504 plans, named for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which protects students from discrimination based on disability, are plans a school must put in place to accommodate students with physical or neurological disabilities. 504s are supposed to allow disabled and neurodivergent students to receive equity in their education. 504s should be accessible for anyone who needs one.. So how are 504 plans executed at Garfield?

“It’s rough. The accommodations at [Garfield] and just like help around them is absolutely just like trash,” said Junior Taylor Noel while speaking on the process of getting her 504 plan. According to Noel, the current system is “almost entirely dependent on the student figuring it out by themselves.” To receive accommodations, students must set up a meeting with their parents and 504 coordinators as well as have documentation from a professional. Additionally, all current teachers must agree to the accommodations suggested before the plan is officially approved. “When I first contacted people about it in tenth grade, I was emailing a person who no longer worked at the school who was listed as the 504 coordinator on the website,” Noel continued. 

At Garfield, “most teachers have been really supportive and have been great. They’ve understood and they’ve been willing to give me extra time [on] tests,” Noel said. However, there have also been many challenges. Recently, Garfield has “[cycled] through 504 coordinators, they’ve not updated their websites, [and] they haven’t had much outreach about it,”Noel continued. Without legal obligations, the process of receiving accommodations can often be overlooked by administration. “Before I had my 504 plan in writing, I had a teacher that wouldn’t let me use noise-canceling headphones during class or let me listen to music to help keep myself calm…I needed it to be able to do my work and he was very adamant that I didn’t,” Junior Marc Chercover recalled. 

Unfortunately, receiving an approved 504 plan is not the only hoop students must jump through. For those planning on taking an AP exam, the College Board procedure for receiving accommodations is more selective and includes more paperwork, and highly specific deadlines. The process is “ridiculously hard. I tried to do it last year and I couldn’t get it,” Noel said. This leaves important accommodations out of students’ reach. Marc Chercover has never gotten 504 accommodations for College Board tests, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need them. “I have noise sensitivity problems… and if I could have noise canceling headphones I think that would make it a lot easier. But… if I don’t address that with the College Board first, I’m not going to be allowed to have that happen,” Chercover said. 

Communication is key for ensuring that students who need plans have the information and abilities to receive them–something Garfield has historically lacked. However, the school’s new 504 coordinator, Ms. Yusef, represents a hope for more transparency surrounding the process. “I really hope she advocates for kids to get [504 plans], I hope that she will go around and make sure kids know how to do it, and just make it a more talked about process,” said Noel. To fully make these accommodations accessible to everyone who needs them, there must be more outreach “towards students who are neurodivergent so they can get the help that they need instead of taking years to realize that there is support available for them that they didn’t even know about,” said Chercover. Staff and non-disabled students need to “Understand that these are necessities and without them, people can’t perform to the best of their abilities,”