Wow. I am the district 504 Coordinator for a district of 25,000, and I have no idea one how to answer this off of the top of my head.

A 504 is written for an educational or vocational training program. The first thing that I would need to research is if extracurriculars/sports fall under the umbrella of the educational program.

Assuming that it does, I would see as enforcement as nearly impossible for several reasons.

A lot of this depends on the sport. If the coach needs an enforced 504 to work with you, I can guarantee the coach will find a way to be passive-aggressive.

Issue #1 - The coach could follow the letter-of-the-law of the 504 while still using the differential standard to isolate and scapegoat from teammates - especially in a team sport versus a more individual sport like swimming or cross-country. You may get literal compliance, but at what price? I am not endorsing the coach's actions if this happens, but it is still a likely reality nonetheless.

Issue #2 - If the sport is potentially dangerous - contact sports, gymnastics, cheer, etc. There is a valid counter-argument that if a student-athlete's disability impairs their ability to function without accommodation forcing a 504 could increase the level of danger.

So there are two ways to look at the matter...

You can advocate and exercise your rights. If a coach is being an anal-sphincter, you can send a message and prove a point. Then, yes, you can probably push for the 504.

If you look at sports as a means to an end - such as building self-esteem, health & fitness, creating happy childhood memories, building a sense of belonging to a positive peer group, etc.... Then, the likely result of pushing for the 504 will be the exact opposite of this

If it was one of my children, depending on the specifics of the situation... I would either try to find a sport/team/coach that was a better match for my child, or I would try to use it as an opportunity to try to cope with the multitudes of people that will not be supportive in the future.

I really don't know what you should do in your individual case. I just hope you are able to set aside any anger you have towards the coach and focus on what is the best choice in the big picture.

I am glad that I have never had to face this as a 504 Coordinator.

http://askdreric-schoolpsychologist.blogspot.com/

ETA: 2 additional thoughts. 1 - The more I read your original post. This is a coaching issue, not a 504 issue. A 504 will not make a bad coach good.

2 - Although this is a freshman sport, high school teams are still expected to win. Good coaches can do both, but I fall back to my above point. Depending on the state, in gymnastics, the club mentality is more pervasive than the student-athlete mentality. We do not have gymnastics in my district. If I compare to competition -oriented cheerleaders, many of the best competitors will opt to not be on the school team in favor of their club team. This makes the supply and demand for hiring coaches even less favorable.

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the sport is gymnastics and the coach has no patience but is also a spoiled brat, knows nothing about fund raising, not having enough money for stuff, etc. My daughter has been competing for club gymnastics for years prior to high school but they dont have club in our area for her age. Her main issue is the anxiety part of it she pays attention gets into a zone and never is not concentrating. She is one of the top performers. She gets so anxious she gets basically pissed and doesnt want to talk needs time to cool down.

The coach only pays attention to the girls that think she walks on water and suck up to her. My daughter has never been the type to suck up to anyone. My problem is getting the school to work with the 504 plan for the school sport? any idea we live in Mpls, mn so they are completely funded by government funds.

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Yeah... the way you have described it... bad coaching.

Are other parents unhappy with the coach -- for any reason? There may be strength in numbers. The more parents, the more it will be viewed as a coaching issue and not an upset parent issue.

A 504 won't fix bad coaching.

At best, pushing the 504 issue may eventually get rid of the coach --- whether by driving the coach away or from district action.

Roll the dice to see if they can get someone better.

I have a policy of never saying, "They could not get somebody worse." I always jinx myself and get proven wrong.

Keep working the chain-of-command - from both a 504 angle, but also the Athletic Director/Admin. over athletics. Be prepared to the labeled "that" parent. Don't expect this season to be any better.

Sorry. I have never wanted to supervise athletics for these reasons and that is WITHOUT it becoming a 504 issue.

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well the problem is now with the Athletic Director he is a handicap person (MS i think) but doesnt think that the sports program has to follow the accomidations of the 504 plan. He said it just has to allow her to compete thats all. Thursday they had a meet at home and my daughter fell off the beam and did a half salute to the judge out of frustration and pain from her sprained ankle (the coach made a snappy comment just before this) so friday they kicked my daughter off the team for not saluting the judge properly. Honestly i had been in gymnastics for years and what she saluted wasnt perfect but it was a salute and if she had told them she had hurt herself it would have been appropriate but because they wanted her off the team it didnt matter?

any insight on how to deal with this in a strong but appropriate manner? any knowledge on what the AD needs to be aware of for the 504plan and the correlation with her activities? I am a very active parent in all her sports and do way more than most parents because i feel i need to support my child and because i know she can be hard sometimes to deal with because of her easily getting frustrated and angry to where she will shut down.

Thanks for all you have given me so far.

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The "504" in "504 plan" refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which specifies that no one with a disability can be excluded from participating in federally funded programs or activities, including elementary, secondary or postsecondary schooling.

# Talk to the 504 Coordinator. If the teacher and principal are not able or willing to implement your child's 504 plan, find out who is responsible for coordinating those plans for your school district and touch base with that individual. The coordinator should have knowledge of your child's plan, and needs to be aware that it is not being put in place. If certain aspects of the plan cannot be realistically implemented, it may need to be rewritten; and if it is workable, then some district muscle may be required to enforce it. Again, agree on a timetable for that, and confirm it with a letter. # Talk to your state parent advocacy center. Although the 504 Plan falls under federal law and not state law, advocates in your local area may have a better idea of how schools have succeeded or failed with 504s in the past, and how you might best force enforcement. The Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers offers a directory you can use to find contact information and websites for centers in your state. You should be able to call your nearest office and discuss your problem with a parent or advisor who has experience with getting school districts to do their jobs.

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Any news or updates?

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I was informed actually that the coach was fired but the AD cant confirm that but has eluded to that being the correct statement. I can just hope the assistant either becomes the head or that we get a great seasoned coach that has patience. We will find out in the winter.

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That is exactly as I suspected...

In all likelihood, it wasn't a true firing... they merely failed to renew the one-year-at-a-time contract.

Either way, personnel matters are legally confidential, so they cannot legally say anything regarding the matter.

9 out of 10 times a frustrated parent says, "I complained to Dr. Beam, but he did not do anything."

I actually did something, but I cannot tell you that I did.

(But it does tell me that the employee's conduct did not change enough for you to notice - which will trigger a follow-up.)

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desmiller said: I was informed actually that the coach was fired but the AD cant confirm that but has eluded to that being the correct statement. I can just hope the assistant either becomes the head or that we get a great seasoned coach that has patience. We will find out in the winter.

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Hi, I can so relate, this also happened to my daughter on a 504 program. She had taken private pitching lessons and played for years but she had a hurt ankle. I even had a special ed aide who was the coach call my daughter lazy among other put downs. I was so upset. I took the teacher my book call the Myth of Laziness and reported this abuse to all the administration. I would like to say that helped but I don't like to lie. I should have had a direct sit down with the coach, bring records and try to build understanding and try to get coach to want to help her.

It does not always work but sometimes.....

I hate it that we are only as happy as our saddest child.

There are programs that help improve both learning and athletic ability that we did with our kids that might help all the way around. Best to you.

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