guest post by the CHADD Public Policy Committee
Today the Office
of Civil Rights of the US Department of Education (OCR) issued guidance to
every public school district in the country about the implementation of
Section 504 for students with ADHD. CHADD provided significant input to
OCR as OCR was developing this guidance. CHADD, through its public policy
committee and its professional advisory board, had ongoing and active
discussion with the OCR. We shared the concerns of our members about the
implementation of Section 504 and the effects on their children. We provided
scientific research and knowledge about ADHD as well as our recommendations for
best practices for educating students with ADHD in school and ideas about how
to improve the implementation of Section 504 to benefit students with ADHD.
A 2014 survey of CHADD’s membership reinforced our concerns that the Section 504 process in the schools was clearly not working. Parents reported major violations in every step—from referral, to evaluation, to development of a student’s Section 504 Plan, to its implementation and, unfortunately to the frequent suspension and expulsion that became the outcome. The lack of appropriate referral, evaluation, and eligibility practices was particularly problematic, as it suggested that there are likely many children with ADHD that may need Section 504 protection that were not being referred or found eligible for a 504 Plan. In addition, implementation of these plans was especially troubling, with two thirds of parents reporting the plan was not implemented in the classroom.
The statistics and
anecdotal reports from parents were consistent with the concerns that parents
and professionals involved with CHADD frequently report. The individual
stories, albeit brief, were heart wrenching and provided a painful human
dimension to the statistics. These students with ADHD were being denied a free
and appropriate public education and an equal opportunity for participation in
school. The safeguards of the Section 504 regulations were not providing
adequate protection from the problems these children experienced.
CHADD urged stronger
action from the US Department of Education to ensure that school staff would
understand both their obligations under Section 504 and the symptoms of ADHD
and best practices for responding to it. Equally important, we urged stronger
guidance and enforcement from the OCR to ensure that appropriate safeguards and
supports are put in place for all students with ADHD that are or should be
eligible for the protections of Section 504.
In its press release
announcing the issuance of this guidance, OCR reported that more than one out
of every nine complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in
elementary and secondary schools that OCR received in the past five years involved
students with ADHD. OCR stated the most common of these complaints concerned “academic
and behavioral difficulties students with ADHD experience at school when they
are not timely and properly evaluated for a disability, or when they do not
receive necessary special education or related aids and services.” This
verifies the seriousness of CHADD’s concerns about noncompliance with Section
504.
We applaud the Office of
Civil Rights of the Department of Education for their efforts to make sure that
the civil rights of students with ADHD are protected in our public schools. We
appreciate the guidance on implementation of Section 504 that they have
developed for all school districts nationwide.
CHADD will continue to
provide feedback to the OCR about the effectiveness of the new guidance. CHADD will
continue to provide science-based research findings that address the
educational needs of students with ADHD, and CHADD will continue to be a leader
in providing high quality teacher training, so that ADHD students and teachers too,
will be partners in education.
Ingrid Alpern, JD, LLM
Matthew Cohen, JD
Jeffrey Katz, PhD
Ingrid Alpern, JD, LLM
Matthew Cohen, JD
Jeffrey Katz, PhD
CHADD Public Policy
Committee
