MCPS officials outline rapid growth in Section 504 cases and pilot to share case management amid stipend cuts

Montgomery County education officials told the County Council’s Education & Culture Committee on July 11 that Section 504 caseloads have risen sharply and that the district is piloting ways to spread case-management duties beyond school counselors.

"Section 504 is a civil rights law," said Dr. Karen Cruz, director of School Counseling Services, summarizing the district’s framing of 504 as a guarantee of equal access and a vehicle for reasonable accommodations. MCPS staff said the district moved Section 504 out of the Special Education office into School Counseling Services in 2023–24 to clarify that 504 serves general‑education students.

Staff cited enrollment figures to illustrate growth: MCPS reported about 4,500 students eligible for Section 504 in 2016–17 and roughly 8,523 in 2022–23, and said the number continues to rise. The presenters said roughly 22,000 students receive individualized education programs (IEPs) and close to 10,000 are eligible under Section 504, producing an estimated total of about 30,000 students with disabilities across the district.

The presentation included a cluster-level comparison that, officials said, shows higher 504 enrollment in some non–Title I clusters and much lower percentages in others. MCPS staff attributed the differences in part to access: families in some communities face financial and logistical barriers to obtaining outside evaluations that can trigger eligibility.

As an example of accommodations under 504, the coordinator described a student who receives a private‑duty nurse, specialized transportation and daily supports to attend school and access curriculum alongside general‑education peers. "She is thriving," the coordinator said of that student.

To address counselor overload, MCPS described a pilot in three schools that assigned other trained staff as case managers (media specialists, psychologists, resource teachers, assistant principals and teachers). The pilot reduced individual counselor caseloads in the example schools (Wood Acres: from 30+ to 10; Poolesville: from ~40 to 20; Thomas Pyle: from 22–25 to 6–10), and district staff said the pilot will expand to five schools this year with nearly 100 additional staff trained to serve as case managers.

Committee members asked about pay. MCPS said schools were offered a $25‑per‑hour clerical stipend last year to support 504 paperwork; total stipend spending was reported as $464,000. "Some schools used that for clerical work; others chose different support," the coordinator said. Staff added that the clerical stipend was not included in the upcoming school‑year budget and that many pilot participants will serve without extra pay. A council member warned that praising volunteers "is not a replacement for pay."

Officials also described health‑services coordination: when medical expertise is needed for eligibility or private‑duty nurse decisions, MCPS consults DHHS nurse managers who may review files, observe students and work with school nurses.

Committee members asked for more detailed data on disparities by school and cluster. MCPS said additional analyses exist but must be shared first with the Board of Education; staff committed to targeted data pulls (attendance, academic indicators, health flags) to find students who may be eligible but not yet evaluated.

The committee did not take formal action; members asked staff to return with follow‑up information on stipend spending, the number of students served by non‑counselor case managers, and more granular disparity data.