IEP. Her high school wants to declassify her as LD and put her on a 504 Plan. Her college says no, keep the IEP. The high-school counselors say that's a mistake -- especially if my daughter ends up going to a different college. Can my daughter be on an IEP and a 504 Plan at the same time?
A
I have never heard of an occasion where someone had both 504 accommodations and an IEP.

You might want to look at a comparison of the differences between the two designations from the Council of Exceptional Children. For more information, look at these two books:

  • Lawrence M. Siegel's The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child
  • Joan Shapiro and Rebecca Rich's Facing Learning Disabilities in the Adult Years
  • For more than 20 years, Eileen Marzola has worked with children and adults with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders, and with their parents and teachers. She has been a regular education classroom teacher, a consultant teacher/resource teacher, an educational evaluator/diagnostician, and has also taught graduate students at the university level. Marzola is an adjunct assistant professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Hunter College of the City University of New York. She also maintains a private practice in the evaluation and teaching of children with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders.

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