Question 1

Does a student with a 504 plan have the same discipline protections as a student with an IEP?

Accepted Answer

Mostly, but not completely, and the differences matter.

Both laws protect a student from being removed from school for behavior caused by their disability. Under Section 504, the regulation (34 CFR § 104.35(a)) requires a school to reevaluate a student before any "significant change in placement." The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has long applied that rule to discipline. An expulsion or a long-term suspension counts as a significant change, so before the school takes that step, the team has to decide whether the behavior was caused by the student's disability. If it was, the school can't go ahead with the removal. The team should look at whether the 504 plan needs to change.

What the regulation doesn't say: it doesn't set a number of days. Many districts use the same benchmark IDEA uses: more than 10 consecutive school days, or a series of shorter removals that add up and form a pattern. That benchmark comes from guidance and district policy, though, not from the 504 regulation itself. Ask to see your district's written procedure.

Where Section 504 offers less than IDEA:

• Services during removal. Under IDEA, a student removed for more than 10 days keeps receiving services. Under 504, if the behavior is found not to be related to the disability, the student can generally be disciplined like any other student, and that can mean receiving no services.

• Drugs and alcohol. A student on a 504 plan who is currently using illegal drugs or alcohol can be disciplined for that the same way as students without disabilities, with no manifestation determination. Students with IEPs keep their IDEA protections in this situation. For a student with an IEP, the school can move the student to an interim alternative setting for up to 45 school days for knowingly having, using, or selling illegal drugs at school or a school function, even if the behavior is related to the disability, but the student keeps receiving services. 34 CFR 300.530(d), (g)(2).

• Fewer spelled-out procedures. Section 504 has no "stay-put" rule and far less procedural detail than IDEA, so practices vary more from district to district.

What to do: If a student with a 504 plan is facing a long removal, ask in writing for a meeting to look at the connection between the behavior and the disability before the decision is final. At that meeting, also ask whether the 504 plan was actually being followed. When everyone looks at both questions together, the team usually lands on a better plan for the student.

Question 2

Can my child with a 504 Plan be suspended?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A Section 504 Plan doesn't prevent a school from disciplining a student. A single short suspension is usually handled the same way as for any other student. But watch for a pattern: several short suspensions can add up to a significant change in placement.

The protection applies to longer removals. If a suspension or expulsion would be a significant change in your child's placement, the school must first decide whether the behavior was caused by your child's disability. If it was, the school can't go ahead with the removal. Section 504 doesn't set an exact number of days that counts as "significant," so ask the school for its written procedure and how it applies to your child. (See the question above on how 504 protections compare with an IEP.)

Does a student with a 504 plan have the same discipline protections as a student with an IEP?

Can my child with a 504 Plan be suspended?

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