Post high-school IEP's

Elise

Active Member
A few posts yesterday left me thinking what exactly do schools provide for kids with IEP’s after high school? I’m assuming there is some sort of job and living skills training.

Is it the IEP team’s choice whether to continue school services after high school? Some Special Education kids in post high school programs are there at the parents expense and some at the schools expense, who decides funding?

Just thinking out loud.

Elise
 
Here, a child can attend public school until they are 22, unless they have graduated from high school. After high school graduation, we do have transition programs available, which do include help finding a vocational program.
 

slsh

member since 1999
Elise,

The transition planning actually starts at age 14 - a "page 6" is completed for the year your kid will turn 14, and it states what post HS plans are, living situation (group home, supported living, etc), jobs, leisure and recreation activities, the child's likes and dislikes, what supports the child will need (personal care attendant)etc. I've been researching it alot for Boo, and by age 16 there's also supposed to be an indication of what state agencies will be involved/providing funding.

Our kids are eligible for school services to age 21 *or* until they complete a HS diploma.

Part of the page 6 is also identifying what skills your kid will need in order to work, live. Does he need vocational ed skills? Life skills? That is actually part of the HS curriculum then.

I won't discuss how my reg ed HS district handles it (sore point, lol :wink: ), but in our Special Education cooperative they get the kids involved in various sheltered workshops, training programs around age 16. I just talked with- the transition specialist yesterday for Boo and there's apparently a new program sponsored by UCP that is a very high tech program to give the most severely involved kiddos real job skills.

We did thank you's first page 6 this year - kind of funny in a warped way - post high school plans range from college (which is possible) to totally supported living (another possibility). I bit my tongue and didn't suggest incarceration. :wink: Since he'll be starting HS on his next IEP, I will be making sure that there are some very specific life skills IEP goals (sorry - IEP goals are written for every transition skill that is needed) for shopping, bill paying... all the nuts and bolts that he should be learning at home but can't since he's not here. Job training is, in my humble opinion, an important goal - how to apply for a job, how to hold one, etc.

Hope this makes sense - HMJ hasn't kicked in yet.
 

Sheila

Moderator
Sd's are responsible for transition services through until a student turns 22 unless the student graduated at an earlier date with a regular diploma. In other words, even if a student graduated with-IEP notations, the sd remains responsible for providing transition services.

"(b) Transition services. The IEP must include—

(1) For each student with a disability beginning at age 14 (or younger, if determined appropriate by the IEP team), and updated annually, a statement of the transition service needs of the student under the applicable components of the student's IEP that focuses on the student's courses of study (such as participation in advanced-placement courses or a vocational education program); and

(2) For each student beginning at age 16 (or younger, if determined appropriate by the IEP team), a statement of needed transition services for the student, including, if appropriate, a statement of the interagency responsibilities or any needed linkages."

The Fed regs are at https://web.archive.org/web/2004063...apractices.org/law/regulations/topicIndex.php
 

Fran

Former desparate mom
Elise, I don't know if you read the bit I posted yesterday about transition.

There are the laws and then there is a need for us(the team) to really understand what our kids need. My difficult child surpassed many of the goals of Special Education. He could drive, he worked well in a supervised work/study program. He was working on life skills. What did he need?
The process was a little 2 dimensional for me. It was to provide some working income and life skills on a very basic level.

The s.d. was very clear that once difficult child graduated from h.s. that they were no longer responsible for him. It made sense to me until I met students in NY who had not graduated and the s.d. paid the academic part of their tuition at post h.s. education.
I couldn't have skipped graduation to save my life. It was the high point of difficult child and my life.

It was a balancing act for me.

Hopefully, you will have a better head start on what your difficult child needs in transition. I was sort of stumbling as I went along.

I'll never regret letting him graduate. It wasn't smart but it was rewarding.
 

Sheila

Moderator
Some school districts take "liberties" when interpreting the regs. I sometimes wonder how some of the gatekeepers sleep at night.

4. Graduation with a Regular Diploma

Neither the old nor revised IDEA speaks directly to the issue of students with disabilities graduating with a regular high school diploma. However, the 1997 Amendments placed greater emphasis on involvement of disabled students in the general curriculum and in State and district-wide assessment programs.

The final regulations incorporate the Department's long-standing policy position clarifying that:

*Graduation from high school with a regular diploma is considered a change in placement requiring written prior notice;

*A student's right to FAPE is terminated upon graduation with a regular high school diploma (The statutory requirement for reevaluation before a change in a student'Œs eligibility does not apply.); and,

*A student's right to FAPE is not terminated by any other kind of graduation certificate or diploma.

This url has some transition basics. http://www.thearc.org/what-we-do/public-policy/policy-issues/education


You might want to Invoice difficult child's school district for college tuition, Fran. (Gosh, I'd love to be a fly on the wall when they get stuff like that!
 

mose

New Member
In new york state they have something called
"VESID"
Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities

http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/do/transition.htm

I do not know how it works in other states but in New York, my daughter who had an IEP in High School was automatically referred to Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities from her school for an appointment.

The VESID office facilitates job training, education and life long job placement.
Some of the kids in Fran's son school could be under VESID if they are being trained for job skills.
 

Elise

Active Member
There was an interesting news story around Chicago this year when a Downs Syndrome girl wanted to attend her high school graduation. She needed the post-high school job training the school offered so she was asking the school to give her a "certificate of completion" rather than a diploma at the ceremony. The school refused, (although the article said this is what most schools in the area do). The parents contacted the newspaper and of course under pressure the school relented. The girl attended the ceremony and looked like every other graduate. Yeah!

So my next question is what is required of a kid with an IEP to get a regular high school diploma?

I appreciate the info you've given me, I'm trying to absorb it all.

Elise
 

mose

New Member
Elise
I am sure the others know better. I would think it depends on the graduation criteria in your state.
My daughter got a regular high school diploma because she was able to pass the statewide tests for a regular diploma.
If she got the certificate of graduation, she was still able to use that to enter college.
It did not seem to matter either way.

mose
 

Sheila

Moderator
Check your state regs on requirements for graduation with-a regular diploma. I would guess that IEP students would have to meet the course requirements plus pass any Exit Exam.

There are a lot of considerations that must be factored into designing IEP's, but if a student is capable of the work, IEP's should be designed for grade level equivalency. https://web.archive.org/web/20050210043258/http://www.reedmartin.com/gradelevel.htm

Because of NCLB, it's getting to be quite common for sds to want to exempt Special Education students from high-stakes testing. While Exemption is appropriate for a portion of the students, it's not the case across the board. Parents need to keep in mind that agreeing to exemption lets the school off the hook to really individual instruction. Most school district's have sp ed "models," e.g., choose this program or that one with-a pull-out. There's way too many students in situations such 9th grade, but reading on a 3rd grade level or math skills are at a 4th grade level.

Another option for some students would be to have them attend a private school the last year or two, and graduate from the private school.
 

Elise

Active Member
I have read every single link and now have a better understanding about Transition services.

Thank you Sue, Alisha, Mose, Fran and typical teen.

I don't think difficult child will need much in the way of transition services after high school but it's good to be prepared. His school offers programs until age 22, but they have already told me they don't think he will required their intensive program for long.

difficult child is at grade level. I had no idea that a kid with an IEP could get a regular diploma. Sue, if you know IL rules on getting a regular diploma, please let me know. I couldn't find it in the great links to gave me, (although I'm sure it's there somewhere).

Elise
 

slsh

member since 1999
Phew - took me an hour to find this, but here is the state statute on minimum graduation requirments (look on page 70 and 71).

http://www.isbe.net/rules/archive/pdfs/ONEARK.pdf

I'd check out your local HS district's homepage to see what their specific graduation requirements are - the state statute is just the minimum and districts can require additional stuff.

Just FYI, and bear in mind I'm dealing with- the HS district from you-know-where, our district *only* gives out regular HS diplomas. I wonder what the heck it's based on since Boo isn't given the opportunity to take *any* of the required classes, LOL.

Sue - rapidly running out of space for bookmarks!!!! :wink:
 

Elise

Active Member
Thank you so much, Sue.


Sue, I can't believe you spent an hour just to to find grad. req. for me.

I owe you big time. The info was very helpful and I found more sp. ed. info in our District high school web site. I don't know why I never thought to look there.

Elise
 
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