Transition Plan?

Question

According to special education, what is a transition plan?

Answer 1

I worked in a special ed HS class as a para and I believe it refers to when the teen graduates.  Where will they be going next or what will they be doing.  Will they live at home?  Go to a home? Go on to another program to learn a work skill.  It is simply to assure that there is a plan for their future set in place.

Answer 2

Transition plans vary by state guidelines, but they do provide an overall plan for a child's adult life.  For a child entering college, a guidance counselor may assist the child in identifying the best colleges to meet say his needs in college.  For one entering the workforce, a referral to Vocational Rehabilitation may be mentioned.  For one entering a group home, a referral to those adult services would be mentioned.   Other statements or listings may refer to activities that need to be addressed.  Does the child with mental retardation need to learn to ride a city bus? What about the child with physical impairments... does he need to learn to navigate crowded hallways?  Can the child with autism go to McDonalds and order for himself?

Transition plans should look at the overall child, in addition to academic needs.   Generally they are much longer for children with mild to moderate mental retardation than other disabilities, but not always.  

As with other parts of the IEP, the school system must provide documentation of reasonable attempts to obtain the goal if a parent requests it.  Schools can not guarantee that the goals will be met and therefore we are not required to see that a kid obtains the goals.  Only that the goals were reasonable from the onset and we provided a reasonable amount of instructional opportunities to meet those goals.

Answer 3

The Individualized Transition Plan (ITP) is meant to help students that are 14 years of age and older transition from school to either post-secondary education, the workforce, or (for many severely handicapped students) life after high school.  

Goals for ITPs vary by student.  Hence, the "individualized" part.  I used to be a Transition Services Coordinator for a program called WorkAbility and goals could be something as simple as, "Student will ask for WorkAbility application from WorkAbility Counselor in Career Center."  Or complex as, "Student will complete 80 hours of job training in a subsidized placement with job coach support, as needed."   Many students have life skills incorporated into the ITP.   "Student will be able to make change from $5."  Each goal also has a date that it needs to be completed by.

Also, ITPs are considered legal documents and parents can sue if goals are not met in a timely manner.