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How students use UPA’s 504 and IEP plans

ARTICLE & DESIGN BY SANA PURDHANI • INFOGRAPHIC BY ALYSSA GARCIA

In 1975, Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and 504 plans were introduced into school systems to help students with learning disabilities increase their educational outcomes. Under the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA), students with disabilities’ rights were legally recognized, which allowed them to finally attend public schools for the first time. In subsequent years, there was a gradual increase nationwide in the number of schools and teachers that implemented these optional plans.

IEPs help students with disabilities implement specific goals so they are able to receive an equal opportunity in terms of education by motivating and supporting them to fulfill their educational goals. If all parties agree—–typically an administrator, the student and their legal guardians—–these plans can be adjusted when needed based on the individual’s progress, and are typically assessed every three years. There are 13 disability categories covered by the plan, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), speech or language impairment, visual impairment and traumatic brain injury.

Sophomore Lucas Hennings has had an IEP plan for eight years and took a front seat in designing and implementing it in order to feel more responsible for it.

“The school is being really supportive of our needs and how we have different ways to learn,” Hennings said. “I can’t think of any problem I have had that UPA hasn’t been willing to talk about. I am quite happy with how my IEP is being handled.” 504 plans have the same end-goal as IEP plans—–to help students succeed in school—–but they are covered by different laws. With a 504 plan, the accommodations have a wider range and are not as extensive, but specifically address disabilities. Accommodations can vary from preferential seating and extended time on assignments to modified textbooks and behavior management support. More students meet the requirements of a 504 plan since there are fewer rules for applying, including having a disability that affects a student’s physical, emotional or cognitive disabilities. Schools prefer to have a diagnosis or some proof of a student’s mental disability to qualify for a 504 plan.

Director of Special Programs Jean Mastrogiacomo said just under 10% of students at UPA have either an IEP or 504 plan—

which is around 60 students. This is her second year managing the IEP and 504 plans on campus. Mastrogiacomo said students with these plans have the ability to succeed academically, but the plans provide mechanisms to remove roadblocks and provide students with access to learning in a method that is more personalized to their specific needs. “I think they’re super necessary in a lot of cases,” Mastrogiacomo said. “Because each child doesn’t learn the same way and each child may have different challenges that present itself where they just can’t succeed in the traditional kind of structure with the rest of the kids.” According to EdSource, “The school is being due to COVID-19 and distance learning, the number really supportive of of 504 plans spiked nationwide. Last year, nearly one in every eight Califorour needs and how we nia children in grades K through 12 received spehave different ways cially designed instruction, an increase of 14%. Although the majority of stuto learn.” dents in special education have learning disabilities, — Lucas Hennings much of the spike is attributable to increasing autism diagnoses. There has been a definite gradual increase in plans over the past couple of years as noticed by Spanish teacher Aimee Verapinto. “They’ve increased quite a bit,” Verapinto said. “I think there might be a connection to COVID-19 in that era of learning loss, and that year where kids experienced a lot of anxiety coming back to the world, so to speak.” Hennings believes that distance learning was beneficial to finding an important accommodation that works well for him. “The switch to distance learning actually benefited me greatly,” Hennings said. “Because of how well I actually excelled during that time when everything was digital, I actually just recently added the ‘computer for everything’ accommodation ability to my IEP. The decrease in writing and the increase in digital work has benefited me a lot.” Mastrogiacomo believes that more students are being identified, through teachers at school or tests that psychologists provide, and are reaching out for help at UPA. “It could be things that went unnoticed that are being brought up now so people can get the support they need,” Mastrogiacomo said. Verapinto describes her experience working with students that

have these plans.

“It can be both challenging and rewarding,” Verapinto said. “If you’re able to reach that kid and figure it out and have them succeed, then it’s super rewarding, but I’m not gonna lie or sugarcoat it, it’s also incredibly challenging, especially the behavioral ones.”

After Christine De La Roca, the previous Resource Specialist Program teacher, retired, Steve Sellers, one of Executive Director David Porter’s friends, stepped up, came out of retirement, and joined UPA’s staff during the second semester to fill the open RSP teacher position. He has a background of 15 years of teaching special education. Sellers believes that the RSP class for IEP students is beneficial to them because they are able to finish their work and have extra support.

“The class is kind of like a study skills class,” Sellers said. “Students have that extra period to get stuff done and ask questions when they need to.”

Sellers, in his first two months at UPA, expresses that he has not yet experienced behavioral issues with his RSP students and his biggest challenge is getting to know them since he joined during the middle of the school year.

“Well, for me, it’s because I’m coming in second semester with school already started, so part of it is just building the rapport and relationship with the students,” Sellers said. “The kids are all really respectful and overall pretty responsible when we do oneon-one meetings when I check in with them and make sure they’re on task. There’s not really any behavior issues at all so that’s a plus for sure.”

Sellers believes that the RSP class can be very beneficial to students by teaching efficient, tailored learning strategies and supporting the curriculum with resources to help students succeed during classroom instruction.

Even after coming in as a teacher during the second semester, Sellers is very positive about his hopes for the RSP class.

Sellers said, “I think all students need a consistent person that you know that’s going to be there…I think kids are always looking for that.”

Source: UPA Board Documents

During distance learning in the 2020-2021 school year, around 53% of students in the subgroup of students with special needs had passing grades in marking period 1 and during the in-person 2021-2022 marking period 1, there was an increase to 65% of students having passing grades.