Transition services
BY WENDY PAGET HENDERSON, ESQ.
Published: Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Too often special education students leave school without the necessary skills or experience to make a successful transition into adulthood. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law that provides educational rights for students with disabilities, makes it clear that students’ educational programs must be designed towards future goals. The essence of transition planning is aligning a student’s educational experience, from age 14 forward1, with his or her goals for life after high school. The student’s input is the centerpiece of transition planning and should be included at each stage. The following is an explanation of the transition planning process, including the legal rights guaranteed under IDEA and identification of pitfalls that can make transitions less than successful.
Prior to Congress passing IDEA in 1975, children with disabilities frequently were excluded from education altogether. The original purpose of IDEA was to enable children with disabilities to access education. When amended in 1997, the focus of IDEA shifted from access to outcomes. Congress found that while children with disabilities now were allowed in the classroom, a disproportionate number of special education students either did not graduate or were not prepared for adult life upon graduation. The amendments strengthened the transition planning provisions with an eye toward ensuring that students with disabilities were not just attending class, but also gaining needed skills and making the connections necessary for lifetime success. Further amendments to IDEA in 2004, although raising the age for transition planning to 16, did decree that transition services should be results-oriented.
Congress has integrated the notion of transition planning throughout IDEA. Congress has identified the purpose of IDEA as follows: “To ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment and independent living,” 34 C.F.R. §300.1 (emphasis added).Conceptually, transition planning should include components that assist students and their parents to think about and plan for life after high school. The student’s education during the high school years should be directed by these goals. (Depending upon the level of their needs, some special education students may require more than the traditional four years of high school. In New Hampshire students with disabilities are eligible to receive special education services until they either receive a regular high school diploma or reach the age of 21.) Finally, whatever agencies or service providers the student may need post graduation should be involved.
Transition Service Needs, which should be incorporated into an IEP when a child is 16 (or younger when appropriate), is the term that addresses how the student’s educational programming can be linked to the student’s postsecondary goals. For example, if the student’s post-secondary goal is to be a computer programmer, a transition service need would be a curriculum that includes computer classes; if the student’s goal is to pursue a post-secondary education, the transition services may include college preparatory coursework.
Transition services should be a coordinated set of activities involving the student, school, and any agency that might assist the student after graduation. Services should focus on assisting the student in obtaining the skills and experience necessary to prepare for life after graduation. For example, a student with post-graduation goals of independent living and employment in customer service might need a wide array of services including instruction in bill paying, assistance from vocational rehabilitation to find an internship in a local business, a link with the housing agency for assistance in applying for state subsidized housing, and training on how to use public transportation. All of these services should be coordinated through the transition planning process.The most significant and common problem with transition planning is that it does not happen. Special education students routinely graduate high school with no more of a plan than, “This student will need to be followed by the Area Agency after graduation.” Not only does this not address the needs of the student, it is legally insufficient. To ensure a successful transition, the principles of transition planning need to be incorporated throughout the IEP. While there does need to be a statement of needed transition services in the IEP, there is no legal requirement that a transition plan must be separate from or an addendum to an IEP. Perhaps the best and most practical way to approach transition planning is to begin when the student turns 14, looking at each IEP objective and making sure it will further the student’s ability to reach his or her ultimate goals following graduation.<p>
<b>There are a number of reasons that a large portion of students with disabilities never participate in the full transition planning process:</b><p>
• <b>Special education students are routinely pushed out of school.</b> School officials may tell a parent or the student directly that a child can sign themselves out of special education and out of school at 16. This commonly occurs with students who have had behavioral difficulties in school. If a child with a disability is signed out of school prior to high school graduation, that child can be re-enrolled and can take advantage of both educational and transitional services. Many teenagers who have been signed out or are contemplating signing out are disillusioned with the educational process. Because these students’ IEPs often are inadequate, their lack of success in school is understandable. With a good IEP and appropriate transitional services, a student can be refocused on attaining the skills and services necessary to succeed as an adult.<p>
If a student has graduated with a regular diploma, the entitlement to special education and transition services ends. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that a student has met all of the requirements for graduation. If the student has simply been pushed through from year to year, it may be possible to regain services.<p>
• <b>Agencies are not involved.</b> Many agencies will attempt to delay their involvement with children - even those who are eligible for their services - until after graduation. Students have a right to services from agencies when they are eligible. Agencies need to play an integral role in transition planning.<i>This article, originally printed in the Rap Sheet in 2004, was amended in September 2007 to reflect changes to special education law. Wendy Paget Henderson, ESQ is formerly with the Disabilties Rights Center</i>1 New Hampshire rules for Special Education provide for transition planning to begin at age 14. The federal law, however, was changed in 2004 to provide for transition planning to begin at age 16. Under current law, the New Hampshire rules apply and age 14 is the proper time for transition planning to begin. The NH regulations are, however, currently being revised, and it is unclear whether New Hampshire will keep the age for transition planning at 14 or will increase it to age 16.