Arden's past and current 504 plans are available to Download

Back to school...

Well the years are flying by and Arden's 504 plan is constantly morphing. Please feel free to read, download, use these documents as your own. You may need to make changes so the document reflect your child's specific needs. Arden's 504 was originally written by me in 2006 though I relied heavily on the JDRF and ADA templates of the day. Arden's 504 has been slightly modified each year since kindergarten, just like Arden it continually changes and grows. I hope that it helps you in creating your own. I'm digging up 504's from other grades and will be updating this page with new documents as I am able.

The plans have been redacted in the spots where you will need to fill in your information. Look for text that looks like this <TEXT>.

Good luck!

Documents for download...

Arden's Kindergarten 504 for download - Word, Pages

Arden's Sixth Grade 504 for download - Word, Pages

Arden's Seventh and Eight Grade 504 for download - Word, Pages

Go deeper...

While you are thinking about diabetes and education I would like to urge you to listen to a few episodes of the Juicebox Podcast that focus on a student's time at school.

Texting Diabetes: All about how we use something as simple as text messaging to manage Arden's type 1 diabetes while she is at school or anytime that she is out of the house. This simple process has led to lower a A1c, better grades, an increase in self-confidence and much more. 

Talking 504 Plans with D-Mom Jill: Getting a 504 plan is easier than you think and it's super important!

Talking To School Administrators That Don't Get Type 1 Diabetes

Going to College with T1D: College freshman Elias was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes before his senior year in high school.

Teach Our Children Well: Is what you say about type 1 diabetes to your teachers and administrators always what they hear and do your expectations and needs match what they understand and are able to deliver?

Advocating at School: This is taking advocating for children with type 1 diabetes to a new level.

College with Type 1 on Day One: Amanda has only been at college for a few days and she's on the podcast to tell us about her initial experience. 

Teacher of the Year: Denny is a good man and a great teacher. This episode is all about the difference that one dedicated teacher can make in a child's life with type 1 diabetes.

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Today, I am begrudgingly breaking a long standing rule on this blog of not talking about politics...

Betsy DeVos

Yesterday a new Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, was confirmed by the Senate. DeVos a wealthy Republican donor who never attended a public school, is not an educator and has spent most of her life promoting charter schools and vouchers is now in charge of almost 100,000 public schools. 

Today the government website for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is not responding...

http://idea.ed.gov

I'm going to go out on a limb and say if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, you better start calling your Senators and Congresspeople. 

About IDEA from the ADA website

What is IDEA?

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that requires states to provide a "free, appropriate public education" to children with disabilities so they can be educated to the greatest extent possible along with all other children. Qualifying children are entitled to special education and related services at no cost to their parents/guardians.

Who is covered?

To receive services under IDEA, a child with with a disability must show that he or she needs special education and related services in order to benefit from education. An evaluation of the child must show that, because of the child's disability, the child's educational performance is harmed. There are three situations in which a child with diabetes might be covered under IDEA:

1. The child has another disability which impacts his or her ability to learn, but diabetes itself does not cause an impact in learning. For example, a child with Down syndrome might have an impact in learning.

2. Both diabetes and another disability combined impact the child's ability to learn. For example, it might be determined that a child's ability to learn is impacted by both autism and diabetes.

3. The child's diabetes, by itself, causes an impact on learning. This is categorized as an "other health impairment" under the IDEA.

While it is most common for a child with diabetes to qualify for IDEA because of having another disability in addition to diabetes, it is also possible that diabetes itself can cause an impact in learning. For example, it is often difficult to learn when blood sugar levels are either too high or too low. If a child with diabetes is having difficulty managing his or her blood sugar level, this may hurt how well the child does in school. Academic progress might also suffer if a child with diabetes misses a significant amount of classroom instruction each day in order to attend to diabetes care tasks.

The Center for Parent Information and Resources describes "Other Health Impairments" like this.

“Other Health Impairment” is one of the 14 categories of disability listed in our nation’s special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under IDEA, a child who has an “other health impairment” is very likely to be eligible for special services to help the child address his or her educational, developmental, and functional needs resulting from the disability.

(i) Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome; and

You can read the rest on their website here.

update 9:54am - Dept of Ed says this is not purposeful.

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Guest Post from the ADA: When to Reach out to the American Diabetes Association

After I interviewed Anisha Dharshi from the American Diabetes Association for episode 40 of my podcast, I asked if she'd be interested in preparing a guest post for Arden's Day that detailed how parents and people with diabetes can utilize the ADA's free assistance program (it was a topic we talked about on the show). I sincerely hope that you never need the ADA, but if you do... they can be a great resource! 

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When to Reach Out to the American Diabetes Association

If something does not feel right, it may not be legal. 

Reach out if your child is not getting the right diabetes care at school, or you are not being allowed to test your blood glucose levels at work. The American Diabetes Association can help. The Association has representatives waiting to speak, chat online, or email with you to help avoid problems and find solutions when problems do occur.

How to Get Help

Call our Center for Information at 1-800-DIABETES, there a dedicated representative will serve as your personal guide for information on all our programs and events by answering your non-medical questions in English, Spanish or other requested languages.

If you prefer to Email us at askada@diabetes.org, you will receive an reply with information and the next steps to take within 24 to 48 hours. 

What Happens Next

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The Center for Information will give you a form to complete and return to the ADA. If you don’t have time or cannot complete the form, please ask your ADA representative for help.

A Legal Advocate will contact you within 7-10 business days after receiving the form. The advocate can explain the law and help educate your school or business about its responsibilities, help you negotiate a solution and give problem-solving tips, give sample letters and background resources and review your materials. If you need to litigate, the advocate will refer you to a network of local attorneys. 

ADA Center for Information Hours:

    1-800-DIABETES:    Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. EDT

    Live chat:                 Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT

    askada@diabetes.org is available 24/7/365

The American Diabetes Association has been a resource of reliable information and support to people living with diabetes and their caregivers for 75 years. The Association’s Safe at School® campaign is particularly dedicated to making sure that all children with diabetes are medically safe at school, are treated fairly, and have the same educational opportunities as their peers through tools, resources, and the guidance our legal advocates provide to families. For additional information please visit the Association’s legal assistance webpage. 

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You can listen to my conversation with Anisha below, on iTunes, at JuiceboxPodcast.com and everywhere that podcast are available.

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Arden's 2015 504 Plan is Available to Download

Back to school...

This is Arden's 2015 504 plan for sixth grade. Please feel free to read, download, use it as your own or make changes so it reflects your child's needs. Written by me in 2006 this document has been modified each year since kindergarten and continues to grow and change. I hope that it helps you in creating your own, I relied heavily on the JDRF and ADA templates that were available online back in 2006 as I created Arden's.

I'm pretty excited that we were able to get Arden's iPhone listed as a medical device this year! #DexcomShare

The text has been redacted in spots, you will need to fill in your information in those places. Look for text that looks like this <TEXT> and one formatting instruction encompassed by asterisks.

Good luck!

Arden's 2015 sixth grade 504 plan for download

While you are in the mindset to think about diabetes and education, I would like to urge you to listen to episode 4 of my podcast that talks about how we manage Arden's type 1 diabetes while she is at school. 

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Arden's 504 Plan for Download

504 Plan

Over the past few months I've received numerous requests for Arden's current 504 plan, I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to get it to you! This plan has been used at the fourth and fifth grade levels and I hope that it serves as a guide for you when you are crafting/creating/editing your child's 504. 

Please remember that a good 504 plan is no replacement for a great relationship with your school and that sometimes those relationships take a lot of time to cultivate. I hope you can take a moment to read a past blog post about that subject.

Episode 65 of the Juicebox Podcast is all about 504 plans... you can listen here but the cool kids use: Apple Podcasts/iOS - Spotify - Amazon Alexa- google play/android - iheart radio -  or their favorite podcast app.

The Word file is available here. Arden's name and all personal information has been removed. Please feel free to use this document in anyway that will benefit your child. Please also remember that nothing that you read on Arden's Day is to be considered advice, my disclaimer says more. Decisions should always be made with he help of a physician.

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