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How to deal with 504 problems.


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Didn't go to school today. Long story. Basically, I kept trying & it just didn't work out.

Anyway, this is TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills) week. TAKS is a state mandated & issued test that takes nearly all day & is nothing short of mind-numbing. That being said, whenever it comes around the whole school freaks out & tries to act all in tip-top shape. Specifically, they freak out about the bathroom. We've only had one test so far this year (the English one) & the teacher whose room I got put in (it's alphabetical through your entire grade - not a teacher you know) didn't let me use the bathroom for three hours. I've only had to do it once before when a sub told me she wasn't allowing anyone to leave the room, but how exactly do you recommend going about that? I hate saying "Well, I have a 504 Plan," but if they're supposed to let me go to the bathroom... I better be walking my happy self to the bathroom. We have one tomorrow, Thursday, & Friday, so I'm just trying to be prepared since it happens every single year!

 

On another note, how is everyone doing? :)

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If you have a copy of your 504 plan and if it has a provision for bathroom breaks- just bring it with you and quietly show it to the teacher when you need to go. Or, just get up and go anyway and if the teacher makes a stink about it you can show it to the administrator when you get sent to the office.

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Hi Emerson --

 

Our DS14 deals with this all the time at school, whether it's a sub or just a teacher he's in with for whatever reason (a novel "switching classes" period, or a testing situation like yours). It gets tiring and frustrating for both DS and us because we have trouble understanding the inept communication among the staff. What's so hard about -- I don't know, maybe putting a simple asterisk by a student's name on the roll call? -- to signify to that not-all-the-time-teacher that this student or that one has special accommodations?!?! I don't even know that they need to know the nitty-gritty of the accommodations . . . just acknowledge a "heads-up" that if some unusual circumstance or request should come to pass, take a breath and hear the student out on the issue before dismissing it out of hand. I'm with Peglem; as quietly and efficiently as possible, fill in the communication gap and then be on your merry way to the bathroom or whatever other accommodation to which you're entitled. It can all get additionally sorted out later, if necessary.

 

Sorry . . . a hot button topic in our household, too! ;)

 

Hope you're feeling better. We're doing okay, but this is obviously a marathon, not a sprint -- maybe more like the Tour de France? -- and we've been on a "hilly section" of the course of late! Looking forward to coasting down the other side here soon!

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Ugh, this happened to me too with CAPT (Connecticut Academic Performance Test--where do they make up the names for these things??). It freaked me out--I was so stressed, not about the test at all, but about the idea that I was going to be stuck in that classroom and that I would have to embarassingly fight to able to use the bathroom. Unfortunately, you've got to be the one to stand up for yourself in the situation. If you need to use the bathroom, say it very assertively, that it is non-negotiable due to your 504. Don't even ask, just tell the proctor, "I have a 504, I need to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back" and make like you're walking towards the door. Don't give them the opprotunity to tell you "no." Don't let them bully you with questions either. It's none of their business, as I'm sure you know, but I had teachers ask questions that were way too personal. You're sixteen and handling a medical condition all on your own--you're mature enough to find your way to the bathroom yourself.

 

Can your guidance counselor send a note to the teachers in whose room you'll be? I'm trying to remember if I did that...I do know I happened to luck out in getting 3 out of 4 proctors who had already had me as a student and knew the drill...do you already know for sure you won't know the rest of your proctors?

 

Just remember, they cannot get you in trouble for responding to a medical need. If you just walk out of the room on them and they try to report you, they'll be the ones in trouble for "discriminating against a disabled student."

 

Good luck on your tests!

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OMG...even a non-504 student shouldn't have to wait 3 hours to use the bathroom! What if someone has diarrhea, or a urinary tract infection, or just got their period, or has their period and their tampon is leaking, or just had too much coffee that morning....

 

:wacko:

 

(Maybe all female students should just demand 504's for that time of the month~)

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OMG...even a non-504 student shouldn't have to wait 3 hours to use the bathroom! What if someone has diarrhea, or a urinary tract infection, or just got their period, or has their period and their tampon is leaking, or just had too much coffee that morning....

 

:wacko:

 

(Maybe all female students should just demand 504's for that time of the month~)

AMEN! (lol)

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OMG...even a non-504 student shouldn't have to wait 3 hours to use the bathroom! What if someone has diarrhea, or a urinary tract infection, or just got their period, or has their period and their tampon is leaking, or just had too much coffee that morning....

 

:wacko:

 

(Maybe all female students should just demand 504's for that time of the month~)

 

They'll never actually keep you from going, even non-504, but they'll ask so many questions, loudly, in front of the class that essentiall you get pushed into announcing that you've got a medical condition or you think you just got your period, or whatever...and it's just not fun to announce to a room full of teenagers exactly what your body is doing.

 

If you can't tell, this was a big challenge for me in high school...so annoying.

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