Virginia: My daughter is an 11th grader with ADHD and has been on a 504 plan since middle school. One of her accommodations is to get extra time on tests. She has always received the extra time to include the PSAT and SAT. However, this year her 6th period math teacher has indicated that unless her 5th or 7th period teachers will allow her to miss all or part of their class in order to allow her the extra time, she can’t give it to her. She won’t allow her to work on the test the next day either. Her other teachers don’t want her missing their classes and I’m running into road blocks when I have taken the issue to the school’s 504 counselor as well as the Assistant Principal. They keep telling me to work it out with the teacher but the teacher will only allow the extra time if the other teachers allow her to miss their class and further she expects my daughter to run around negotiating with her teachers to get the time. This does not seem consistent with the law but I’m no expert. It doesn’t seem that the burden of working the logistics of the accommodation should be the responsibility of the student (or the parent) but rather the school itself. Can someone tell me if I’m off base and give me some advice. Thanks!
My son was not given extra time in accordance with his 504 plan. The teacher said: “There were 20 multiple choice questions. Normally, time is designated for the test based on the number of questions and complexity. I allocated 3 minutes per question (which is already longer than the 2 minutes per question that is commonly standard). That would bring the test time to 60 minutes. On top of that, I actually gave all students 85 minutes to work on the test, so your son’s 504 plan was satisfied because he (and every other student) was provided an extra 25 minutes. I wanted to make it a blanket extra time for all students.”
It is my understanding that the 504 accommodation for extra time means that the student is given extra time on top of the time allowed for other students… not that all students are afforded extra time to complete the time at leisure. Please could you clarify…
If I am alloted extra time for test taking because of my 504 plan but my teacher does not give it to me unless I ask for it before the test is that legal? Like if I forget to ask before the test he refuses to allow me extra test taking time.
I suggest that you discuss this with the school counselor, and then the assistant principal, or principal if needed. This could be verbally or in writing. Do not criticize the teacher, just say that you want to be able to show what you have learned from the teacher’s “good” instruction.
what are my rights if i am granted extra time and college professor does not grant it for finals despite me providing documentation as such. ty
Take it to the school board. That will get everyone’s attention, and the school staff will not be able to give them the run-around.
Hello, please have the 504 Educational Specialist (who advocates for your student) to meet with you at the parent teacher conferences at the beginning of the school year and at the end of each school year. This may resolve the issue my discussing the 504 plan earlier in the year together.
I have a high school student on a 504 granting her 1.5 time on tests. The problem I am running into is that she is told she has to come after school on the same day as the test to use her allotted extra time. This means that she misses the school bus home. We live about 4 miles from the school, there is no public transportation in town and there is no “late” bus. As a result I am not leaving work early to pick her up or my husband tries to work from home on test day so he can pick her up. Is there a requirement that the extra-time be completed during the regular school day ?
If there is, it would be a state rule, I think. Typically, middle, & high school scheduling is not set up to handle situations like this. I suggest writing the principal, & special ed director asking for a meeting to see if some sort of solution can be found.
My friend wasn’t given any extra time so he had to drive all the way to state to demand some extra time. As he knocked ofr hours and banged on the door no one came out until approximately 9PM. Upon hearing the horrific news, the state of PA marched down to school and DEMANED Extra time.
Virginia, I’ve seen a couple different approaches work. 1- Student takes test during non-core classes. 2- Student misses the period prior, or the period after, or finishes after school or the next day. Email the relevant teacher and calmly (but assertively) inform them of the necessary absence, and request a before or after school appointment for catch-up/make-up (similar to absence due to illness or medical appt.). It can be helpful to add “separate location” to the plan. If necessary, keep working your way up the chain, but keep a folder with all emails, letters, and notes of conversations, in case you have to file an OCR complaint. Take heart, in college this will not be a battle.
Providing extended time for tests in High School under a 504 plan is a challenge. Due to the way class periods are scheduled it is difficult to find a time that will not affect other classes. Section 504 does not provide funding to schools to pay for additional personnel to supervise the students while they use the extended time. Some students have abused the extended test time accommodation and have used it to cheat because they already know what is on the test and if the extended time is not offered immediately after the class period, they are able to look up the answers. Any suggestions on how to handle extended test time with 504 plans in High School?
If she has the formal diagnosis and she is already receiving accommodations, I have to believe your daughter would qualify for an IEP. That would be the best way (in my opinion) to ensure that she consistently receives the accommodations she needs. She shouldn’t be put in a position of having to negotiate something that she’s already guaranteed under section 504 and IDEA.
The new thing in high schools are certification test. I have to question regarding sped students. If a certification test that’s given by the FAA, and no modifications are available. Are we violating the law if Federal government doesn’t allow modifications and the test are given be the federal government. Secondly, if all students are required to have a drivers license to get into an extra curriculum class and the sped student does not have one are we violating the law for not letting him participate.
If you have not contacted the district 504 coordinator, I suggest you do so. There must be a procedure for taking complaints & concerns up the “chain of command”.