B . Transition Services Under IDEA

















20 U.S.C. § 1401(34) (2008).
1. Statutory Requirements Under IDEA

Transition services “means a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that”:
  • 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 post-secondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation;
  • 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, when appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.
Reference
These services are to begin no later than when the child is fifteen, or the end of the ninth grade.

34 C.F.R. § 300.320(b).
The IEP must include “[a]ppropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills. . . .” 

Rule 4.03(6)(d)(iii).
In Colorado, the IEP includes the transition services needed to assist the child in reaching the above goals. 

Rule 4.03(6)(e).
The child must also be informed at least a year before the age of majority of transfer of educational rights.

34 C.F.R. § 300.102(a)(3).
A child with a disability who has graduated from high school with a regular high school diploma, as opposed to graduating with a modified diploma, is no longer eligible for a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under IDEA.



Joseph B. Tulman and Joyce A. McGee, eds., Special Education Advocacy for Children in the Juvenile Delinquency System 9-8 (University of the District of Columbia School of Law Juvenile Law Clinic, 1998).
2.  Implementing Educational Transition Under IDEA

Starting around age fourteen, an IEP team, consisting of the child, parents or educational surrogate parent (ESP), school personnel, the child’s guardian ad litem, if applicable, and representatives from agencies, such as vocational rehabilitation or child welfare, convenes to discuss the child’s goals after high school and what services are necessary to support this transition. Each year, the IEP team should consider what transition services are needed for that year so the student will be fully prepared by the time he or she leaves high school. 

National Council on Disability, supra note 1 at 35.
These services may include additional classes, independent living skills, employment skills, and connections to other agencies.

Id. at 31.
Students with disabilities have challenges in higher education. They may have difficulty taking on a heavy workload of work and classes.

Some institutions provide good support for students with disabilities, while others do not.








Reference
For entering the workforce, youth with disabilities need to:
  • “Understand the relationships between benefits planning and career choices;
  • Learn to communicate their disability-related work support and accommodation needs; and
  • Learn to find, formally request, and secure appropriate supports and reasonable accommodations in education, training and employment settings.”



Note that while IDEA does not extend past the age of twenty one, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act still provide protections.
















Reference


School to Work Alliance Program
available here
(viewed Oct. 15, 2010).
3.  Other Agencies and Transition Planning for Disabilities

Agencies that may be involved in transition planning and may attend the IEP transition planning meetings:
  • Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) provides services to people with disabilities to help reach employment goals. Qualifications for DVR are less stringent than under IDEA.
  • Division for Developmental Disabilities and the Community Centered Board System is responsible for services for people who have a developmental disability, typically those with an IQ score of 70 or less, and adaptive behavior needs. Add the child’s name to the waiting list at the age of fourteen, because the waiting list is long.
  • Division of Mental Health and Community Mental Health Centers services persons with mental health needs who are Medicaid eligible or have no or limited health insurance.
  • The School to Work Alliance Program (SWAP) was developed through collaborative agreements among the Colorado Department of Education, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and community organizations. It provides many job development, job placement, and job training services.




20 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq. (2006).
Other agencies also provide help in general transition planning that could be incorporated into IEP transition planning.

The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act provides funds to states and school systems for vocational education programs. 

Tulman and McGee, supra note 14 at 9-10.
Under the Perkins Act, special populations, such as those with disabilities and other disadvantages, have access to vocational education programs, supplementary services, and career counseling.