Please Consider Sending an Email about Protections for ADHD Students

From a reader (thanks!), news from the U.S. Department of Education via ADDitude website:

The Trump administration is planning to rescind a key civil rights protection for students with ADHD. Contact the U.S. Department of Education by September 20 to explain why our children need the “ADHD Guidance Letter” to remain in place.

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) may soon eliminate a critical resource that works to secure and standardize the rights of students with ADHD, according to the national non-profit organization CHADD. Now, CHADD’s Public Policy Committee is encouraging Americans to petition the DOE to maintain the 14-month-old protection — formally called the “Dear Colleague Letter and Resource Guide on ADHD” — before the public comment period ends on September 20, and a final decision is made.

[Click here for sample language and instructions for submitting your comments to the DOE.]

“The 2016 Letter of Guidance on ADHD has been an incredibly effective document for ensuring that students struggling with ADHD receive the supports they desperately need to succeed in school,” Hughes said. “And it has helped address the enormous inconsistencies in schools across the country in the eligibility and implementation of 504 Plans.”


Among the many clarifications included in the Letter of Guidance are the following, according to former CHADD CEO Ruth Hughes, Ph.D.:

• Students with ADHD and discipline referrals may be eligible for 504 services and a behavioral plan to help with the ADHD-related behaviors.
• Students with ADHD who also perform academically at or above grade level may still be eligible for a 504 Plan.
• Routinely distracted students may be eligible for a 504 Plan based upon inattentive type ADHD.
• An evaluation for 504 may not be delayed because of interventions provided as part of a Response to Intervention initiative.
• And, most importantly, accommodations must be directly and specifically related to the needs of the individual student. No one set of interventions works for all students with ADHD.