Setting Up a Section 504 Plan

Where can you find help

Social worker Gerald Rodriguez, LCSW, helps Donna Hartman and her daughter, Leigh Ann, both of Easton, complete a Section 504 Plan before the start of the school year.

Many parents find they need guidance setting up Section 504 Plans for children with diabetes. “It’s important to have a plan because this federal law gives your child rights in school and eases communication between you and school district officials to ensure your child is well cared for,” says licensed clinical social worker Gerald J. Rodriguez of Lehigh Valley Hospital’s Helwig Health and Diabetes Center.

Rodriguez can help guide you through the process and also suggests these Web sites that offer tips on creating a plan:

www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/504/

www.diabetes.org/advocacy-and-legalresources/discrimination/school/504plan.jsp

You should develop a Section 504 plan every school year from kindergarten through high school. Through the act, your child has the right to:

• Take extra trips to the bathroom or water fountain
• Check blood-sugar levels when necessary (in Pennsylvania, blood sugar may need to be tested in the school nurse’s office, but Section 504 allows for any extra time needed for this)
• Eat wherever and whenever necessary
• Leave school for doctor’s appointments and sick-days as needed
• Participate in all sports, extracurricular activities and field trips, with the necessary assistance or supervision
• Seek care and assistance from the school nurse or a trained staff member

Want help with your plan? Call 610-402-CARE to connect with Gerald Rodriguez.

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