SECONDARY EDUCATORS KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF SECTION 504 PLANS

Abstract

In informal conversations to the research, students and their families reported 504 Plans going un- or underserved. As 504 Plans are legal documents, and the usage of them has increased since 2008, there is a need to understand why plans may not be fully implemented. The purpose of this research is to understand how educators conceptualize 504 Plans and how they are implemented (or not) based on educators’ knowledge and experience. This was done by surveying and interviewing school personnel from a school district in Illinois. Based on this research, school personnel generally find accommodations reasonable and feel confident in implementing them, despite a lack of training. School personnel define mental health in different ways- from everyday interactions to crisis situations. Lastly, they believe the students play an important role in the success of 504 Plans. From this information I concluded that educators need more training, a more uniform and encompassing definition of mental health, and more research is needed to understand the students’ perspective.