TRANSITION: POINTS TO REMEMBER
By Pamela Kaufmann-Educational Consultant
Did you know that youth with disabilities are;
Less likely to enroll in post-secondary programs than were their peers in the general population (45% vs. 53%)
Less likely than their general population peers to be employed after leaving school (57% vs. 66%)
Less likely than the general population to have a checking account (46% vs. 68%)
In addition, the median earnings of individuals with disabilities ages 16 and older are $18,865 vs. $28,983 in the general population.
Alongside with transitioning to public school at age three (3), transition at high school graduation or turning age 22 is the most important next step for students with disabilities.
Age: In Massachusetts, beginning at age 14, or sooner if determined appropriate by the IEP team, school age children with disabilities shall be entitled to transition services and measurable post-secondary goals.
Definition: “A coordinated set of activities designed to be within a results oriented process that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement by the child with a disability to facilitate the child’s movement from school to post-school activities”. If needed, the IEP Team must include appropriate goals related to post-secondary training, education, employment and independent living skills in the student’s IEP.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education require that school districts use the Transition Planning Form (TPF). See www.doe.mass.edu/sped. MADESE has training modules and sample forms which are quite useful.
Summary of Performance: For every student exiting special education at graduation or at age 22, a summary of performance must be prepared by the school district.
Other Actions
1. School Districts must make a 688 referral at least two years before the student graduates or turns age 22 if they believe that the student may be eligible for adult services through Chapter 688. Students who receive services under an IEP and receive SSI/SSDI and/or are on the registry at the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind (MCB) are automatically eligible for Chapter 688. Other students who may be eligible are those students with severe disabilities who are in need of continued services and are unable to work 20 or more hours per week in competitive, non-sheltered employment at the time they are ready to leave school. Also students who receive services from the Department of Youth Services (DYS) or the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and are on an IEP or a 504 Plan may be eligible.
School districts must invite representatives of human services agencies who may be working with the student after exiting special education to the Team meetings where transition is being discussed.
3. Students must be invited to the Team meeting where the Team discussed the student’s transition planning.
4. Request updated vocational assessments, assistive technology assessments, and psychological. (Some state agencies will require a current psychological not less than one year old.) Your school district may have the staff for vocational assessments or may need to contract out to a collaborative or a private agency such as Easter Seals.
Resources
Federation for Children with Special Needs has
transition workshops: www.fcsn.org
Institute for Community Inclusion: www.communityinclusion.org
“Transitioning Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Resources and Timeline Planning for Adult Living” www.autismconsortium.org. This is one of the best documents on transition planning I have seen which is specific to Massachusetts.
The National Secondary Transition Technical
Assistance Center (NSTTAC) has identified sixteen (16) predictors of Post-school success:
Career awareness ***Community experiences
Inclusion in general education ***Interagency collaboration
Occupational courses **Paid employment/work experience
Parental involvement ***Program of Study*** Social Skills
Self-Advocacy/self-determination*** Student support
Self-care/independent living skills*** Work Study
Transition program ***Vocational Education
Exit exam requirements/high school diploma status
Coming Next: Individual Stories about Transition Planning
