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If a district has reason to believe that, because of a handicap as defined under Section 504, a student needs either special accommodations or related services in the regular setting in order to participate in the school program, the district must evaluate the student; if the student is determined to be handicapped under Section 504, the district must develop and implement a plan for the delivery of all needed services. Again, these steps must be taken even though the student is not covered by the IDEA special education provisions and procedures. What is required for the Section 504 evaluation and placement process is determined by the type of handicap believed to be present, and the type of services the student may need. The evaluation must be sufficient to accurately and completely assess the nature and extent of the handicap, and the recommended services. Evaluations more limited than a full special education evaluation may be adequate in some circumstances. The determination of what services are needed must be made by a group of persons knowledgeable about the student. The group should review the nature of the handicap, how it affects the student's education, whether specialized services are needed, and if so, what those services are. The decisions about Section 504 eligibility and services must be documented in the student's file and reviewed periodically. It should also be noted that under Section 504, the parent or guardian must be provided with notice of actions affecting the identification, evaluation, or placement of the student and are entitled to an impartial hearing if they disagree with district decisions in these areas. For handicaps covered only by Section 504 and not the IDEA, a Section 504 hearing will have to be made available. In summary, it is important to keep in mind that some students who have physical or mental conditions that limit their ability to access and participate in the education program are entitled to rights (protection) under Section 504 even though they may not fall into IDEA categories and may not be covered by the law. It is also important to realize that Section 504 is not an aspect of"special education". Rather, it is a responsibility of the comprehensive general public education system. As such, building administrators and superintendents of schools are responsible for its implementation within districts. Special education administrators are participants but are not ultimately the responsible LEA administrators. SEX EDUCATION: PARENTAL NOTIFICATION Chapter 71, Section 32A of the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts stipulates that every city, town, regional school district or vocational school district implementing or maintaining curriculum which primarily involves human sexual education or human sexuality issues shall adopt a policy ensuring parent/guardian notification. Such policy shall afford parents or guardians the flexibility to exempt their children from any portion of said curriculum through written notification to the school principal. No child so exempted shall be penalized by reason of such exemption. Said policy shall be in writing, formally adopted by the School Committee as a school district policy and distributed by September first, nineteen hundred and ninety-seven and each year thereafter to each principal in the district. A copy of each district's policy must be sent to the Department of Education after adoption. 42