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The Transition Planning Process
Renée Cameto, National Center on
Secondary Education and Transition, Reports from the National
Longitudinal Transition Study, April 2005, Vol. 4, Issue 1
The transition from school to young
adulthood can present challenges for youth served by special
education, but the transition period also entails opportunities
for educators and practitioners to provide young people with
experiences that lead to success. In the two decades since
transition planning entered the special education lexicon,
changes in service delivery have helped shape the implementation
of the transition planning process in schools for students with
disabilities (National Center on Secondary Education and
Transition, 2004). One outcome of the transition requirements
included in IDEA ’97 has been to focus attention on how
students’ educational programs can be planned to help them
achieve their goals for life after secondary school and how
postschool services can be identified that will promote
students’ successful movement from school to young adulthood.
This NLTS2 Data Brief provides a national view of the transition
planning process undertaken during high school with and for
youth with disabilities as they prepare for life after school.
Information reported here comes from a mail survey of school
personnel who knew the 2001-02 school programs of study members
well. Findings from NLTS2 generalize
to youth with disabilities nationally who were 13 to 16 years
old in December 2000, to each of 12 federal disability
categories, and to each age group within the age range.
School staff report that planning
for the transition to adult life occurs for almost 90% of
students with disabilities. The percentages of students for whom
this planning has taken place increases steadily across the age
range, from 75% of 14-year-olds to 96% of 17- and 18-year-olds.
Among students with disabilities who have transition planning in
place, about two-thirds begin the process by age 14
whereas 20% do so when they are 15 years old and 14% when
they are 16 or older.
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Students’ Transition Goals
Students with disabilities
have postschool goals that are similar to those of other
young adults, including continuing education and training,
attaining employment, enhancing social competencies, and
increasing independence. According to school staff, more
than 45% look forward to attending 2- or 4-year college, and
40% plan on postsecondary vocational training (Exhibit 1).
About half of students with disabilities have competitive
employment as a primary transition goal; small proportions
of students are working toward supported (8%) or sheltered
employment (5%). The school programs of many students with
disabilities reflect their goals; school staff report that
about three-fourths of students with disabilities have IEPs
or transition plans that specify a course of study or kinds
of classes that will help them meet their postschool goals.
In addition to academic or vocational aspirations, living
independently is a transition goal for half of students with
disabilities, with about one in five students working toward
maximizing their functional independence and one in four
working on enhancing their social or interpersonal
relationships.
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Participants in Transition
Planning
Effective transition
planning is characterized by the consistent involvement and
participation of appropriate individuals, including parents
and students, together with regular and special education
personnel and others from agencies outside the school (Hasazi,
Furney, & DeStefano, 1999; Johnson & Sharpe, 2000; National
Council on Disability, 2000, NICHCY, 2000).
Virtually all students with
disabilities with transition planning (97%) have a special
educator actively involved in that process, and 85% have
parents who participate (Exhibit 2). All but about 6% of
these students participate in the process in some way,
although only about 70% do so actively by providing input
(58%) or by taking a leadership role (12%).
A variety of other
individuals participate in the transition planning process,
including general education academic and vocational
teachers, other school staff, and representatives from
outside organizations. About 60% of students have a general
education academic teacher who is actively involved in
transition planning, even though about 70% take general
education classes in a given semester. General education
teachers are significantly more likely to participate
actively in transition planning for students who have 2- or
4-year college as a postschool goal than for students who do
not have a college goal (67% vs. 49%). Fewer general
education vocational teachers are actively involved (32%),
although 43% of students with disabilities take general
education vocational classes in a given semester (Cameto &
Wagner, 2003).
General education vocational
teachers are significantly more likely to participate
actively in transition planning when students plan to attend
a postsecondary vocational training program than when they
do not (40% vs. 27%). They also are actively involved in
transition planning for significantly larger proportions of
17- and 18-year-old students than for younger students (40%
vs. 20% for 14-year-olds); this finding is not surprising,
given that vocational education course-taking increases
significantly across the grade levels (from 55% of middle
school students to 68% of high school juniors and seniors [Cameto
& Wagner, 2003]).
School counselors and school
administrators are actively involved in transition planning
for 61% and 56% of students with disabilities, respectively.
The active involvement of school administrators is more
likely for older students (63% among 17- and 18-year-olds
vs. 44% among 15-year-olds).
Related service personnel
are less likely than other school personnel to be actively
involved in transition planning. Eighteen percent of
students have related services personnel participate in
their transition planning, although parents of 59% of
students with disabilities report the receipt of related
services from their schools (Levine, Marder, & Wagner,
2004). However, when students’ postschool goals include
obtaining supported or sheltered employment, maximizing
functional independence, or improving social and
interpersonal skills, related service personnel are more
likely to participate actively in transition planning than
when students do not have these goals. For example, 43% of
students with a postschool goal of obtaining supported
employment have related services personnel actively
participate in their transition planning, whereas those
personnel participate in planning for only 16% of students
who do not have this goal.
According to school staff,
the frequency of participation in transition planning of
personnel from organizations outside the school is much
lower than that of school staff; but, among the
organizations that could be involved in transition planning,
students are more likely to have the involvement of a
vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselor (14%) than
personnel from any other single type of outside
organization. Students with goals of obtaining sheltered
employment or maximizing functional independence are twice
as likely as students who do not have these goals to have a
VR counselor participate actively in their transition
planning (28% vs. 14%). Students with goals of obtaining
supported or sheltered employment, maximizing functional
independence, or enhancing social and interpersonal
relationships also are more likely to have the active
participation of personnel from an outside organization
(e.g., a social service agency or advocate) than students
who do not have these transition goals. The likelihood of
participation by staff from outside organizations increases
for older students as they approach the time of transition
to adult life. Fewer than 1 in 10 students up to age 16 are
reported to have a VR counselor actively involved in
transition planning, compared with 1 in 4 students who are
17 or 18 years old.
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Transition Preparation and
Supports
Transition planning involves
identifying measurable postsecondary goals, transition
services, and a course of study that will help students
achieve those transition goals. Students with disabilities
can receive further assistance through instruction that
focuses on transition planning skills; such instruction can
help students understand their interests and abilities and
make informed decisions about their future.
Course of study and
instruction in transition planning. According to
school staff, about three-fourths of students with
disabilities have IEPs or transition plans that specify the
course of study or kinds of classes they should pursue to
meet their postschool transition goals (Exhibit 3). Almost
two-thirds of students are reported to have received
instruction in transition planning skills. However, older
students are more likely than younger students to have
participated in this type of instruction, despite the fact
that most students begin transition planning by age 14.
About half of 14- and 15-year-old students (48% and 54%,
respectively) have received instruction in transition
planning, compared with 76% of 17- and 18-year-olds.
Postschool service
needs. About three-fourths of students with
disabilities have needs for postschool services identified
as part of their transition planning (Exhibit 3). Two types
of services predominate: accommodations to help in the
pursuit of postsecondary education and vocational services
to help in securing employment. Almost half of students have
a need for postsecondary education accommodations specified
in their transition plans, whereas the transition plans of
38% of students with disabilities specify vocational
training, job placement, or support services as postschool
needs. Other types of services are reported for about 5% of
students; those services include mental health, social, and
transportation services; behavioral interventions; and
supported living arrangements. More specialized services,
such as occupational or physical therapy, are reported for
even fewer students. Older students (i.e., 17- and
18-year-olds) are more likely to have post-high-school
service needs identified in their transition plans (81%)
than their 14-year-old peers (63%).
The types of postschool
service needs identified during transition planning reflect
students’ postschool goals. Two-thirds of students planning
to attend college have postsecondary education
accommodations specified as a needed service, compared with
fewer than one-third of students who do not have college as
a transition goal. Similarly, the need for these
accommodations is more commonly specified for students who
plan to attend vocational school than for students who do
not (56% vs. 42%). Students with an independent living goal
are more likely than students who do not have this goal to
have vocational service needs identified (44% vs. 32%).
Students with postschool
goals that include supported or sheltered employment,
maximized functional independence, or enhanced social and
interpersonal relationships have multiple needed postschool
services identified as part of their transition plans. These
students are more likely than students who do not have these
goals to have transition plans that specify postschool needs
for vocational training, job placement, or support;
supported living arrangements; behavioral interventions; or
mental health, social, speech/communication, and
transportation services.
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School Contacts with
Service Providers and Organizations on Behalf of
Transitioning Students with Disabilities
Educational best practice
suggests that “effective transition planning and service
depend upon functional linkages among schools,
rehabilitation services, and other human service and
community agencies” (National Center on Secondary Education
and Transition, 2004). Coordination and collaboration
between schools and service agencies that may provide
services to youth with disabilities as they transition into
the adult world can be a critical element in helping youth
access those services and making their entry into adult life
a more positive experience.
The percentages of students
for whom schools make contacts with organizations or service
providers regarding programs or employment for students with
disabilities when they leave high school range from fewer
than 5% to almost 40%, depending on the type of
agency/program (Exhibit 4).
The state VR agency is the
organization contacted for the most students (38%). Contacts
with colleges and vocational schools are equally likely; 24%
of students with disabilities have contacts made on their
behalf with each kind of institution. Schools contact a
variety of employment organizations, including sheltered
employment programs (for 7% of students), supported
employment programs (14%), other vocational training
programs (26%), and job placement agencies (24%). Employers
and the military are contacted for 20% and 15% of students,
respectively. With the exception of VR agencies, school
staff initiate contacts with individual adult service
agencies for fewer than one in five students.
Contacts with certain types
of agencies or organizations are more likely to occur for
students age 16 or older, consistent with the IDEA ’97
requirement for identifying postschool service needs and
related interagency involvement, if appropriate.
Postsecondary education and training institutions are more
likely to be contacted for high school students preparing to
leave school than those beginning high school; 38% of 17-
and 18-year-old students have had colleges contacted on
their behalf, and 32% have had vocational schools contacted,
compared with 6% and 4% of 14-year-old students,
respectively. All types of employment or job training
programs are contacted significantly more often for older
than younger students. By the time students with
disabilities are 17 or 18 years old, more than half (56%)
are reported to have had the state VR agency contacted by
their school on their behalf, compared with 16% of
15-year-olds. The likelihood of schools’ contacting any
other social services on students’ behalf also increases,
from 9% of 15-year-olds to 26% of 17- and 18-year-olds.
The type of agency or
organization contacted on behalf of students relates to the
postschool service needs identified in the transition
planning process, which in turn reflect their goals.
Students who will need postsecondary education
accommodations are more likely to have teachers contact 2-
or 4-year colleges or vocational schools than students who
have not had such accommodations specified (35% vs. 10% for
colleges and 31% vs. 17% for vocational schools). Students
with postschool vocational service needs identified are more
likely than students who do not have such needs to have a
variety of agencies or organizations contacted on their
behalf, including job placement agencies, the state VR
agency, vocational training programs, employers, and
supported or sheltered employment programs.
Students who need supported
living arrangements after high school are more likely than
those without this need to have their schools contact mental
health services or sheltered employment providers,
supervised residential programs, or adult day programs. The
schools of students for whom postschool behavioral
intervention and mental health service needs are specified
are more likely to contact mental health agencies on the
students’ behalf than they are for students without these
needs specified (45% vs. 8% and 75% vs. 6%, respectively).
Interestingly, schools also are more likely to contact
supported or sheltered employment programs or employers for
students with behavioral intervention or mental health
services identified than they are for students who do not
have these needs identified.
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Informing Parents of
Postschool Service Options
An important part of the
school’s role in assisting the transition of students with
disabilities to adult life is informing parents about the
services related to a student’s disability that are
available after high school. As students approach the
transition years, parents more actively seek information on
a variety of topics to support their adolescent and young
adult children in transition, including postsecondary and
employment options, financial planning, Medicaid, and VR
(PACER, 2001).
According to school staff,
schools provide increasing percentages of parents with
information as students prepare to leave high school
(Exhibit 5). For example, parents of about one-third of
students who are 15 years old are provided information about
postschool services and programs, compared with parents of
about three-fourths of students who are 17 or 18 years old.
However, school staff report that information about
students’ postschool services has not yet been provided to
parents of about one in four students who are 17 or 18 years
old.
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Conclusion
NLTS2 provides a national
picture of the transition planning process in schools today.
There is variability in the extent to which the expectations for
the transition planning process, which are embedded in law,
regulation, and best practice, are being met for all
secondary-school-age students with disabilities. Further, the
transition planning process appears to develop over time and is
more fully articulated for older students as they near their
move from school to adult life. In the coming years, NLTS2 will
address the question of whether differences in students’
transition planning relate to their achievements in
postsecondary education, employment, and independence during
early adulthood.
References
Cameto, R., & Wagner, M. (2003).
Vocational education courses and services. In M. Wagner, L.
Newman, R. Cameto, P. Levine, & C. Marder,
Going to
school: Instructional contexts, programs, and participation of
secondary school students with disabilities. A report from the
National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2)
Menlo Park, CA: SRI International. Available at
http://www.nlts2.org/pdfs/goschool_ch7.pdf
Hasazi, S. B., Furney, K. S., &
DeStefano, L. (1999). Implementing the IDEA transition mandates.
Exceptional Children, 65(4), 555-566.
Johnson, D. R., & Sharpe, M. N.
(2000). Results of a national survey on the implementation of
transition service requirements of IDEA. Journal of Special
Education Leadership, 13, 15-26.
Levine, P., Marder, C., &
Wagner, M. (2004).
Services and supports for secondary school students with
disabilities. A special topic report of findings from the
National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2)
Menlo Park, CA: SRI International. Available at
http://www.nlts2.org/pdfs/servicesupport_completereport.pdf
National Center on Secondary
Education and Transition. (2004).
Current challenges facing the future of secondary education and
transition services for youth with disabilities in the United
States Retrieved April 28, 2005, from http://www.ncset.org/publications/discussionpaper/
National Council on Disability.
(2000). Back to school on civil rights. Washington, DC:
Author.
National Information Center for
Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY). (2000, January).
Questions and answers about IDEA. News Digest, ND21,
2nd Edition.
PACER. (2001).
Technical
assistance on transition and the Rehabilitation Act: A survey of
federally funded parent centers
Retrieved April 28, 2005, from
http://www.pacer.org/tatra/survey.pdf.
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