IDEA '97 Transition Requirements: A Guide

Contents | Section I | Section III

Why Focus on Transition?

One of the primary purposes of Public Law 105-17, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), is 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 employment and independent living." (34 CFR §300.1(a))

The focus of IDEA has shifted from one that only provided children and youth with disabilities access to an education to one that also strives to improve results for all children with disabilities. The IDEA amendments of 1997 strengthen the role of parents in the educational planning and decision-making conducted on behalf of their children. It focuses the student’s educational program on involvement and progress in the general curriculum (i.e., the curriculum that is used with nondisabled children). IDEA ‘97 also emphasizes the strong preference that, to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities be educated in regular classes with their nondisabled peers with appropriate supplementary aids and services, adaptations, modifications, accommodations and supports.

Schools, families and communities must work together to offer effective educational experiences so students with disabilities:

1) Achieve appropriate involvement and progress in the general curriculum;

2) achieve improved results; and

3) are prepared for post-secondary education, employment and independent living.

In practical terms, the very real challenge is not only to ensure that all students achieve high academic standards but also gain skills needed to achieve their desired post-school goals (including post-secondary education, training or employment) and assume adult responsibilities in their communities. Further, the challenge is to keep all students in school and engaged in meaningful educational experiences so they will be prepared for post-secondary education, employment and independent living.

Studies examining the post-school results of students with disabilities (such as post-secondary education, employment, living arrangements, mobility and leisure) have found that a large proportion of these students do not go on for further training. Additionally, they often do not receive needed post-school supports and services and as adults are not as successful when compared to the general population (Blackorby, & Wagner, 1996; Wagner, 1991; Wagner, 1993). These findings have led to the conclusion that in order to the improve post-school results of these students, the student’s educational program can no longer be provided in isolation from the student’s community living, working and social environments. The transition requirements of IDEA ’97 challenge education to improve the post-school results of students with disabilities by doing a better job of planning and preparing students and families for the challenges and complexities of the adult world.

At the heart of the IDEA '97 is the Individualized Education Program (IEP). The BIG ideas in IEP planning are that the team:

• Engages the student and parents in thinking about the student’s goals for the future.

• Identifies the student’s needs, interests and preferences.

• Knows how the student performs today.

• Identifies what the student will learn and do both this year and in the remaining years in school to achieve his or her dreams and goals for the future.

• Identifies the supports and services the student needs for success.

• Ensures that the student learns to the maximum extent appropriate within the general curriculum and environment.

The Transition Concept

The concept of transition is simple and generally has three major components:

1) Coach every student, along with his or her family, to think about goals for life after high school and to develop a long-range plan to get there.

2) Design the high school experience to ensure that the student gains the skills and competencies needed to achieve his or her desired post-school goals.

3) Identify and link students and families to any needed post-school services, supports or programs before the student exits the school system.

The student's high school program should thoroughly prepare him or her for achieving his or her desired post-school goals. The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is the legal document reflecting the commitment made by the educational agency to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) designed to meet the unique needs of the child with a disability. It should reflect the services and supports needed to assist the student gain the skills, experiences and connections to make the student’s post-school goals a reality. The transition requirements of the IDEA ‘97 provide opportunities to:

• Work with every eligible student and his or her family to think about the future and plan what he or she wants to do after high school.

• Jointly plan how to make the high school experience directly relate to each student’s dreams and goals for the future.

• Provide instruction, related services, community experiences, employment and adult and daily living objectives while in high school.

• Assist every student and family in making the linkages to services they will need after high school.

• Increase the chance that every student is successful once he or she exits school.

IDEA ‘97 and the final regulations added important provisions to the IDEA of 1990 transition requirements. The following must be included in the IEP:

"(b)(1) For each student with a disability beginning at age 14 (or younger, if determined appropriate by the IEP team), and updated annually, a statement of the transition service needs of the student under the applicable components of the student's IEP that focuses on the student's courses of study (such as participation in advanced-placement courses or a vocational education program); and

"(2) For each student beginning at age 16 (or younger, if determined appropriate by the IEP team), a statement of needed transition services for the student, including, if appropriate, a statement of the interagency responsibilities or any needed linkages.

"(c) Transfer of rights. In a State that transfers rights at the age of majority, beginning at least one year before a student reaches the age of majority under State law, the student's IEP must include a statement that the student has been informed of his or her rights under Part B of the Act, if any, that will transfer to the student on reaching the age of majority, consistent with §300.517. " (34 CFR §300.347)

Since the wording in the first two items above (transition service needs and needed transition services) is so similar, there has been confusion in the field as to the difference between the requirements at age 14 (or younger when appropriate) and those at age 16 (or younger when appropriate).

Here are suggestions to clarify the misunderstandings. Among other elements, IDEA ’97 requires that the student’s IEP include:

• A statement of transition service needs at age 14 or younger, if appropriate.

• A statement of needed transition services at age 16 or younger, if appropriate.

For all students, starting at age 14 (or younger, when appropriate) and continuing until the student is no longer eligible for special education services, the IEP team must:

• Actively involve the student in his or her IEP development.

• Base the IEP on the student’s needs, preferences and interests.

• Determine the student’s post-school goals.

• Identify the student’s transition service needs.

Generally, these "transition service needs" take the form of courses of study or a multi-year description of coursework to achieve the student’s desired post-school goals. The transition service needs requirement is intended to assist the student make a successful transition to his or her goals for life after high school by selecting "courses of study that will be meaningful to the student's future and motivate the student to complete his or her education" ( Appendix A, Question 11). Congress added this requirement to "augment, and not replace" the separate, pre-existing requirement that the IEP, beginning at age 16 (and at a younger age, if appropriate), include a statement of needed transition services. The requirement for transition service needs must be reviewed annually and continues until the student graduates with a regular high school diploma or is no longer eligible for IDEA '97 services.

For all students, starting at age 16 (or younger, when appropriate) the IEP team must:

• Actively involve the student in his or her IEP development.

• Base the IEP on the student’s needs, preferences and interests.

• Refine the student’s desired post-school goals.

• Review the student’s transition service needs, such as the courses of study or multi-year description of coursework, adjusting them as needed to achieve the student’s desired post-school goals.

• Develop a statement of needed transition services.

A "statement of needed transition services" has been required since 1990. "The statement of needed transition services…includes instruction, related services (added in IDEA ‘97 Final Regulations), community experiences, the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives; and if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation." (34 CFR §300.29(a)(3))

In addition, the statement of needed transition services must also include, "a statement of the interagency responsibilities or any needed linkages." (§300.347(b)(2))

To facilitate the development of this statement of the interagency responsibilities, "the public agency shall also invite a representative of any other agency that is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services. If an agency invited to send a representative to a meeting does not do so, the public agency shall take other steps to obtain participation of the other agency in the planning of any transition services." (34 CFR §300.344(b)(3))

Further, IDEA ’97 strengthens the opportunities for students to engage in self-advocacy. The student must be invited to participate in the IEP meeting by age 14 or younger if transition service needs are discussed. If the student doesn’t attend the meeting, other steps must be taken to engage the student in the process.

Specifically, IDEA ’97 states, "the public agency shall invite a student with a disability of any age to attend his or her IEP meeting if a purpose of the meeting will be the consideration of the student’s transition services needs under §300.347(b)(1); the needed transition services for the student under §300.347(b)(2); or both.

"If the student does not attend the IEP meeting, the public agency shall take other steps to ensure that the student's preferences and interests are considered." (34 CFR §300.344(b)(1) & (2))

Additionally, in a state that transfers rights at the age of majority, at least a year before the student reaches the age of majority (as defined by the State), the IEP must include a statement that the student has been informed of any rights that will transfer to the student on reaching the age of majority.

IDEA ’97 states that, "in a State that transfers rights at the age majority, beginning at least one year before a student reaches the age of majority under State law, the student's IEP must include a statement that the student has been informed of his or her rights under Part B of the Act, if any, that will transfer to the student on reaching the age of majority, consistent with §300.517." (34 CFR §300.347(c))

As the student nears high school completion, the IEP team should develop a place to ensure that the student completes all necessary coursework and/or graduation requirements to prepare the student to continue with further education or work and life in the community. Appropriate linkages to services and supports the student will need when he or she finishes school should be in place before the student leaves the school setting and documented on his or her IEP.

The remainder of this document provides suggestions for how to implement these requirements.

Section III suggests steps for incorporating these transition requirements into the IEP process.

Section IV is a checklist to assist public agencies in aligning their practices with the transition requirements.

Section V is a set of questions and answers regarding the transition requirements.

Section VI is a description of what has been learned through the OSEP’s monitoring of the transition requirements and other studies regarding the implementation of the transition requirements.

Section VII provides the references and resources cited throughout this document as well as an extensive set of resources available about transition and practices used in the field.

The appendices include a sample Individualized Education Program (IEP), sample letters to students, families, and other agencies; sample transfer of rights documents; and a side-by-side of the transition requirements.

Contents | Section I | Section III