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In Transition to Adulthood, we presented an overview of what IDEA 2004 requires in terms of transition planning for youth with disabilities. A significant aspect of the law’s requirements relates to including transition-related goals and statements in the IEPs of students preparing for life after high school. Now it’s time to take a much closer look at the kind of information you might include in a student’s IEP as part of transition planning. Index
Back to top First, What IDEA RequiresLet’s start by revisiting IDEA’s provisions at §300.320(b) regarding what must be included in a student’s IEP no later than when that student turns 16: (b) Transition services. Beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when the child turns 16, or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP Team, and updated annually, thereafter, the IEP must include— (1) Appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills; and (2) The transition services (including courses of study) needed to assist the child in reaching those goals. Breaking the provisions at §300.320(b) into their component parts is a useful way to see what needs to be included, transition-wise, in the student’s IEP. For example, consider: Postsecondary goals must be… Postsecondary goals must also be based on… Transition assessment ind what…? Transition services include… Transition services for a student as those that the student needs… What goals? The discussion below is intended to illuminate how these provisions are to be implemented in the real world, with real students. NTACT’s Checklist of Questions to AskNTACT is the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition, an OSEP-funded project whose expertise is… obviously…. secondary transition. As part of its work, NTACT has developed extensive training materials to help states collect data about the transition services they provide to youth with disabilities (called Indicator 13). Those materials are also useful for our purpose here, which is to look closely at the type of transition information to include in a student’s IEP. NTACT’s materials include a checklist of questions to ask, which are adapted here for use by IEP teams as they plan a student’s transition services and craft statements to include in the student’s IEP.
NTACT also provides real-life examples that are as illuminating as they are helpful, especially since examples are included for three key domains of transition planning:
We’d like to share some of NTACT’s examples with you. Again, we’ve adapted them a bit, to make them more appropriate for use by IEP teams, but all the credit goes to NTACT for this work. Back to top NTACT Example: Education/Training Here’s an example of a measurable postsecondary goal in the domain of education/training. (For the full discussion, with many examples, see: https://transitionta.org/system/files/resourcetrees/Alex%20Case%20Study.pdf
This goal meets NTACT’s standard because of specific reasons:
NTACT also generously provides nonexamples. For the goal statement above: Nonexample:
NTACT says that this statement does not meet the standard, because:
Helpful, eh? If you’d like to see more examples (and nonexamples!) of postsecondary goals for education/training, you can find them
at: Back to top NTACT Example: Employment Now let’s look at an example of a measurable postsecondary goal in the domain of employment.
This goal is acceptable, because:
Would you like to see the nonexample? Here you go. Nonexample:
Why doesn’t this goal meet the standard and, so, is used here as a nonexample?
Find more examples and nonexamples of postsecondary goals in the domain of employment
at: Back to top NTACT Example: Independent Living Now for an example of two measurable postsecondary goal in the domain of independent living., developed for Jamarreo, a 19 year old student identified with emotional and behavioral disabilities, as well as a moderate hearing loss.
These goal statements is acceptably crafted, because:
And nonexamples:
These goals are not acceptably crafted, because:
Find more such examples and nonexamples in the domain of independent living,
at: Back to top IEP Goals to Help the Student Achieve Postsecondary GoalsAll right, so the IEP team (including the student) has crafted statements that describe the student’s postsecondary goals—-what he or she is going to do or achieve after leaving high school. These goals pertain to the domains of education/training, employment, and (as appropriate for the student’s needs) independent living. Now it’s time to write corresponding IEP goals that will reasonably enable the child to meet the postsecondary goals. IEP Goals: Education/Training Continuing with Alex as our example, remember that his postsecondary goal for education/training was: After graduation from high school, Alex will enroll at Kings College (a technical school) and take a business math class to improve his work related math skills and to advance his career in business. An appropriate IEP goal to help Alex achieve the postsecondary goal might be:
This annual goal meets standards, because:
Now for the contrast of a nonexample:
Are there problems with this statement? Yes, according to NTACT—-three.
Back to top Good old Paolo, back in the example seat. Remember that Paolo’s postsecondary goal for employment was: After graduation, Paulo will work 20 plus hours a week at the local grocery store and provided temporary supports through Vocational Rehabilitation. An appropriate IEP goal to help Paolo achieve this postsecondary employment goal might be:
This IEP goal is acceptably written, because:
How about a nonexample?
This nonexample does not reach acceptable standards for goal-writing, because:
Back to top IEP Goals: Independent Living Now the example will relate to Jamarreo (Paulo is quite relieved to get off the hot seat). Recall that Jamarreo’s postsecondary goals in the domain of independent living were:
NTACT’s examples for appropriate and corresponding IEP goals are:
The reasons that these goal meet the standard and are acceptably written are:
And, keeping with our pattern here (NTACT’s, actually), here are nonexamples for contrast:
Why are these two nonexamples of an IEP goal to help Jamarreo toward achieving his independent living goals:
Back to top Matching Transition Services to the Postsecondary Goals and the IEP GoalsYou’ll recall that transition services are determined by the combination of a student’s stated postsecondary goals, corresponding IEP goals, and what he or she needs, support-wise, in order to move toward achieving those goals. By definition, transition services can include:
The IEP team’s task is to identify and specify the transition services that a student will receive in order to support him or her in reaching the shorter-term IEP goals and the longer-term postsecondary goal. How does the IEP team do that? Let’s look at some examples, again from NSTTAC. Transition Services: Education/Training Let’s call Alex back to the hot seat. His education/training goal is: After graduation from high school, Alex will enroll at Kings College (a technical school) and take a business math class to improve his work related math skills and to advance his career in business. What transition services could be provided to support Alex in reaching that goal?
Nonexamples might include:
Back to top Transition Services: Employment Here’s an interesting example from NTACT that looks at what transition services would be appropriate for a young adult named Jodi. Jodi’s postsecondary goals for education/training and employment are:
What transition services does Jodi need to support her in reaching these two goals?
What would qualify as a nonexample—in other words, a transition service that would not be appropriate support for Jody in reaching her postsecondary goals?
Back to top Transition Services: Independent Living Working with Jamarreo as our example this time, recall that his independent living goals were:
Jamarreo’s IEP team decides that he’ll need specific transition services to help him move toward achieving those goals after high school. The services they specify are:
Nonexamples, on the other hand, might include such transition services as:
Back to top In ConclusionPshew. That was a lot of reading, wasn’t it? Hopefully, NTACT’s excellent work, adapted here, will help you when it comes time to help students plan for transition to life after high school and especially to write an IEP that will:
Transition planning is complicated and involved. There are so many dimensions of adulthood to consider! That’s why, for students with disabilities, planning ahead is critical. The more significant the disability is, the more imperative it is to prepare, plan, specify, investigate, coordinate, and support. Adulthood’s coming. Back to top __________________ The Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR) would like to express its deep appreciation to the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition for the thoroughness and insightfulness of the materials we’ve so freely used and adapted here. Great job, NTACT! Thanks. Back to top Which Transition Page Would You Like to Visit Now?
Back to top What is the goal of a transition team?Community transition teams identify common directions, develop action plans, solve problems, and encourage interagency collaboration, creating community training and employment opportunities for students, and seeking additional sources of support (financial, policy, etc.).
What are the steps in transition plan?For students with ASD, the transition planning process includes unique considerations.. Step 1: Identify Transition Goals. ... . Step 2: Link Postsecondary Goals.. Step 3: Troubleshoot and Adjust.. Step 4: Provide Opportunities to.. Step 5: Evaluate Progress.. What is a transition plan?A Transition Plan is a document that outlines what you want to achieve in the next few years - and what support you will need to live as independently as possible. It covers every aspect of your life, including: education. employment. housing.
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