504 vs IEP
A 504 Plan provides accommodations, services and/or aids to
students with a disability (as that term is defined under the Americans with
Disabilities Act Amendments Act) to afford the student equal opportunities to
participate in school activities and receive the same instruction as
nondisabled peers, but they do not require special education. Accommodations
may include extra time for the same assignments as their peers, a separate
quiet room to take the same test as their peers, large type for reading the same
instructional material, or ramps to physically access the same classroom. An
IEP is for a child who requires special education – instruction that is
specialized, or modified, for that child. A ninth-grader reading at third grade
can be given “Romeo and Juliet” modified from Shakespearean language
to their reading level. Also, an IEP has goals written into it; a 504 does not.
A student does not have an IEP after graduating high school, whereas a 504 plan
continues into post-secondary school, and a student who had an IEP in high
school can have a 504 in college.