Mountlake Terrace isn’t always the most student-accessible.
What if you were in a wheelchair, your bus was late, and you couldn’t get to class on time? What if you had diabetes and couldn’t check your blood sugar? What if you got overwhelmed easily and needed headphones to regulate? There are exceptions to rules regulating student access and behavior, and they should be honored by all means. In fact, by federal law, every student with a disability is protected from discrimination under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The U.S. Department of Education 504 section is designed to prohibit discrimination against students with disabilities, in theory. When put into practice, kids often fall through the cracks, and teachers with little training surrounding accommodations sometimes fail to understand. Some fail to receive the plan or don’t read it or forget the accommodations. However, it is true that the more students there are with 504 plans, the harder it is to logistically keep track of everyone. While Section 504 requires school districts to provide a FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) and provide aids and services for individual needs, sometimes it seems more like a challenging plan instead of a real student need. Unfortunately, there can be teachers who disagree with different plans, and sometimes reject the accommodations arguing that’s not how they teach.
All things considered, when it comes to meeting these plans Terrace teachers and administrators do the best they can. However, with so many different students with different needs, each with separate accommodations, it’s inevitable that an issue will arise, that a student or teacher will fall through. So what can students do to defend their rights and the plan that can take so long to acquire?
Lets go, GoGuardian!
There is a new mystery that has popped up at Terrace, except this one has changed to a digital mystery! Students and teachers alike are actively finding the best way to navigate this new change, pleased or otherwise. MTHS is officially the guinea pig for the new GoGuardian hall pass system as of Monday May 4. Instead of using a sign out sheet by the door or teachers trying to keep headcount throughout the lesson, students have now been instructed to open Hallpass.GoGuardian.com and request a pass. From there, a teacher can approve or deny the request, and settings can be adjusted accordingly. Some teachers may have it on autoapprove unless the system blocks their pass, just to make it easier for teaching. Others have still not gotten fully acquainted with the new passes.
There are ups and downs to this new system at the genesis of its implementation, with a variety of opinions surfacing in response. Senior Sabrina Bermudez commented on the subject, saying, “If they put more rules, people are still going to find a way around it.” For senior students nearing graduation, the changes being implemented don’t have as much as an impact. There is no next year for them, no follow up to see if the systems truly work.
Adding changes later into the year makes it harder to get students to follow, as they have been following a different system of operations for the rest of the year. So a response of dislike or indifference isn’t shocking.
What’s hot right now?
On May 1, MTHS students during 6th period got comfortable and opened a window into New York to see their fellow students. Once again, the jazz program earned a spot on Essentially Ellington’s stage to perform an array of songs. It’s one of the most innovative and respected jazz education events in the world, and this is nowhere near the first time Jazz 1 has qualified. However, this year the school had a vastly different response. From classroom to classroom, even in the HUB, the live broadcast was streamed with pride. Students and teachers cheered them on from more than 2,000 miles away with a swell of pride. That is what set this year apart from all other years: the responses from the school.
What can you do to advocate for your 504/IEP?
DOCUMENT EVERYTHING
• Write down every instance of your 504 or IEP being violated and you’re not getting the accommodations you need to learn. Report on it, not just for your benefit, but for other students facing similar struggles. Many people are either scared to speak up or cannot do so. This doesn’t have to be particularly detailed, just keep a record
SELF ADVOCACY
• Whenever you have the chance, speak up for what you know you need!
EMAIL THE TEACHER
• Be direct about what is being missed and what accommodations are being ignored.
ASK FOR A COPY OF YOUR DISTRICT’S 504 PROCEDURES
• While students have a printed copy of their own personalized 504 accommodations, it can always be helpful to have the district’s or state’s plan printed out to refer to.
GO UP THE CHAIN OF COMMAND
• If a teacher doesn’t listen to your needs, get louder and keep going higher up to different administrative powers – building administrators, assistant superintendents, and possibly the school board.
RESOURCES
• Protection and Advocacy Agency for Disabilities (PAAD)
• ESD Office of Civil Rights (OCR)
• Student Advocates
