Ken-Crest Centers
Administrative Office
502 West Germantown Pike, Suite 200
Plymouth Meeting, Pa 19462-1307

Phone: (610) 825-9360
Fax: (610) 825-4127
Web: www.kencrest.org
Email: kencrest@kencrest.org

NEW Transition IEP Forms Focus on Person-Centered Career Planning

Effective July 1, 2005, the new Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), has mandated important changes to the Transition Planning process. One significant change is the recommendation that transition planning begin by age 16 (rather than at age 14). In Pennsylvania, IEP forms will be revised, with the new forms being used by December 1, 2005. Annotated, revised IEP forms, including the Transition Planning component, (Section IV of the IEP form) can be downloaded from http://www.pattan.k12.pa.us/files/Forms/English/AnnIEP_072205.pdf.

Based on a presentation made by Michael Stoehr, Educational Consultant with PaTTAN, Pittsburgh at the Pennsylvania Statewide Community of Transition Conference this past July, the new IDEIA will affect PA students in these ways:

• Transition planning should be discussed at the IEP meeting just prior to the student's 16th birthday, rather than beginning at age 14. However, if parents wish to begin transition planning earlier, the IEP team must discuss the parents' concerns.

• The new IDEIA requires the IEP team to use person-centered planning and to look at the ABILITY of the student, not the disability.

• Students must be invited to participate in the IEP meeting. Best practice is to instruct the student about the IEP process prior to the meeting so he/she is prepared to participate in the meeting as much as is possible, with support as needed.

• Annual goals are to lead to post-school outcomes; progress must be measured and documented.

• Current academic and functional levels must be documented with data.
  

  • Both academic achievement and functional skills levels are to be presented in relation to where the student wants to go and what s/he wants to do after graduation -- how do we support this student with this set of need to reach his/her post-school goals?
    

• Members of the IEP team who cannot attend the meeting must submit a written progress report. Parents must agree to hold the meeting without that member being in attendance.

• Career planning should be supported by career surveys, interest surveys, and interviews with the student and family.

• If the school or family cannot provide needed support services to implement the transition plan, an adult provider agency may be designated to provide those supports while the student is still in school.

• THE DATE OF GRADUATION must be reviewed and agreed upon prior to the last year of high school.

• Section IV of the IEP is the Statement of Student's Transition Services
  

  • This documentation should include a multi-year plan, leading the student from high school to post-school outcomes under the Coordinated Set of Activities.

  • This coordinated set of activities, when maintained and built upon year-to-year becomes a comprehensive transition plan that provides information for the Summary of Performance as the student exits the educational program.
    

• Courses of study selected should support the post-secondary outcome.

• Adult service agencies that provide services to support youth and young adults with disabilities to be successful in their targeted post-school outcome(s) should be invited to the IEP.
  

Check the www.pattan.net Website for updates on the new IDEIA and changes to Transition Planning in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A side-by-side comparison of IDEA 1997 and IDEA 2004 is available at http://www.ncset.org/publications/related/ideatransition.asp.