Junior Joe Smith, whose name has been changed to protect his privacy, would be living a very different life today if he didn’t have his Individualized Education Plan (IEP). “If I didn’t have my IEP, I probably would have dropped out and joined a gang,” Smith said.

Currently, there are 170 students at Gunn who have IEPs and 90 who have 504 plans. 504 plans are part of a program of instructional services designed to help students with special needs in regular classes. On the other hand, an IEP is a similar program required for special education students. For example, a student transferring from a special education class to a normal classroom could be placed under a 504 plan.

To obtain a 504 plan or IEP, students go through a series of assessments, including standardized norm tests and an IQ test. Usually, teachers refer students who aren’t doing well for assessment. “Administering the tests can be very time-consuming and costly,” Assistant Principal Kim Cowell said.

A Student Study Team, consisting of administrators, teachers, psychologists, parents and the student meets during the evaluation to see what the student needs. The team makes minor accommodations, such as changing the student’s schedule, and teachers look for improvement. According to Cowell, students who need 504 plans and IEPs need accommodations to help them perform to their full potential. These plans accommodate students with special needs by giving them more time on tests, preferential seating, extensions and copies of notes.

Junior Rimona Cartun has a 504 plan because of her Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. During her sophomore year, she suffered from test anxiety and had trouble finishing exams in the allotted time period. “I did really horribly on tests,” Cartun said. Now that she has a 504 plan, Cartun gets 50 percent more time on tests and no longer suffers from such anxiety.

In the past, some students tried to get 504 plans in order to get extra time on tests like the SAT. However, many of these students don’t need it.” The College Board is very savvy about this,” Cowell said. “Everyone on a 504 plan should need a 504 plan.”

If the College Board finds out that Gunn students with 504 plans don’t truly need them, all Gunn students with 504 plans will not get extra time. Thus, according to Cowell, Gunn is strict about giving 504 plans and IEPs.

Students with IEPs usually have more severe disabilities and get more significant accommodations, which could include taking a shorter test, having the test read aloud and using memory aids, such as note cards.

Smith, who has an IEP, has Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism. He attends all regular classes and the study skills class. During his first analysis, “the psychologist had trouble breathing and was wheezing,” Smith said. “I told her, ‘You could probably breathe a lot easier if you had less hair in your nose,’” Smith said. “Then, she labeled me as a sociopath. People thought that I had problems with authority and misunderstood me. I have a really hard time doing things not my way.”

English essays with topic restrictions are especially hard for him. As for his other classes, Smith said, “I get extensions, but there isn’t a lot of project flexibility. Some teachers don’t want to put up with me because they know that I’m off.”