Earlier in August, we shared that on July 19, the United States' Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) released new guidance about supporting students with disabilities at school. We also shared that we would highlight practical points from the guidance in the coming weeks.

The guidance focuses on children with 504 plans and their protections under the law. Students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) have these same protections, plus additional rights. In this week's edition of the Ally, we share information about 504 plans and how 504 plans relate to informal removals (for example, when the school calls you to pick up your child), risk assessments, and evaluations. 

In our resource section, we included information about homeschooling, how to help children who don't want to go to school, and mental health resources for back-to-school. We hope you find these resources helpful.

Please join us for our Leadership Coaching and Policy Discussion on August 24 from noon to 1:00 p.m. CDT. We will discuss the recently released information about 504 plans and how we can use it to ensure all our children have the opportunity to learn and succeed in school. We want all children, including those associated with Families as Allies, to have the chance to live meaningful lives in their homes, schools and communities. Working together, we can make that vision a reality.