Parents or guardians who wish to challenge a decision of the Section 504 Committee shall file a written Parents' Notice of Appeal with the Section 504 Coordinator within 15 calendar days of the date of the Notice of Section 504 Committee Decision.

Within 15 calendar days of the date of the Parents' Notice of Appeal, the district will schedule a hearing before an impartial hearing officer and provide the parents or guardian with a written Notice of Hearing that sets out the date, time, and place for hearing and advises them of their right to participate and be represented by counsel. Upon good cause shown and at the discretion of the hearing officer, either party may receive a continuance of the scheduled hearing date.

The hearing will be conducted informally and in nonadversial manner. The Rules of Evidence and Procedure will not apply.

The district shall make an audio tape of the complete hearing. No written transcript will be required, but the parents or guardian shall be entitled to obtain a copy of the audio tape at reasonable cost.

The hearing officer will render a brief written decision at the conclusion of the hearing, or, if it is imperative that the decision be taken under advisement, within 15 days of the hearing. No written findings of fact or conclusions of law shall be required of the hearing officer.

The person who serves as impartial hearing officer must not be an employee of the school district and may not be related to any member of the board of trustees in a degree that would be prohibited under the Nepotism Statue.

The hearing officer need not be an attorney at law but shall be familiar with the requirements of Section 504.

The hearing officer will be paid by the school district as an independent contractor for services rendered in regard to the hearing. The hearing will be conducted without cost to the parents or guardian.

Review Procedure

If the parents or guardian disagree with the decision of the impartial hearing officer, they may seek a review of the decision by a court of competent jurisdiction.

  1. Your have the right to be informed by the school district of your rights under 504. (The purpose of this Notice form is to advise you of those rights.) 34 CFR 104.32
  2. Your child has the right to an appropriate education designed to meet his/her individual educational needs as adequately as the needs of nondisabled students are met.  34CFR 104.33.
  3. Your child has the right to free educational services except for those fees that are imposed on nondisabled students or their parents.  Insurers and similar third parties are not relieved from an otherwise valid obligation to provide or pay for services provided to a disabled student 34 CFR 104.33.
  4. Your child has a right to placement in the least restrictive environment.  34 CFR 104.34.
  5. Your child has a right to facilities, services, and activities that are comparable to those provided for nondisabled students.  34 CFR 104.34.
  6. Your child has a right to an evaluation prior to an initial 504 placement and any subsequent  significant change in placement.  34 CFR 104.35.
  7. Testing and other evaluation procedures must conform with the requirements of 34 CFR 104.35 as to validation, administration, areas of evaluation, etc. The district shall consider information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social and cultural background, adaptive behavior, physical or medical reports, student grades, progress reports, parent observations, anecdotal reports, and TAAS scores. 34 CFR 104.35.
  8. Placement decisions must be made by a group of person (i.e., the Section 504 Committee), including persons knowledgeable about your child, the meaning of the evaluation data, the placement options, and the legal requirements for least restrictive environment and comparable facilities. 34 CFR 104.35
  9. If eligible under Section 504, your child has a right to periodic reevaluations, generally every three years. 34 CFR 104.35.
  10. You have the right of notice prior to any action by the district in regard to the identification, evaluation, or placement of your child. 34 CFR 104.35.
  11. You have the right to examine relevant records. 34 CFR 104.36.
  12. You have the right to an impartial hearing with respect to the district's actions regarding your child's identification, evaluation, or educational placement, with opportunity for parental participation in the hearing and representation by an attorney. 34 CFR 104.36.
  13. If you wish to challenge the actions of the district's Section 504 Committee in regard to your child's identification, evaluation, or educational placement, you should file a written Notice of Appeal with the district's Section 504 Coordinator, Mrs. Joy Rousseau, Drawer 70, Arp, Texas 75750, (903) 859-4917 within 15 calendar days from the time you received written notice of the Section 504 Committee's action(s). A hearing will be scheduled before an impartial hearing officer and you will be notified in writing of the date, time, and place for the hearing.
  14. If you disagree with the decision of the impartial hearing officer, you have a right to a review of that decision by a court of competent jurisdiction. 34 CFR 104.36.
  15. On Section 504 matters other than your child's identification, evaluation, and placement, you have a right to file a complaint with the district's Section 504 Coordinator who will investigate the allegations to the extent warranted by the nature of the complaint in an effort to reach a prompt and equitable resolution.

16. You also have a right to file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights. The address of the Regional Office which covers Texas is:

Taylor August, Director

Office of Civil Rights, Region VI

1200 Main Tower Building, Room 1935

Dallas, Texas 75202

(214) 767-3959

 

PARENTAL NOTICE OF EVALUATION

STUDENT ______________________________GRADE_____________DATE__________________

CAMPUS__________________________________TEACHER______________________________

Dear Parent:

The academic records of all students enrolled in Arp Independent School District are carefully reviewed on an annual basis to ensure that students are continuing to make acceptable academic progress. This district strives to intervene as quickly as possible to provide services to those students who begin to struggles academically. These students become a part of the district's STAR Program and a remedial plan is developed to meet their needs.

During this process of review and identification, school personnel consider any indications of a learning disability which may be interfering with the student's academic progress. In some instances, the student is referred to a multi- disciplinary team of professionals to provide a more in-depth review of the student's educational needs and services available. This multi- disciplinary committee is called the STAR Team which also serves as the district's Section 504 committee.

The student named above has been referred to the STAR Team to determine eligibility under Section 504 as a disabled student. This letter is to provide you written notice that an evaluation of your child will be performed at a Section 504 Committee Meeting on (date)________________ at (time) ______________ on ____________ campus to determine whether you child is eligible under Section 504. If you child is eligible for Section 504, the committee will also develop an individual program to address your child's educational needs and make appropriate placement. Following the meeting, you will be informed in writing of all decisions regarding your child's identification, evaluation, or placement as a Section 504 disabled student.

During this evaluation, the STAR Team will consider information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social and cultural background, adaptive behavior, physical or medical records, student grades, progress reports, parent observations, anecdotal records, TAAS scores, etc. If you have information that will help us understand your child's educational needs, please contact us.

Placement decisions are also made by the STAR Team. This group of persons are all professional staff members who are knowledgeable about you child, the meaning of evaluation data, the placement options, and the legal requirements for the least restrictive environment and comparable facilities. In order to meet the requirements for the least restrictive environment, the committee first determines if the educational needs can be met in the regular classroom with instructional modifications.

For your information, we are enclosing a Notice of Parent and Student Rights under Section 504, The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to further clarify the legal requirements the district follows to ensure that parent/student rights are protected. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

 

_______________________________ ____________________________

Section 504 Coordinator Telephone Number