any ideas? 504 denied to us

Contact the Office of Civil Rights - I did. I'll raise the thread where I posted the response from OCR.
It's titled "DIRECT FROM THE OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS re:504" (here in Schools board).
HTH!
[This message has been edited by Lam (edited August 16, 2002).]

The District is not the one that makes the laws for the federal government (ADA / Section 504). The Federal government makes the laws.
The ADA and section 504 are the laws for people with disabilities. The states have "some say" in how they define some of the rules.
Contact your state's Department of Education and ask for a copy of your (your childs ) rights under Section 504.
Then I would follow up this verbal request to the state by writing and asking your school district for a copy of your rights under Section 504. I would send this request as a certified letter.
Remember, a state can provide more or better service than the federal law mandates - but they cannot provide less.
You are on a long up hill battle - I have been there and done that. The people that you have talked to do not know or understand section 504. Call the ADA again and speak to someone else in the Civil Rights Division. Life threatening allergies are covered under section 504 of the ADA.
So sorry you have to go through this.
Stay Safe
Sue in Sunny Arizona

No nutz mom,
If you school is federally funded in the US, the have to grant you a 504 plan or they can risk loosing their funding. God knows they don't want to do that.
Good luck,
Renee

Sometimes it depends on how your DR. letter is written. If it affects their learning by causing them to be anxious and they can not concentrate, that is one area as well.
But if they have already denied you, you may need to contact your own lawyer, there are ones who specialize in child advocacy. It doensn't necessarily mean tons of money either.
Speaking as a Sped teacher AND PA mom,
Arlene

Rhonda has a great link under the topic of "links" on the board. The following is a tiny bit of a huge amount of info that I reached on her great site!
Sue in Sunny Arizona
[b]WHAT IF A CHILD WITH FOOD ALLERGY IS DENIED A SECTION 504 PLAN?[/b]
If parents request protection for their child under Section 504, and they are denied a 504 Plan, they have a number of options. The parents have the right to a hearing with the school district by an impartial hearing officer. They may request this hearing through the 504 Coordinator or Superintendent of Schools for the district. Parents also have the right to contact the Office for Civil Rights at any time and ask for assistance. Parents have the right to hire an independent lawyer and sue the school district on the basis of discrimination. Parents also have

No Nutz Mom,
HOw old is your child? Where do you live?
I just pulled out my 504 Eligibility Determination form that was filled out by the school district that I live in.
THey need a variety of sources:
our district used:
achievement tests, adaptive behavior, medical report, and teacher recommendations/observations.
Specify the mental or physical impairment:
Peanut Allergy.
Check the major life activity that is affected by the impairment.
A- Learning
B- Caring for ones self
C- Breathing.
D- Other - Allergic Reaction
The term "substantially limits" means that the student is:
a) "unable" to preform a major life activity that the average student of approximately the same age can preform
OR
b) "significantly restricted" as to the condition, mannor or duration under which a particular life activity is preformed as compared to the average student of approximately the same age. The impairment must be "substantially and somewhat unique", rather than commonplace, when compared to the average student of approximately the same age.
Place an "X" on the following scale to indicate the specifice degree that the impairment (in #1) limits the major life activity (in #2): for ans X at 4 or above, fill in specific information evaluated by teh team that justifies the rating.
5_X_ extremely
4__ substantially
3__ moderately
2__ mildly
1__ negligibly

I second Sue's suggestion. Rhonda's info was extremely helpful.