Series 5000: Students

5145 Civil and Legal Rights and Responsibilities

Section 504: Civil and Legal Rights and Responsibilities

The District recognizes its responsibility to provide a free, appropriate public education to students with disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Accordingly, no otherwise qualified individual with disabilities shall, solely by reason of his/her disability, be  excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under  any District program or activity, including extra-curricular athletics or other non-academic  activities, or those provided by the District through contractual or other arrangements. District  aids, benefits and services will afford qualified students with disabilities equal opportunity to  obtain the same result gain the same benefit or reach the same level of achievement as students  without disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the student’s needs. Programs and activities shall be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities as prescribed by  law. 

A qualified individual with disabilities under Section 504 is an individual who has a physical or  mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; has a record of such  an impairment or is regarded as having such an impairment. 

In compliance with the provisions of Section 504, the District will: 

1. Provide written assurance of nondiscrimination in accordance with application procedures whenever the District receives federal money; 

2. Designate an employee to coordinate compliance with Section 504;

3. Provide procedures to resolve complaints of discrimination under Section 504; 

4. Provide notice to students, parents, employees, including those with vision or hearing impairments, of the District’s policy and compliance with law assuring nondiscrimination  in admission or access to, or treatment, in District programs, activities or employment.  Notice will be included in student/parent and staff handbooks and other materials as  appropriate; 

5. Annually identify and locate all Section 504 qualified students with disabilities in the District who are not receiving a free appropriate, public education; 

6. Ensure that tests and other evaluation materials have been validated, are administered by trained personnel, are tailored to assess educational need and are not based on IQ scores,  and reflect what the tests purport to measure;

7. Provide nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities in such a manner as to afford qualified students with disabilities an equal opportunity for participation in such  services and activities by making reasonable modifications* and provide those aids and  services that are necessary to ensure an equal opportunity to participate, unless the  District can show that doing so would be a fundamental alteration to its programs; 

*If a modification is necessary, the District must allow it unless doing so would result in a fundamental alteration of the extracurricular-athletic activity. A modification might  constitute a fundamental alteration if it alters such an essential aspect of the activity or  game that it would be unacceptable even if it affected all competitors equally (such as  adding an extra base in baseball.) Alternatively, a change that has only a peripheral  impact on the activity or game might nevertheless give a particular player with a disability an unfair advantage over others and, for that reason, fundamentally alter the character of  the competition. 

8. Annually notify students with disabilities and their parents or guardians of the District’s  responsibilities under Section 504, including those with limited proficiency in English and those with vision or hearing impairments; 

9. Provide parents or guardians with procedural safeguards, including notification of their  right: 

a. To be notified in writing of any decisions made by the District concerning the  identification, evaluation or educational placement of their student pursuant to  Section 504. (The District will request parental consent prior to conducting an  evaluation of the student); 

b. To examine, copy and request amendments of the student’s educational records; 

c. To request an impartial hearing, with opportunity for participation by the student’s parents or guardian and representation by counsel regarding District decisions  concerning identification, evaluation or educational placement of their student. A  review procedure will be provided. 

10. Students with disabilities who cannot participate in the school’s existing extracurricular athletics program, even with reasonable modifications or aids and services, still have an  equal opportunity to receive the benefits of extracurricular athletics. The District therefore should/may (TBD) create additional opportunities for such students, such as creating  disability-specific teams for sports such as wheelchair tennis or basketball. (If numbers  are insufficient, districts can develop regional teams, mix male and female students with  disabilities on teams together, offer “allied” or “unified” sports teams mixing disabled  and non-disabled students.)

Students identified as qualified individuals with disabilities under Section 504 shall be placed in  the regular educational environment unless it is demonstrated by the District that the education of  the student with the use of related aids and services in such a placement cannot be achieved  satisfactorily. All placement decisions will be made by an evaluation team comprised of persons  designated by the Superintendent or designee, knowledgeable about the student, the meaning of  the evaluation data and placement options.

Students will be reevaluated periodically, but no less than every three years. Additionally, before implementing discipline that constitutes a significant change in the placement (i.e., expulsion,  serial suspensions which exceed 10 school days in a school year, a series of suspensions each of  which is 10 or fewer school days in duration but that creates a pattern of exclusion), the District  shall conduct a reevaluation of the student to determine whether the misconduct in question is  caused by the student’s disability and, if so, whether the student’s current educational placement  is appropriate. 

If it is determined that the misconduct of the student is caused by the disability, the District’s  team will continue the evaluation, following the requirements of Section 504 and the Americans  with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008  (ADA) for evaluation and placement to determine whether the student’s current educational  placement is appropriate. Due process procedures that meet the requirements of the IDEA may be  used to meet the procedural safeguards of law. 

If it is determined that the misconduct is not caused by the student’s disability, the student may be excluded from school in the same manner as are similarly situated students who do not have  disabilities. 

A student identified as a qualified individual with disabilities under Section 504, who is also covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, will be disciplined in accordance  with Board policy #5144.3, “Discipline of Students with Disabilities.” 

A reevaluation will also be required before any other significant change in placement (i.e., transferring a student to alternative education, significantly changing the composition of the  student’s class schedule, such as from regular education to the resource room, etc.).

Legal Reference:

Connecticut General Statutes 

10-15c Discrimination in public schools prohibited. 

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. §§791, 793-794  (2006), (34 Code of Federal Regulations Part 104) 

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §§12101-12213; 29  C.F.R. Part 1630 (2006); 28 C.F.R. Part 35 (2006) 

Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 

U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, “Dear Colleague  Letter,” 113 LRP 3326 (OCR 1/25/13) 

Policy adopted: February 12, 2018 THOMASTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS Thomaston, Connecticut