• What is the purpose of 504?

    The purpose of this notice is to inform parent and student of the rights granted to them under Section 504. The federal regulations that implement Section 504 are found at Title 34, Part 104 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
    They include the following rights:

    1. Have the district advise you of your rights under federal law;

    2. Have your child take part in, and receive benefits from public education programs without discrimination because of his/her disability;

    3. Receive notice with respect to identification, evaluation, or placement of your child;

    4. Have your child evaluated by the district prior to determining eligibility under Section 504;

    5. To be notified prior to any action (be it a proposal or refusal) regarding the identification, evaluation, or placement of your child;

    6. Have evaluation, educational, and plan of services decisions made based upon a variety of information sources, and by persons who know the student, the evaluation data, and placement options;

    7. Have periodic review of your child’s educational need for Section 504 plan of services;

    8. Have your child receive a free appropriate public education. This includes the right to be educated with nondisabled students to the maximum extent appropriate. It also includes the right to have the school district make reasonable accommodations to allow your child an equal opportunity to participate in school and school-related activities;

    9. Have your child educated in facilities and receive services comparable to those provided nondisabled students;

    10. Have your child be given an equal opportunity to participate in nonacademic and extracurricular activities offered by the district;

    11. Examine all relevant records relating to decisions regarding your child's identification, evaluation, educational program and placement and obtain copies of educational records at a reasonable cost unless the fee would effectively deny you access to the records;

    12. Receive a response from the school district to reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations of your child's records;

    13. The district endeavors to work collaboratively and to resolve matters at the school level if possible or district level if no resolution occurs at the school level. Please see the Public Schools of Brookline Internal 504 Grievance Process and Procedure and Grievance/Complaint Form

    14. Parents/Guardians may also contact the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Program Quality Assurance  (PQA) Unit, and dispute resolution programs and/or the Office of Civil Rights:

    U.S. Department of Education
    8th Floor
    5 Post Office Square
    Boston, MA 02109-3921
    Telephone: (617) 289-0111
    TTY#: (800) 877-8339
    Facsimile: (617) 289-0150
    Email: OCR.Boston@ed.gov

     
    What is the role of parents in the 504 Process?

    Parents are their child’s first and most important teacher, as well as his/her advocate. If parents believe their child has a disability or is having problems in school, they should contact their child’s teacher to discuss these concerns. Parents play a key role by providing important information to schools about their child’s needs. Parents are also an important part of the Section 504 team process, and are encouraged to attend meetings and assist in developing appropriate and meaningful interventions for their child.

     
    What rights do parents have under Section 504? 
     
    As a parent, you have the right: (1) to receive a copy of this notice when the district takes any action regarding the identification, evaluation, and placement of a student pursuant to Section 504; To receive notice from the district with respect to the identification, evaluation, and educational program or placement of your child; (2) to examine all relevant records relating to decisions regarding your child’s identification, evaluation, and educational placement; (3)The district endeavors to work collaboratively and to resolve matters at the school level if possible or district level if no resolution occurs at the school level. Please see the Public Schools of Brookline Internal 504 Grievance Process and Procedure. (4) Parents may at any time contact the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Program Quality Assurance (PQA) Unit, and dispute resolution programs and/or the Office of Civil Rights.
     

    Christina Palmer, Director of Guidance and Clinical Services
    333 Washington Street, 4th Floor
    Brookline, MA 02445
    (617) 730-2460