Office for Civil Rights Requires Beach Public School District 3 (ND) to Fix 504 Placement Procedures
OCR found district denied student FAPE when principal moved him to self-contained day-treatment program and reduced his school day without following Section 504’s procedural safeguard requirements.
May 6, 2026, U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a letter of findings to Beach Public School District 3 (BPSD) in North Dakota after investigating a complaint filed on behalf of a student who has a 504 plan.
OCR investigated two allegations:
“1) In [redacted content], the District discriminated against a [redacted content] student (Student A) on the basis of disability when it changed Student A’s educational placement and setting without following the appropriate Section 504 evaluation and placement procedures, including the provision of procedural safeguards; and
“2) In [redacted content], the District denied Student A a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) when it failed to implement Student A’s Section 504 plan.”
For the first allegation, OCR found the BPSD violated Section 504. Before OCR completed its investigation for the second allegation, BPSD expressed interest in resolving the complaint under Section 302 of OCR’s Case Processing Manual.
May 4, 2026, BPSD entered into a resolution agreement with OCR. The agreement requires policy revisions, staff training, and written notice to the parent that staff received the required training.
