![]() ![]() In ruling that the school policy was discriminatory, the Hearing Officer wrote: Bay Path also required the student to attend Saturday School, which otherwise was primarily used as a punitive measure for truant students. As a result, the student would be retained the following school year.īay Path applied this policy to the student knowing that his absences were medically excused and that they clearly resulted from his disability. However, under Bay Path’s Attendance Policy, once a student was absent for 10 full school days or 20 course periods in a school year, even if the absences were medically excused, the student could not earn graduation credits, despite completing all of the work for each course. Each time that the Student was absent due to a migraine, he provided a note from his doctor excusing his absence. The migraines were sporadic and unpredictable. In this case, the student suffered from intense migraine headaches that frequently prevented him from attending school. Application of Section 504 in Sankey Law’s Recent Case If the policy is discriminatory, then the school must provide reasonable accommodations and/or modifications to the policy so that the student can have equal access to his or her education similar to the access provided to non-disabled peers. Under state law, schools have the authority to create their own local attendance policies for students, but the policies cannot be discriminatory. It is well established under Section 504 that a student with a disability is entitled to a reasonable modification of policies, practices, or procedures if such policies, practices and/or procedures discriminate against the student on the basis of his or her disability. School Attendance Policies and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 As a result, the hearing officer ordered Bay Path to modify its policy for this particular student. ![]() Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School, Hearing Officer Rosa Figueroa found that Bay Path’s Attendance Policy, as applied to the student in this case, was discriminatory and violated his rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
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