IDEA and Relevant Indicators

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates that states develop a State Performance Plan to evaluate their implementation of Part B of the Act. This plan includes Indicators that measure compliance and performance in various areas of special education. These indicators are monitored by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). States are mandated to collect and report data on these indicators to ensure compliance and to improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities. While IDEA encompasses multiple indicators, the ones most pertinent to transition are listed below.

Indicator 1: Graduation Rates: Measures the percentage of youth with IEPs graduating from high school with a regular diploma.

Indicator 2: Dropout Rates: Assesses the percentage of youth with IEPs dropping out of high school.

Indicator 13: Secondary Transition: Evaluates the percentage of youth aged 16 and above with IEPs that include coordinated, measurable, annual IEP goals and transition services.

Indicator 14: Post-School Outcomes: Tracks the percentage of youth who had IEPs, are no longer in secondary school, and have been competitively employed, enrolled in post-secondary school, or both, within one year of leaving high school.

Contact

Karen Davidson

Special Education Coordinator

(720) 594-8846

KarenDavidson@csi.state.co.us

CDE’s 8 Elements

CDE has pulled transition-related statutes from IDEA and organized them into eight required transition elements. The number beside the element identifies its section within IDEA.

Element 1: Evidence of appropriate measurable postsecondary goals that cover education/training, employment, and as needed, independent living skills. 34 C.F.R. § 300.320(b)(1)

Element 2: Evidence that student strengths, preferences and interests, and postsecondary goals have been updated annually. 34 C.F.R. § 300.320(b)

Element 3: The age-appropriate transition assessment process is described and evidence that the measurable postsecondary goals were based on age-appropriate transition assessments. 34 C.F.R. § 300.320(b)(1)

Element 4: Evidence that transition services in the IEP reasonably enable the student to meet the identified post-secondary goals for Education/Training, Career/Employment, and Independent Living Skills (as appropriate). 34 C.F.R. § 300.43

Element 5: Evidence that transition services include Courses of Study that reasonably enable the student to meet their postsecondary goals. 34 C.F.R. § 300.320

Element 6: Evidence that annual goal(s) are related to the student’s postsecondary goals/transition service needs. 34 C.F.R. § 300.320

Element 7: Evidence the student was invited to the IEP meeting. 34 C.F.R § 300.321

Element 8: If appropriate, evidence a representative of any participating agency was invited to the IEP meeting and prior consent was obtained by the parent. C.F.R. § 300.322

Training Resources

Step 1: Prepare for the Meeting

Identify all relevant team members
Determine a date and time
Send a notice to parents
Send a separate notice to the student (Element 7)
Indicate on the notices that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss post-secondary planning (Element 7)
Obtain parental consent before inviting any outside agency (Element 8)

Department of Youth Corrections, Department of Human Services and Guardian ad Litem representatives have custodial roles, so parental consent is not required
SWAP Providers are district/BOCES employees, so parental consent is required
DVR counselors are neither custodial nor district employees, so parental consent is required
If an outside agency representative was not originally invited, but attended with parents, note their attendance in the IEP participants section with “attended per parent invitation”

Send out calendar invites and notices with procedural safeguards

Step 2: Update Present Levels

Check in with the student to get a current perspective on their postsecondary goals
Postsecondary goals do have to be specific (area of study/type of school/job title), but can change from year to year
Update strengths, preferences and interests including direct student input
Conduct a new age-appropriate (chronological) assessment each year and include the name of the assessment, the administrator and a summary of the results (Element 3)

Can include formal and informal assessments in the areas of academic achievement, aptitude, behavior, functional skills, career/employment, independent living, self-determination, and interest data
Include the name of the assessment, the date given, the name and title of administrator, and a summary of the results written in family-friendly language

Include a statement that postsecondary goals were considered, reviewed, and updated based on transition assessment results
Include a statement about academic and functional skills and gaps related to the post-secondary goals
Directly reference postsecondary considerations in the student needs and impact of disability statement
Explicitly solicit parent/student input as it relates to postsecondary conversations

Step 3: Update Postsecondary Goals

Develop postsecondary goals in two or three areas (depending on data) based on transition assessments from step 2
Use an active voice, “The student will complete…” instead of “The student will receive…
If no independent Living Goal is indicated, state, “Based on assessment data, no goal is needed.”

*In order to satisfy this decision, there must be assessment data to support it.

Include at least one education/training goal (Element 1) | Examples
Include at least one career/employment goal (Element 1) | Examples
If appropriate, include independent living goal(s) (Element 1) | Examples

Step 4: Complete Postsecondary Plan

Repeat the postsecondary goals that were drafted in Step 3
Conduct a gap analysis to determine what skill deficits, specifically, the student has in relation to achieving their postsecondary goals
Complete the multi-year course of study, describing the classes needed to gain the skills needed to close postsecondary goal gaps (Element 5)

Write the course of study so it is transferrable to another school
Simply stating “Will complete graduation requirements” does not meet compliance
Best practice courses of study include a multi-year description of coursework from the student’s current grade to the student’s anticipated exit date

Examples

Step 5: Design Services

Picture the student on the student during training, on the job, or living independently and Identify the providers who can provide the coordinated activities and instruction needed to close the identified postsecondary gaps (Element 4)
Use the following formula to draft your transition services:

“The ___(provider title) will provide…”

*Note the avoidance of generic terms like the team or the staff will provide…”

The team may include the facilitation of linkages to adult agencies, however, a team may not commit an agency to providing services without their participation and approval *Note that parental consent was required during step 1 in order to invite an outside agency to a meeting
Be specific and individualized; do not include what every student is receiving