IEP/504 Plan Accommodations and Process

Target Audience: Administrators

Accelerate Education is committed to supporting the needs of students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan.

If a student being taught by an Accelerate Education teacher has an established IEP or 504 Plan, it is incumbent upon the enrolling district to notify Accelerate about the existence of the plan and to communicate any necessary accommodations that must be observed. Please see our accommodation document for an overview of common accommodation requests and how these can be implemented and addressed in Accelerate online courses.

Districts should use Accelerate Education’s secure Submission Form to upload information about a student’s IEP or 504 Plan. Districts may also send the plan with the below information via email to IEP@accelerate-academy.net. For each submission, the district must provide the following:
·       Student name
·       School name
·       Course(s) that the student is enrolled in
·       Assigned Accelerate teacher(s)
·       Mentor Name (district individual responsible for the student and student’s IEP)
·       Mentor Phone
·       Mentor Email
·       Student’s start date
·       An electronic copy of the complete IEP or 504 Plan

Upon receipt of a plan, the Accelerate Education instructional team will review the plan and any associated accommodation requests.

1. A copy of the plan will be securely attached to the student user record in Buzz so that it is available to the student’s assigned teacher(s).
2. The teacher(s) will be alerted that a new/updated plan has been added.
3. Depending on the nature of accommodation(s) needed, the teacher will implement these directly and/or will coordinate with internal Accelerate staff to have them implemented. Note that certain accommodations should be implemented by district administrators.

Please note any subsequent modifications to a student’s IEP or 504 should be submitted via this same process. For returning students only: documentation does not need to be resubmitted at the start of the term unless there has been change in modifications or the previous document has expired.

Please allow up to 3 business days for individual accommodations to be implemented. After that time, if there are any concerns with how an accommodation has been addressed, please reach out to the online teacher directly to discuss.  If needed, concerns may be escalated to Jessica Scrimo, Special Education Coordinator, at jessicas@accelerate.education.

Full Time Students Only

Accelerate teachers generally do not participate directly in IEP meetings for district students. However, If Accelerate is providing ALL instruction for a full-time online student, the district may request such participation. After an IEP or 504 Plan has been submitted, the district may reach out directly to the Special Education Coordinator to coordinate the scheduling of the IEP meeting. We respectfully request Accelerate Education be provided two weeks advance notice to allow teachers adequate time to prepare for the meeting. Please do not send meeting invites or inquiries directly to teaching staff.

If a mutually convenient time cannot be agreed upon, it is the responsibility of the district to obtain parental consent to excuse the Accelerate teacher from the IEP meeting.

Alternatively, if the primary Accelerate teacher is unable to participate directly, the district may request via the Special Education Coordinator that the teacher provide (in advance) an educational snapshot that includes relevant data, reports, scores, and/or observations that can be shared in the meeting.  Any questions or concerns can be sent to the Special Education Coordinator at IEP@accelerate-academy.net.