Information Regarding Section 504 of The

Rodney Svee, Superintendent

Billings Public Schools

415 N. 30th St.

Billings., MT 59101

of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973and

the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

InformationandStudent/Parent Rights

Section 504 is a part of federal legislation that prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in any program receiving federal financial assistance. It defines a person with a disability as anyone who:

•has a mental or physical impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activity (major life activities include activities such as caring for one’ s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working);[may activate services for students in the school program]

•has a record of such impairment; [protects against discrimination but does not qualify a student for school services]

•is regarded as having such an impairment.[protects against discrimination but does not qualify a student for school services]

In order to fulfill its obligation under Section 504, the BillingsPublicSchool District recognizes a responsibility to avoid discrimination in policies and practices regarding its personnel and students. No discrimination against any person with a disability will knowingly be permitted in any of the programs and practices in the school system.

The school district has specific responsibilities under the Act, which includes the responsibility to identify, evaluate, and if the child is determined to be eligible under Section 504, to afford access to appropriate educational services. Both temporary conditions (i.e. broken limbs, recovery from cancer treatments, etc.) and permanent ones (i.e. clinical depression, hearing loss, etc.) may prompt evaluations for eligibility.

If the parent or guardian disagrees with the determination made by the professional staff of the school district, s/he has a right to a hearing with an impartial hearing officer.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) also specifies rights related to educational records. This Act gives the parent or guardian the right to:

•inspect and review his/her child’s educational records;

•make copies of these records;

•receive a list of all individuals having access to those records;

•ask for an explanation of any item in the records;

•ask for an amendment to any report on the grounds that itis inaccurate, misleading, or violates the child’s rights;

•a hearing on the issue if the school refuses to make the amendment.

If there are questions, please feel free to contact theExecutive Director of Elementary Education, theExecutive Director of Secondary Education or the District’s Legal Counsel . Phone: 406-247-3777

Parent/Student Rights in Identification,

Evaluation and Placement

Below is a description of the rights granted by federal law to students with disabilities.

The intent of the law is to keep you fully informed concerning decisions about your child and to inform you of your rights if you disagree with any of these decisions.

You have the right to the following:

•Right to have your child with disabilities take part in, and receive benefits from public education programs without discrimination because of her or his disability.

•Right to receive all information in the parent’s or guardian’s native language or primary other mode of communication.

•Right to have a free appropriate public education for your child which includes the right of the child to be educated with students without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate.

•Right for your child to have equal opportunity to participate in school programs and extracurricular activities sponsored by the school.

•Right to receive notice a reasonable time before a district identifies, evaluates or changes your child’s placement.

•Right to inspect and review all of your child’s educational records, including the right to obtain copies of education records at reasonable cost unless the cost would deny you access to the records, and the right to amend the record if you believe information contained in the record is inaccurate or misleading. If the school district refuses to amend the record, you have a right to request a hearing.

•Right to have educational evaluation and placement decisions made based on information from a variety of sources and by persons who know the needs of the student, meaning of evaluation data and placement options.

•Right to have a periodic reevaluation and/or evaluation before any significant change in placement.

•Right to have an impartial hearing if you disagree with the school district’s proposed action. You will be an active participant. You have the right to be represented by counsel in the impartial hearing process. You have the right to appeal the impartial hearing officer’s decision to the Office of Civil Rights.

(Contact information: Office of Civil Rights, Seattle, WA, 206-220-7900

June 2004