TRANSITION GUIDE

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A TRANSITION GUIDE TO POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT FOR STUDENTS AND YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES To meet IDEA’s transition services provisions, the IEP must contain the services and supports needed to assist the student to gain the skills and experiences to achieve his or her desired post-school goals. By the time the student turns 16, or younger, if determined appropriate by the IEP Team, the student’s IEP must include: • Appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills; • The transition services (including courses of study) needed to assist the student in reaching those goals; and • Age-appropriate transition assessments based on the individual needs of the student to be used to determine appropriate measurable postsecondary goals. States and school districts are in the best position, along with the student and the student’s family member or representative, to determine the most appropriate types of transition assessments based upon a student’s needs. 12 As a student gets older, the IEP Team must consider whether the student’s needs have changed, taking into account the student’s strengths, preferences and interests; and develop measurable goals that are focused on the student’s life after high school, specifying the transition services needed to help him or her reach those goals. We strongly encourage parents to recognize that decisions about the specific content of postsecondary goals and transition services are the responsibility of the IEP Team. These decisions are made at IEP Team meetings, which sometimes include additional school personnel with specific knowledge related to the identified goals and services. Nothing in IDEA requires a specific service, placement, or course of study to be included in the student’s IEP as a transition service. Rather, IDEA leaves such decisions to the IEP Team. Please note that postsecondary goals and transition services are just one component of a student’s IEP. It is also important for the student’s other annual IEP goals to complement and address the student’s transition service needs, as appropriate. IEP Teams assess the relationship of the student’s postsecondary goals to the student’s needs in developing other annual IEP goals. School districts, which are responsible for conducting IEP Team meetings, must: • Invite the student to an IEP Team meeting if the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the student’s postsecondary goals and the transition services needed to assist the student in reaching those goals; • Take steps to ensure that the student’s preferences and interests are considered, if the student does not attend the meeting; • Take steps to ensure that the parents are present at IEP Team meetings or are afforded the opportunity to participate; 10
A TRANSITION GUIDE TO POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT FOR STUDENTS AND YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES • Notify parents of the meeting early enough to ensure that parents have an opportunity to attend, and specifically inform them if a purpose of the meeting is consideration of postsecondary goals and transition services for the student; • Schedule the meeting at a mutually convenient time and place; • Use other methods to ensure parental participation, including individual or conference telephone calls, if neither parent can attend the meeting; and • Use alternative means of meeting participation, such as videoconferences and conference calls, if agreed to by the parent and the school district. Parental and student input is also vital in determining postsecondary goals related to needed postsecondary education and training services for post-school activities, including independent living and employment. Students with disabilities and their parents should be knowledgeable about the range of transition services available, and how to access those services at the local level. School districts should encourage both the student and their parents to be fully engaged in discussions regarding the need for and availability of other services, including application and eligibility for VR services and supports to ensure formal connections with agencies and adult services, as appropriate. For more information about Parent Information and Training Programs, please visit: www.parentcenterhub.org www2.ed.gov/programs/rsaptp The participation of a VR agency representative on the IEP Team helps to ensure that the vocational- or employment-related provisions in the IEP provide a bridge from the receipt of services provided by secondary schools to the receipt of services provided by VR agencies. Further, recent amendments to the Rehabilitation Act authorize the VR agency, along with the school, to provide or arrange for the early provision of pre-employment transition services for all students with disabilities who are eligible or potentially eligible for VR services. Representation of the VR agency at the IEP meeting fosters the opportunity for pre-employment transition services to be provided early and in keeping with the student’s IEP goals. 11
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TRANSITION GUIDE

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