As a member of the Student Support Team in my cluster and at my school, I attend meetings regularly and must keep a knowledge base that supports me reviewing 504 data which can consists of a multitude of documents from parents, teachers, doctors, psychologist, psychiatrist, the SST team members, outside agencies, etc… and being able to bring to the meeting the best supportive measures that my expertise can contribute as a team member to benefit the students for academic success.  There are times when a meeting is a “breeze” and the process flows smoothly, and there are other times when data analysis, team decisions, behavioral concerns, etc…. can bring challenges and unique circumstances to the table that can bring a team needing support from our district level SST staff, or legalities must be addressed to ensure best practices for the student, school and school district are in place.  
I have many experiences I can elaborate on but one of the most unique 504 meetings I can share is a scholar who qualified as a student with a 504 that has a mental impairment which substantially limits her academic activities in the classroom and who needs her medical concerns addressed through a 504 to support her academic success in the school setting.  The 504 was extremely useful as through collaboration, it caused the MTSS model to do exactly what it is designed to do; support the learner’s academic success. 
The 504 also did what it was designed to do which is protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance.  As regulations for Section 504 require a school district to provide a “free appropriate public education” to each qualified student with a disability who is in the school district’s jurisdiction, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability, our 504 team for this student had to honor her 504 accordingly and address ways we can support her medical disabilities which causes her to frequently fall below passing in instructional tasks and with her overall  grades in class.
Recommendations for future meetings I would suggest would be to ensure every member of the 504 team understands a clear distinction that a 504 meeting and an IEP meeting (at any tier of the IEP) is not the same in one.  When meeting on a 504 we are addressing tier 3 of the MTSS and any IEP related services advances us to tier 4 of the MTSS.  Tier 3 and tier 4 “holds hands” and supports each other, but they each have distinct practices and 504’s are addressed at tier 3. It is also important that the team debriefs after a meeting to ensure best practices with each meeting has been accomplished.
