Parenting

ADHD and West Michigan Schools: How 504 and IEP Requests Work in Kent and Ottawa Counties

September 14, 2026 · 7 min read

Last updated September 14, 2026

Federal law sets the framework for school accommodations, but the process runs through your local district and, in Michigan, through the intermediate school district that supports it. Parents in West Michigan often do not know which office to contact or what to expect. This first post in the West Michigan resources series is a map. It is written for Kent and Ottawa County families but applies across the state.

The two intermediate school districts

Michigan organizes special education support through intermediate school districts (ISDs). Kent ISD serves the twenty districts in Kent County, including Grand Rapids Public Schools, Byron Center, Kentwood, Wyoming, Grandville, Forest Hills, Rockford, and Kenowa Hills. Ottawa Area ISD serves Holland, Hudsonville, Zeeland, Jenison, Grand Haven, and the other Ottawa County districts, plus some in Allegan. The ISD provides evaluators, specialists, and dispute resolution support to local districts. Parents rarely contact the ISD directly, but knowing it exists matters if the local district is unresponsive, because the ISD has a parent-support function and a special education director who oversees compliance.

Where to start in your district

For a 504 plan, contact the school's 504 coordinator, who is usually the principal, assistant principal, or school counselor. For a special education evaluation (the path to an IEP), submit a written request to the principal or the district's special education office. Put the request in writing, dated, with a sentence stating that you are requesting an evaluation for special education eligibility because you suspect a disability affecting your child's education. Keep a copy. The written request starts legal clocks that a verbal request does not.

What Michigan law adds

Michigan's Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE) supplement federal IDEA rules. Two points matter most for ADHD families. First, once you consent to an evaluation, the district has thirty school days to complete it and hold the eligibility meeting; this is shorter than the federal sixty-day standard. Second, Michigan recognizes Other Health Impairment (OHI) as the eligibility category for ADHD, and the rule requires that the impairment adversely affect educational performance, which the district will assess through classroom data, not just your outside evaluation. Bring both.

Using an outside evaluation

A comprehensive evaluation from a private clinician is not binding on the district, but the district must consider it. It carries most weight when it is recent, uses instruments the school psychologists recognize, includes teacher rating scales, and states educational impact and specific recommendations in the language schools use; the clinician article on school-ready reports describes that language. If you disagree with the district's evaluation, you may request an Independent Educational Evaluation at district expense, and the district must either pay or initiate a hearing to defend its evaluation.

504 versus IEP in practice

Most West Michigan students with ADHD alone end up with 504 plans: accommodations such as extended time, preferential seating, chunked assignments, and a communication log, with no specialized instruction. An IEP is more likely when ADHD is combined with a learning disability, when behavior is significantly impairing, or when the student needs direct instruction in executive skills or social skills. The 504 process is faster and less formal; the IEP carries stronger procedural protections. Ask for the IEP evaluation if you think your child needs services, not just accommodations; the district will determine eligibility, and a denial of IEP eligibility often results in a 504 plan anyway.

When the district says no or stalls

Michigan offers several dispute paths short of a lawsuit. Ask for a facilitated IEP meeting through the ISD, which brings a neutral facilitator. Request state mediation through the Michigan Special Education Mediation Program, which is free. File a state complaint with the Michigan Department of Education Office of Special Education if procedural rules were violated. The Michigan Alliance for Families provides free parent support and advocacy training statewide and is the first call most families should make when they hit a wall. For 504 disputes, the district has a 504 grievance procedure, and complaints can go to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

Private, charter, and homeschool

Charter schools in Michigan are public and must follow the same 504 and IDEA rules. Private schools are not bound by IDEA but many West Michigan Christian schools have learning support programs and will implement reasonable accommodations from an outside evaluation; ask before enrolling. Homeschooled students in Michigan may be eligible for some services through the local district under IDEA's provisions for parentally placed private school students, though the scope is limited. In each case, the outside evaluation is the document that starts the conversation.

The bottom line

Know your ISD, put evaluation requests in writing, understand Michigan's thirty-school-day timeline and OHI category, bring an outside evaluation written in school language, decide whether you need accommodations or services, and use Michigan's free dispute resolution and the Michigan Alliance for Families when the district stalls. The general 504 and IEP guide covers the meeting itself. Next in the series: finding a prescriber.