<p>My D has congenital heart disease. Despite this, she looks healthy: tall, skinny, athletic. Her PE teacher gave her grade B- and said that she is not working enough in his class. I told him, that my D. can't be an athlete, because she has a heart problem. Apparently, PE teacher was nor aware (although, her heart condition is highlighted on all school forms). Next thing to happen? Her school prohibited by D.'s participation in all PE activities until I bring a release form from her cardiologist.</p>
<p>My dilemma is: should she claim disability? She is not an athlete. She can do all routine PE activities; she is not even the worst in her class. On one hand, she can hike for 12 miles better than me (did it last weekend). On the other hand, she is clearly below average in her PE class. Her abilities range in the low 30 percentile of her class.</p>
<p>Cardiologist said that he can write the release form or PE disability. He says that my D. can participate in all moderate training, but not the in high-stress training. Cardiologist suggests that my D. makes a break if she feels dizzy or short of breath. Cardiologist can't determine which activity is moderate and which one is stressful, because it depends on the weather, temperature, blood pressure, etc. </p>
<p>PE teacher wants to have a general release. His position is simple "either she participates in the class activities like everyone else, and is graded like everyone else, or she should claim disability and be in the class with disabled kids."</p>
<p>My D. doesn't want to do PE with disabled kids. She has her friends in the PE class, she wants to be with her class. However, it is very clear that she won't get good grades if she is in the normal class. She is in HS, 9th grade. I don't worry about PE grade, but my D is used to push herself to get good grades (and I am afraid that she may push herself too much). Never had this problem before. </p>
<p>Does she have a 504 plan or IEP? My D has congenital heart issues, along with some other health considerations. She has an IEP. With that, it doesn’t really matter what the PE teacher “wants”. IDEA wants “disabled” kids in mainstream classes, to the full extent possible. This is made possible through accommodations. (certain activities excluded, breaks as necessary, accommodations in grading, whatever allows the student to participate in the gen ed curriculum, etc)</p>
<p>Our state requires PE to graduate. Our last PE teacher was a complete fitness freak–hard core running the bleachers etc. In addition to heart issues, D has a completely rebuilt knee. We would have had to accommodate so much, we dropped PE and she took online golf through BYU.</p>
<p>So, my educated guess you could fight the system and win. However…I’ll be the first to admit sometimes this comes with a “price”. Is the administration involved or is the teacher telling you what he’s willing to do?</p>
<p>Good luck. Advocating for your child in these circumstances is like walking a tightrope!</p>
<p>In our system PE grades don’t count in the GPA so doing badly in PE isn’t too big a deal - though you do need to pass and I imagine a bunch of C’s and D’s wouldn’t impress the top colleges. I think IDEA is on your side, so I’d at least try negotiating with the gym teacher’s boss. Perhaps she could be allowed to take it P/F?</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your post. She is neither 504 plan nor IEP. This is the first year, that we got this issue. Typically, I explained her problem to school administration and they let her have extra breaks at PE, especially if it was hot . </p>
<p>Yes, her HS PE teacher is a fitness enthusiast. My D can barely follow his routine. I am afraid that she would overextend herself trying to please PE teacher.</p>
<p>I am concerned because my D may jeopardize her heart while trying to get a good grade. She is a competitive teenager, she is used to getting good grades. She fainted already once during PE class and vomited twice.</p>
<p>I’d see about getting a waiver and having her work privately with a personal trainer to develop an exercise routine to stay fit while keeping her cardiac and knee issues in mind.</p>
<p>I think the best scenario would be for the doctor to spell out exactly what she can and can’t do, with metrics like “when it gets above x degrees outside she must rest for 5 minutes every 20 minutes, and when it gets above y degrees she must sit out” or something similar about her pulse (she could take her own pulse). Then her teacher could grade her on her performance within those constraints. </p>
<p>If the teacher is unwilling to do this, you might need an IEP or at least a conference with the principal.</p>
<p>What is wrong with letting her continue at her own pace and taking the B? Assuming she has no plans to be an ahtlete in high school or college there may be no harm here. This choice is not so different for anyone with a child with a disability. You can take the IEP and accommodate for the disability or you let them take classes and not trigger accommodations. The only thing that would “stop me” as a parent would be if she isn’t solid with stopping or slowing when she should and her competitiveness over-rides good judgement. In that case I’d get the disability exemption during her high school years.</p>
<p>She definitely should have a 504 plan in place - I wouldn’t think an IEP since she needs accommodations but not necessarily special services for her to participate. Here’s the Department of Education website regarding section 504: [url=<a href=“Protecting Students With Disabilities”>Protecting Students With Disabilities]Protecting</a> Students With Disabilities<a href=“it’s%20not%20light%20reading”>/url</a>. </p>
<p>Wright’s Law is another excellent website regarding 504 and IDEA (which leads to an IEP). They say: Section 504 is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Section 504 ensures that the child with a disability has equal access to an education. The child may receive accommodations and modifications.</p>
<p>Both my kids are deaf. They’ve done extremely well in school to the point they don’t need services of any type but they definitely do need accommodations. It sounds like it’s the same for your daughter - she just needs some tweaks to her curriculum in order to fully participate. Find out who the 504 coordinator is for your school and let them know you want to pursue a 504 plan for your daughter. it will involve an evaluation or report from her cardiologist along with his or her thoughts on physical education and limitations. For sure it’s not for the PE teacher to say where she belongs. Once she qualifies for the 504 plan, you work with the 504 coordinator and your school team on any accommodations. </p>
<p>Good luck! It sounds like under any circumstances you need to do something about the PE course. Keep us posted.</p>
<p>What in the world are they doing in HS PE that causes your D to faint and vomit? It must differ significantly from what I and my Ds had to do in PE.</p>
<p>My daughter (missing her left hand) ran into difficulties with her PE teacher in high school. She wanted D to hold a bat in one hand (while playing softball) and mentioned that when they cycled into weight conditioning she would have D work on weight lifting (with her left arm). After a discussion with the teacher, guidance counselor and finally her family doctor, D was excused from PE due to medical reasons. And there rules… D had taken a dance class and they refused to consider that “PE”.</p>
<p>I would worry that she would push herself too much.
I push my self too much & have had the surgeries & emergency room visits to prove it & I am an adult who knows better and should be far above trying to be competitive with my peers, let alone people almost young enough to be my kids.</p>
<p>My younger daughters school allowed her to participate on a school team for PEcredit, so she was able to free up the class period to take more academic.
That was what many kids did,otherwise they wouldnt have been able to take all the courses needed for college.
Her sisters school added an extra period after school for those who needed PE, but they graded on attitude, & participation, not skill level.</p>
<p>I would negotiate for her to either have independent study for PE, or to participate in a sport that is appropriate, if you are worried about her. But if you can get an instructor who can work with her, that would probably be preferable.</p>
<p>Erin’s dad, perhaps you missed the fact that the OP’s daughter has a heart condition. My kid can get dizzy and vomit simply by blowing up a balloon, because it causes her heart rate and blood pressure to sky rocket. </p>
<p>Back when she was in high school she had a note from her cardiologist which spelled out what she could and couldn’t do. She was not allowed to run more than one quarter mile and she couldn’t do any squat thrusts or weight lifting. She was also banned from isometric activities. Her gym teachers were always cooperative and just had her walk while others ran or spot during gymnastics.</p>
<p>Her friends all liked eating lunch with her because the school had banned salt shakers, but my daughter was under orders to add salt to all her food, which meant she had the only legal salt shaker in the building.</p>
<p>The most flack she got was for carrying a water bottle, which were also banned due to kids sneaking vodka or other banned substances. She joked about having the doctor’s order to carry and consume water copied onto a t shirt since teachers were always trying to confiscate her water…</p>