What does transition planning from High School look like?

Special Education Transition Plans Issue

A special education transition plan aims to help your teen prepare for life following the end of high school and the end of special education services, and to assist them in transitioning to adulthood. It is a federal requirement for your child to have a transition plan at age 16, but many states require it earlier, so you will likely begin to work on your child’s transition plan in middle school or early high school. As your child grows, you can expect their transition plan to change and become more focused and detailed as they become closer to adulthood.

The IEP has a section for your child’s transition plan, often called Post-Secondary Goals or Transition Outcomes. These post-secondary goals are focused on three broad topics:

Education or training
Employment
Independent living

Each post-secondary goal needs to be specific and measurable. Below is an example for each of the three topics of what a post-secondary goal might look like for a student in 8th grade and then for the same student during their senior year of high school. You can see how these goals become more specific as the child matures.

When the child is younger, the plans for what they might do after graduation are often a bit vague as the student is considering lots of options. The objectives should come in high school with specific goals that the student can accomplish.

Sample Post-Secondary Goals Comparison of 8th grade to Senior Year of High School

Education/Training Post-Secondary Outcomes

8th grade<span class="codex-editor__fake-cursor" data-mutation-free="true"></span>	After graduating high school, student will attend advanced training in the field of auto repair.
Senior year of HS	After graduating from high school, student will enroll in the Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair Technician (ATMCA) program at Metro Tech.

Employment Post-Secondary Outcomes

8th grade	After graduating from high school, student will work in a repair shop.
Senior year of HS	After graduating from high school, student will work in an entry level automotive position.

Independent Living Post-Secondary Outcomes

8th grade	After graduating from high school, student will research three affordable housing options in their desired location.
Senior year of HS	After graduating from high school, student will live at the Metro Tech dormitory.

For each of these post-secondary goals, supporting IEP goals and services would be identified to help make the post-secondary goal a reality.

For the education/training example we have above, a supporting IEP goal could be something like “By March, the student will complete the ATMCA application to Metro Tech.”

Regarding IEP activities, an example could be that “The student will work with a transition/career specialist at school to locate the application materials and break down the tasks needed to complete the application to Metro Tech.”

As far as who is involved in this IEP goal to apply to the ATMCA program at Metro Tech, it would primarily include the student and the school transition/career specialist. However, the parents would also help encourage the student to apply to the ATMCA program.

IEP goals will be created to support each of your child’s education/training, employment and independent living post-secondary goals. Your child will likely have multiple post-secondary goals for each of the three different areas (education/training, employment, and independent living). All transition goals are written for one year after graduation, so they are not expected to be obtained by HS graduation. We have resources below with sample transition plans to help you better understand what they could look like for your child. Remember, your child’s transition plan is not just another part of their IEP, it's a crucial component that sets them up for a successful future. It's important that you talk with your child frequently about their future hopes and dreams and help them communicate these ideas to their resource teacher and during their IEP meetings to ensure that they are supported in making these dreams a reality.