Grades are just one of the many factors that are looked at when determining eligibility for a 504. Good grades alone cannot make a child ineligible for a 504 if there are other factors that demonstrate there is a need for one. My son is an honor roll student, making 'A's and 'B's and has even made straight 'A's on occasion, and he is in the gifted program. He has major concentration issues due to his ADHD, as well as some social issues. I was able to get him a 504 due to his concentration being affected by his ADHD (it probably helped that several of his teachers said he was the most severe case of ADHD that they had ever had in class). We got his 504 a year ago when he was in the 3rd grade. At the 504 meeting I made sure that I had all the research and documentation to back up his need for a 504. I was lucky to have had teachers that worked with me in the years before he had a 504, and were willing to give him some accommodations without the 504. I had documentation from the teachers showing that if they had not given him extra time to complete his assignments and let him redo assignments that he had lost, he would not be making the good grades that he had and would have had 'D's and 'F's due to unfinished and missing work. I had to fight for it, but I walked out of that meeting with a 504 plan in my hands for my son. His 504 gives him extra time on tests (this was the main reason that I fought for the 504, so that he would be able to have extra time on state mandated tests in case he was too distracted and unable to concentrate to finish in the allotted time), decreased homework if the parent and teacher agree that this is needed (his current teacher even works with me to give an alternate homework assignment from the rest of the class if he needs to work on a particular skill), the teacher must communicate the homework to the parent in writing and not rely on the student to be the only one to document the homework assignments (although we still require my son to write homework in his student planner to get in the habit of doing it), use of a timer to help him manage his time, frequent redirection from the teacher when needed to get him to focus on the task at hand, behavior problems must be addressed immediately, and social skills training with the guidance counselor when needed. If you think that your child needs a 504, be prepared to fight for it. Make sure that you know your child's rights when you go to the eligibility meeting, and have any research and documentation with you to help back you up. It does help if the child's current teacher agrees with you that there is a need and is willing to back you up and help you fight for it. In order to qualify for a 504 a "major life activity" has to be impacted by the mental or physical impairment that the child has (in this case ADHD). On my child's 504 the major life activity that is impacted is "concentration". It states that his ability to concentrate is "extremely" impacted by his ADHD and he needs frequent redirection and a significant amount of extra time compared to other students to complete assignments and that his impulsive behavior affects him in social situations.

It is not up to the teacher to decide if they are going to follow a 504 plan or not, it has to be followed and there are procedures in place for parents to file complaints and get help if the plan is not being followed. Any time that I have had a concern that something may not have been followed in his 504, I have contacted the teacher to discuss it and any problem has been immediately taken care of. Just make sure that no matter what you are an active participant in your child's education and have regular communication with your child's teacher. In my experience, most teachers are willing to work with you (even without a 504) to help your child succeed, as long as you are open with the teacher so that they are aware of any issues your child is having and communicate with them regularly. My child's 504 is working for him now, but I worry about him in a few years when he will enter middle school, I am lucky to be in an area where virtual school is an option that is easily accessible, and that may end up being the best option in a few years. Best of luck to you and continue to be an advocate for your child and fight for anything that you think he needs to be able to succeed at school.