I agree with Gina even if I have arrived at the same opinion differently.
The IEP process is not necessarily a good match for a physical disability that does not affect learning. Although it shares administrative law process it functions quite differently. The IDEA allows the school to diagnose the student educationally independent of medical diagnosis. 504 does not involve any diagnostics by the school, at least not officially. 504 protections exist independently of special education diagnostics and placement under the IDEA, and are regulated by enforcement separate from the IDEA.
Should a student's civil rights under ADA/504 be violated it is not an IEP violation and OSERS or the state will not be the correct entity to report the violation, however it muddies the waters for OCR if you have an IEP based complaint. You may be rerouted to exhaust processes under the IDEA unless you are EXTREMELY adept at teasing out the issues in writing and have an airtight complaint laser-focused on access as as result of discrimination. The IDEA will involve placement and individualized education needs, 504 prohibits the discrimination by removing barriers to the general education non-disabled peers receive.
An IEP is not like better, stronger 504 for anaphylaxis. A student whose learning is affected for related or unrelated conditions would most likely be better served with an IEP and 504 although any student with an IEP is automatically 504 protected. The IEP process very much including the necessary related diagnostics is not for the faint of heart, and the school will have more input on qualifiers because they will be performing the diagnostics. I personally would not put my child through educational diagnostics for the IEP process for food allergies only unless I believed firmly or had a separate medical diagnosis for a condition that affected learning.
There will be the occasional anecdotal assertion that IEP isn't all that bad and works great for food allergies. That's not what the regulations and law would necessarily , moreso when you examine it with complaint process. For those that believe an IEP is Fort Knox strong you have not been in the disabled community long enough to converse with parents, seasoned advocates and special education attorneys in the trenches whose children or clients span a wide variety of special needs. A common concern shared amongst many is the consistent erosion of protections under Part B despite that it is a funded mandate. One need only look at the OIG reports on budget violations for Part B to see those numbers are going down with no one to bring it back in line.
Disputes or responses to this post please provide primary authority or at least refer to it explicitly for framework. I would suggest to anyone considering IEP eligibility strictly for food allergies with or without possible associated affected learning educate themselves with depth and accuracy on how the IDEA Part B and Section 504 function administratively including violations and dispute resolution.
With regard to KWFA, despite their disclosures that they are not giving out legal (or medical) advice there comes a tipping point where despite the disclosure the actual content and statements are perhaps starting to move into the unauthorized practice of law.
What I would suggest is looking less at the food allergy specific organizations for information on special education and education civil rights and more towards the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, the same organization that partnered with FARE to file the amicus brief on behalf of the appellants in T.F. v. Fox Chapel. COPAA is more direct access working in a group of special education advocate, attorneys (many names that have appeared here in "Schools") and veteran parents of the system.
Sidenote: Laurel Francoeur is, in my opinion, one of the best if not the best attorney with regard to 504 for food anaphylaxis. It is my opinion that any reprinting of her statements that sound erroneous is likely a clerical mistake on the part of person paraphrasing her.
Topic: Frustrated with KWFA (Read 2741 times)
