Section 504 which was included in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 passed by Congress prohibits discrimination against persons with a handicap in any program that receives federal financial assistance. The Act defines a person with a disability as anyone whom:

• has a mental or physical impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities (major life activities include activities such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working);
• has a record of such an impairment; or
• is regarded as having such an impairment;

In order to fulfill its obligation under Section 504, the Tangipahoa Parish School District recognizes a responsibility to avoid discrimination in policies and practices regarding its personnel and students. No discrimination against any person with a disability will be permitted in any of the programs and practices in the school system.

The school district has specific responsibilities under Section 504, which include the responsibility to identify, evaluate, and if the child is determined to be eligible under Section 504, to afford access to appropriate educational services.

If the parent or guardian disagrees with the determination made by the professional staff of the school district, he/she has a right to a hearing with an impartial hearing officer.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) also specifies rights related to educational records. This act gives the parent or guardian the right to: (1) inspect and review his/her child's educational records, (2) make copies of these records, (3) receive a list of all individuals having access to these records, (4) ask for an explanation of any item in the records, (5) ask for an amendment to any report on the grounds that it is inaccurate, misleading, or violates the child’s rights, and (6) a hearing on the issue if the school refuses to make the amendment.

Note: Should a parent disagree with the evaluation and/or Accommodation Plan, contact Renee Durio, Section 504 Coordinator, at (985) 748-2477 to intervene and determine if grievance procedures or due process procedures need to be initiated.

Section 504/Dyslexia Assessment Information

A Section 504 assessment should be initiated due to the following:

• Parent Request-written parent request for an assessment, -OR-
• SBLC/504 suspects that a student has characteristics of dyslexia, which is supported by the Dyslexia Screening Checklist, -OR-

Individual Accommodation Plans

Teachers who will be responsible for the implementation of the plan must participate in its development and/or have the opportunity to review with SBLC/504. Every year all teachers of the student should review and sign the Teacher Verification Form indicating that they have a copy of the plan and agree to implement it.

The Individual Accommodation Plan is reviewed annually to determine if the student is still eligible and if the accommodations continue to be appropriate; however, the parent or school personnel could request a review at any time.

The principal or designee should sign the plan along with other SBLC/504 members. Parent signature is encouraged but is not necessary

Click here to find the Section 504 / Bulletin 1903 Implementation
and Information Review

Listed below you will find most of the forms pertaining to the 504 program in Tangipahoa Parish School System. Directions for downloading these forms to your computer can be found below. You have the option of completing these forms and sending them via Bluebird to Renee Durio at the Title I Office in Amite, or faxing them to 985-748-4928, or sending them as an email attachment to renee.durio@tangischools.org. Step-by-step directions for attaching a word document to an email message can be found by clicking here.

Remember... the best way to download any of the files listed below is to right click on the link, then choose "Save Target As." Now decide where on your computer you want to save the file, and then click "Save." AFTER you have saved it to your computer, then double click to open the file. You must have Microsoft Word to be able to open the files labeled MS Word. The PDF files can be left clicked on, and Acrobat Reader will open them on your computer so that you can print them. These PDF files can only be printed...you will not be able to customize them on your computer.

This page was last updated on Monday, September 15, 2008.