Adult/Transition Education
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), schools must develop a transition plan for students with disabilities starting at age 16 to assist with their post-graduation life. Transition education focuses on planning and teaching activities that facilitate the transition from school life to community life, emphasizing the educational outcomes that need to be achieved in the future. This involves establishing collaborative systems between disability service agencies and planning for participation in postsecondary education, vocational education, employment, lifelong learning, adult services, independent living, and community activities before high school graduation.
Transition services are intended to help youth with disabilities make the transition from the world of secondary school to the world of adulthood. That said, it helps to know how IDEA defines transition services.
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Transition services
means a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that
(1) Is designed to be within a results-oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child’s movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation;
(2) Is based on the individual child’s needs, taking into account the child’s strengths, preferences, and interests; and includes
- Instruction;
- Related services;
- Community experiences;
- The development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives; and
- If appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and provision of a functional vocational evaluation.
The services are to be planned as a group and are intended to drive toward a result—they should not be haphazard or scattershot activities, but coordinated with each other to achieve that outcome or result. Preparing children with disabilities to “lead productive and independent adult lives, to the maximum extent possible” is one of IDEA’s stated objectives.
What an IEP Must Contain
When the members of a child’s IEP team sit down together and consider how the child will be involved in and participate in school life, they must be sure that the resulting IEP contains the specific information required by IDEA, our nation’s special education law. Here’s a brief list of what IDEA requires:
A statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, including how the child’s disability affects his or her involvement and progress in the general education curriculum;
A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals;
A description of how the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals will be measured, and when periodic progress reports will be provided;
A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child;
A statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided to enable the child to advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals; to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum and to participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities; and to be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children;
An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with nondisabled children in the regular class and in extracurricular and nonacademic activities;
A statement of any individual accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the child on State and districtwide assessments;
(Note: If the IEP team determines that the child must take an alternate assessment instead of a particular regular State or districtwide assessment of student achievement, the IEP must include a statement of why the child cannot participate in the regular assessment and why the particular alternate assessment selected is appropriate for the child; and
The projected date for the beginning of the services and modifications, and the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those services and modifications.
The Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)
is a family-centered plan that details early intervention services and supports clients from birth to age three. The client’s initial IFSP is completed within 45 days of the family’s first contact with the Regional Center. The IFSP identifies and documents the outcomes desired by the family and clearly outlines how the IFSP team will work to achieve these goals. The IFSP comprehensively addresses health and safety-related issues, including the following:
- A record of the current physical development levels, including vision, hearing, and health status
- A description of the current cognitive, communication, social, emotional, and adaptive developmental levels
- A description of the family's concerns, priorities, the specific supports the child needs, and how these will be met
- A plan detailing the types and amounts of services and supports, the providers, and the locations of service provision
- Criteria, procedures, and timelines for assessing progress
- Procedures to ensure a smooth transition from Early Start to the next stage at age three
