• Transitional Services

    Transitions are a routine part of every student’s educational journey. While they can be exciting and something to look forward to, for many students with disabilities and their families, transitions - whether from one classroom to another, one school to another, or one system to another - can often be a source of stress and anxiety. Typically, individuals with disabilities experience multiple transitions throughout their school years: from early intervention services to preschool, preschool to elementary school, elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, and finally from high school to adulthood (e.g., postsecondary education, employment). This final phase is known as secondary transition.

    Transitioning from high school to adulthood can be especially challenging for students with disabilities, as they face unfamiliar routines, new environments, and novel experiences. To ease these transitions and make them as smooth as possible, teachers and school personnel, along with others (e.g., families, community agencies), assist students with disabilities in selecting appropriate goals and developing the necessary skills to achieve these goals in three main areas:

    • Work: Finding a job they are interested in and skilled at
    • Living: Choosing a place they want to live
    • Community Involvement: Engaging in activities that help them become part of their community after high school and throughout adulthood

    Although secondary transition planning is part of the Individual Education Program (IEP) process, it is not meant to be a static activity occurring only annually during a student’s IEP meeting. Ongoing transition planning helps students develop independence, which in turn enables them to achieve their career and adult-living goals.

  • For Your Information

    The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) defines secondary transition as:
    [A] coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that (a) is designed to be 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; (b) is based on the individual child’s needs, taking into account the child’s strengths, preferences, and interests.

    IDEA 2004, [34 CFR 300.43 (a)] [20 U.S.C. 1401(34)]