Section 504 and IDEA Back-to-School Reminders

The beginning of the school year is a great time to review your Section 504 and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) policies and procedures with faculty and staff to ensure compliance. Below are three back-to-school reminders about these important laws related to the education of students with disabilities. 

Students New to Your School or Building

IDEA-eligible students who transfer to your school at the beginning of the year are entitled to a free appropriate public education (FAPE), including services comparable to the services in the student’s previous IEP, until the school either:

1. adopts the IEP from the previous school; or
2. develops, adopts, and implements a new IEP within 30 school days.

If the student transfers from out-of-state, the school, at its option, may also choose to conduct an initial evaluation to ensure that the student meets Michigan special education eligibility criteria.

For a student who transfers with an existing Section 504 plan, the new school may either:

1. adopt the previous school’s Section 504 plan; or
2. conduct an evaluation and develop a new Section 504 plan if the 504 team determines the student continues to meet eligibility criteria.

If appropriate, the school may implement the previous school’s Section 504 plan during the pendency of the evaluation but it is not required to do so.

Relatedly, for those students with disabilities who are transitioning to a new building (e.g., from middle school to high school), staff should familiarize themselves with each incoming student’s IEP or Section 504 plan. For Section 504 students, it is not unusual for Section 504 accommodations to be location- or personnel-specific or for the Section 504 plan to include supports that the new staff may not be accustomed to providing. A thorough review by relevant staff of a student’s Section 504 plan before the start of school can minimize implementation problems for staff.   

Child Find

Commonly referred to as the school’s child find obligation, both the IDEA and Section 504 require schools to “identify, locate, and evaluate” students whom the school suspects may have a disability. Because child find is a school’s affirmative duty, school officials may not wait for the student’s parent or guardian to request a Section 504 or IDEA evaluation if staff suspect the student may have a disability requiring special education, related services, accommodations, or other supports. Similarly, school officials may not use the school’s

The beginning of the school year is a great time to review your Section 504 and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) policies and procedures with faculty and staff to ensure compliance. Below are three back-to-school reminders about these important laws related to the education of students with disabilities. 

Students New to Your School or Building

IDEA-eligible students who transfer to your school at the beginning of the year are entitled to a free appropriate public education (FAPE), including services comparable to the services in the student’s previous IEP, until the school either:

1. adopts the IEP from the previous school; or
2. develops, adopts, and implements a new IEP within 30 school days.

If the student transfers from out-of-state, the school, at its option, may also choose to conduct an initial evaluation to ensure that the student meets Michigan special education eligibility criteria.

For a student who transfers with an existing Section 504 plan, the new school may either:

1. adopt the previous school’s Section 504 plan; or
2. conduct an evaluation and develop a new Section 504 plan if the 504 team determines the student continues to meet eligibility criteria.

If appropriate, the school may implement the previous school’s Section 504 plan during the pendency of the evaluation but it is not required to do so.

Relatedly, for those students with disabilities who are transitioning to a new building (e.g., from middle school to high school), staff should familiarize themselves with each incoming student’s IEP or Section 504 plan. For Section 504 students, it is not unusual for Section 504 accommodations to be location- or personnel-specific or for the Section 504 plan to include supports that the new staff may not be accustomed to providing. A thorough review by relevant staff of a student’s Section 504 plan before the start of school can minimize implementation problems for staff.   

Child Find

Commonly referred to as the school’s child find obligation, both the IDEA and Section 504 require schools to “identify, locate, and evaluate” students whom the school suspects may have a disability. Because child find is a school’s affirmative duty, school officials may not wait for the student’s parent or guardian to request a Section 504 or IDEA evaluation if staff suspect the student may have a disability requiring special education, related services, accommodations, or other supports. Similarly, school officials may not use the school’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) process as a required “first step” before a necessary special education or Section 504 evaluation. 

Accordingly, school officials should remind staff at the beginning of the school year to look out for “red flags” that may indicate that a student may have a disability. Examples of child find “red flags” include, but are not limited to: the implementation of MTSS interventions for a student year after year with limited or no progress shown; a student with significant attendance or truancy issues; student behavioral issues that regularly result in the school calling parents to pick up their student early from school, sending the student to a time away, or repeated use of in-school suspension; or recommendations that a student’s school day be shortened or the student be moved to virtual programming due to the student’s behavior.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which is the enforcement agency for Section 504, opined that a student with an ADHD diagnosis is presumed to be a student with a disability under Section 504 unless there is evidence to the contrary. Staff who spot any of these types of “red flags” should promptly refer the matter to the school’s special education department or Section 504 coordinator.

Discipline

When a student engages in behavior that violates the student code of conduct, the school’s procedural requirements are numerous, especially for students with disabilities. The beginning of the school year marks a good time for administrators to review the disciplinary protections afforded to students with disabilities to ensure that your school has a solid process in place for identifying and tracking disciplinary removals.

Notably, a day of removal for IDEA disciplinary purposes is not limited to suspensions and expulsions. Rather, a removal is any action taken by school personnel in response to student behavior that excludes the student for at least part of the school day and the student does not:

1. continue to participate or make progress in the general education curriculum;
2. receive IEP-required instruction or services; and
3. participate with the student’s nondisabled peers as required by the student’s IEP. 

A disciplinary removal may also include a pattern of office referrals, repeatedly sending the student home early, or moving the student to virtual programming because of the student’s behavior.  Failure to keep track of both formal and “informal” disciplinary removals may result in untimely manifestation determinations and other compliance issues.

To learn more about these and other legal protections for students with disabilities, join Thrun’s special education attorneys for our Special Education Law Boot Camp webinar series beginning September 23, 2025. To register, please visit www.ThrunLaw.com​/calendar/list.