INDIVIDUAL TRANSITION PLANNING (ITP)

 

Transition services for students in special education are services that help students move from school to adult life. They should reflect the student’s own goals for his future. Federal special education law defines transition services as a coordinated set of activities for a student with a disability that:

 

Is designed within a result-oriented process, which promotes movement from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary education, vocational training, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation;

 

Is based upon the individual student’s needs, taking into account the student’s preferences, strengths and interests; and

 

Includes instruction, related services, community experiences, the development or employment and other post-school adult living objectives, and, when appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.

 

A student’s services may include driver’s education, self- advocacy, and independent living skills such as cooking and cleaning.

 

The purpose of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is "to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment and independent living." 

 

Definition of Transition Services under IDEA (300.43 Transition services): 

 

(a) Transition services means a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that (1) 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 postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation;

(2) Is based on the individual child’s needs, taking into account the child’s strengths, preferences, and interests; and includes 

(i) Instruction;

(ii) Related services;

(iii) Community experiences;

(iv) The development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives; and

(v) If appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and provision of a functional vocational evaluation.

 

Because all states must implement the requirements of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), the US Dept of Education established 20 indicators that each state is required to address in evaluating their efforts to comply with the law. Indicator 13 measures “the percentage of youth aged 16 and above with an IEP that includes coordinated, measurable, annual goals and transition services that will reasonably enable the students to meet postsecondary goals.” To be in compliance, the IEP school team must be able to answer “yes” to these 8 questions:

 

  1. Is there a measurable postsecondary goal(s) that covers education or training, employment, and (as needed) independent living?

  2. Is (are) the postsecondary goals updated annually?

  3. Is there evidence that the measurable goals were based on age-appropriate transition assessment(s)?

  4. Are there transition services in the IEP that will reasonably enable the student to meet his or her postsecondary goals(s)?

  5. Do the transition services include courses of study that will reasonable enable the student to meet his or her postsecondary goal(s)?

  6. Is (are) there annual IEP goal(s) related to the student’s transition service needs? (Goal section of IEP)

  7. Is there evidence that the student was invited to the IEP meeting where transition services were discussed?

  8. If appropriate, is there evidence that a representative of any participating agency was invited to the team meeting with the prior consent of the parent or student?