My DS is 8 yr and is PNA, TNA, and has asthma. He is currently in 3rd grade. We haven't had a 504 so far and things have gone pretty well over the past few years. We have a health plan in place and the school lunches are peanut free school wide (they even serve Sunbutter sandwiches!). He keeps one epipen in his classroom and one in the school office.
I've debated over the years whether or not to push for a 504, but things were going fairly smoothly so I just didn't rock the boat. Well, I got a letter in the mail from the school's principal about a month ago saying that they were reviewing all the students with health plans at the school to see if they qualified for a 504, and that if we were interested in a 504, please return the enclosed form. I was happy to see THEM being proactive, so I decided as long as they were suggesting it, I should go ahead and see if he qualifies and get one in place, just to protect him in the future and to make the teacher follow through with some things I don't think she's done a very good job following through on allergy-wise.
I got a call from the 504 coordinator two weeks ago to set up a meeting to discuss the 504. I asked her if this meeting was to establish eligibility or to discuss accommodations. She said something along the lines of "Well, it's pretty clear he is eligible so we will be putting accommodations in place at this meeting. Just bring something from his doctor to prove that he does in fact have allergies."
I am cautiously optimistic about this meeting, but am hesitant to think it's going to go perfectly smooth, seeing how most people have to really fight to even qualify for a 504, let alone get the accommodations they need. I've been gathering some information to back up his need for the 504 JUST IN CASE they flip their attitude about it and are resistant to the idea. I'm also worrying I might be overlooking accommodations that he might need but I'm not thinking of... He is not airborne allergic and has had inconsistent contant reactions over the years. Any advice? The meeting is next Tuesday. Thanks!!!