Expert: Norm Bishop - 3/17/2010

Question
If a child with ADHD having  a 504 plan in place needs tutoring is the public school mandated to provide the tutoring if the family cannot afford it?

Answer
The simple answer is NO.  Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of the Handicapped is a civil rights bill intended to prevent schools who accept federal support from discriminating because the child's disability.  It simply asks the school(s) to "provide reasonable accommodations" in order to eliminate discrimination.  

Tutoring is not an accommodation, rather, it is a direct service.  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the special education law.  A child with ADHD can be found eligible under IDEA, if he has a disability, the disability has an educational impact, and the child needs specially designed instruction (last one is the definition of special education).  If a child has a great enough educational impact to need tutoring, then he/she should be able to meet IDEA eligibility.  Parents with a child of this nature should ask for an assessment for special education.

Norm