Resource Page: Students with Disabilities, IEPs, and 504 Plans

Resource Type: Back-to-School Resources
Focus Area: students with disabilities

Students with disabilities have the right to a free, appropriate education and to be supported — not punished or discriminated against on the basis of their disabilities. They are also entitled to the resources they need to address their disabilities and to equally participate in their education and make progress. Through Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), Section 504 Accommodation Plans, and other legal protections, schools are required to provide meaningful access to learning, legally required supports and related services, additional protections in the school discipline context, as well as protections against discrimination on the basis of a student’s disability.   

This resource page offers fact sheets and self-advocacy tools to help families understand their rights and take action.  

• Accommodating Health Needs in School: 504 Plans factsheet offers information on key rights students with disabilities and health conditions have at school,  about how to obtain disability-related accommodations for students in schools, and 504 Accommodations Plans.
  • This self-advocacy tool can be used to make a request for a 504 Plan Evaluation.
• The Special Education Evaluations [Spanish] [Chinese] [Arabic] [Nepali] fact sheet offers a concise overview of how special education evaluations are conducted in Pennsylvania, including key rights, procedures and legally-required timelines that schools must follow. 
  • These self-advocacy tools can be used to make Evaluation and Reevaluation requests.
• The Resolving Special Education Disagreements [Arabic] [Spanish] [Chinese] explains your right to disagree and your options – from informal discussions to mediation or due process hearings – when you disagree with special education decisions made for your child. 
  • This self-advocacy tool can be used to request an IEP meeting to discuss ongoing disputes.
• The Your Student’s Right to Compensatory Education [Spanish] fact sheet explains how Pennsylvania students with disabilities can secure compensatory education when they’ve been denied legally required services. 
• FERPA Education Correction Tools: These tools help Parents and Eligible Students, who are students who are 18 years or older or are attending a postsecondary institution, proactively identify inaccurate or misleading statements or information that violates their privacy rights and request corrections and amendments to their educational records, as permitted by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
• Request for Disability-Related Accommodations for Parents/Caregivers: This tool can be used by parents and caregivers who have disabilities to request accommodations, modifications, and services that they need to participate in education decision-making for a child.
• The Early Intervention Resource Page offers guides, fact sheets and other resources related to early intervention services for pre-school aged children, toddlers and infants.

• Preparing for a Manifestation Determination [Spanish]: Students with disabilities cannot be excluded from school, either by expulsion or by a pattern of suspensions, for behaviors caused by their disabilities. This factsheet and tool outline a student’s rights when facing disciplinary exclusion, how to prepare for a manifestation determination review, and a parent’s rights during this process.

  • • Use this related self-advocacy tool to prepare for a manifestation determination review meeting.

Additional resources can be found in our Back to School Guide.