Aloha Notes: My career as a School Psychologist in Hawaii

Which is better, a 504 Plan or an IEP? Lately, I've sat in a number of meetings where a student's eligibility for Special Education is on the fence.  This is a question I often hear in the schools and see in message boards: Which is better a 504 Plan or an IEP? That' s a hard question to answer, because they both serve different purposes and have their own strengths. In a broad sense, they are both detailed plans, created by the school and parents to outline how a student with a disability will learn. A 504 Plan and an IEP are both intended to protect a student with a disability to ensure that they are learning in the least restrictive environment. A 504 Plan and an IEP also have unique differences. The way in which a student qualifies for services under each plan is a major difference. It is more difficult to qualify for special education services and receive an IEP. A student must meet criteria under one of the categories of special education. A student can...

Hi there!! So, February has been one interesting month so far. Between the food fight at Kaiser High School (which by the way, was reported on the local and national news! see below) and the helicopter landing at Koko Head , my complex has kept me on my toes.------------------------- Planned food fight sends spaghetti flying at Kaiser High - Hawaii News Now 2/8/11: At Kaiser, a planned food fight left the cafeteria a mess and administrators on a mission to find out who was behind the chaos. The high school students may not even realize or appreciate that they have one of the only air conditioned cafeterias in the state.  The 1,100 students had to eat lunch outside for the rest of the week. Principal John Sosa sent the following letter home to parents informing them of the incident and pledging to track down who was involved: February 8, 2011 Kaiser High School Students, Parents, Staff  ------------------------- This letter is to inform everyone that there was ...