As a teacher of the deaf and school principal, I have been in numerous Individual Educational Plan (IEP) and 504 meetings and found that many people aren’t aware of their rights or information about the IEP and 504 process. I wrote this blog as an introduction to current laws (as of August, 2024) and your rights as a parent/caregiver. IEPs and 504s can be daunting and it is important to understand the process.  Â
As the school year begins, be sure that your child has all of the support that they need to be successful. Ensure that the professionals who will be serving your child have access to their IEP or 504 plan and are familiar with the accommodations and supports the plan contains. Some of these supports can include:Â
- Assistive technology (Additional technology that can be added to your child’s hearing devices or the classroom, like a remote microphone or RM)Â
- ASL interpretationÂ
- Preferential seating
- Modified classroom acoustics to minimize the amount of reverberation or echo in the room (this also helps with absorbing additional background noise)Â
- Access to visual accommodationsÂ
- Closed captionsÂ
If your child is transitioning to a new classroom, you will want to make sure that the accommodations as listed on their IEP or 504 plan are in place. Are the assistive technology, visuals, captions or rugs required in the plan in place the classroom, ready for that first day? Talk with the special education team about where extra batteries or equipment for your child’s hearing devices will be kept (and, as age-appropriate, talk with your child about how they will access these, or who to ask for them). At the beginning of the school year, see if you can arrange time to meet with you child’s teacher and talk through their IEP or 504. As appropriate, talk through the plan with your child, and help your child advocate for their own needs. Â
When their IEP or 504 plan is due to be reviewed, you should get a notification of the conference. The notification should explain what the meeting is, where the meeting will be and who is invited to the meeting. The law states that should receive draft paperwork at least 3 days before the meeting. To ensure proper notification of the conference, make sure your contact information is up to date in all school records.
If you have any questions about the IEP/504 paperwork before or after the meeting, contact the district administrator. If any information is incorrect in the IEP/504, make sure that information is corrected.Â
Please check out our IEP/504 page for more information and to sign up for our downloadable parent resources.Â
This Blog was written by Dr. Anna Tess, who the FHSR Education Coordinator at FHSR. She is profoundly deaf herself with two cochlear implants. She has experience as a teacher of the deaf and school principal as well as a doctorate in Special Education. Â
For more support with your child’s IEP or 504, please contact Dr. Tess at atess@fhsr.org
