WiTransition

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The following are frequently asked questions.

Who is the app for? Who designed it?

This app is intended to serve as a guide to Wisconsin students, family members, and educators during the transition planning process. It is based on the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act IDEA - https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/a/300.43. As a Wisconsin student with a disability who may be turning 14 years or older, or a family member of a transition age student, this app can help prepare for the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting where transition planning will be discussed and the Postsecondary Transition Plan (PTP) will be created. Individuals residing outside of Wisconsin may use this free app, but the information needed for transition plans in other states may be different.

This app was originally designed by the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, a non-profit organization. The app was adapted by the Transition Improvement Grant (TIG) staff and designed to meet transition planning needs in Wisconsin. The TIG is a discretionary grant of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (WDPI), designed to improve transition planning for students with disabilities in Wisconsin. For more information about TIG, please go to www.witig.org

What is a Postsecondary Transition Plan (PTP)?

A postsecondary transition plan, or PTP, helps the student move into adult life after high school. In Wisconsin, the school must develop a written PTP as part of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) when the student is age 13 turning 14, during the timeframe of their IEP and older. Having an effective PTP is important. It helps plan for the student's goals after high school so that the right services and supports needed will be obtained to meet the student's goals. A well written PTP can help achieve goals like getting a job, training for a job, living independently and going to college.

The PTP must be about the student's needs, wants, and goals. It should also include goals and timelines for IEP Team members to follow. This will help to make sure progress is being made towards the student's transition goals. Transition planning occurs as part of the IEP process within the PTP. Beginning at age 14 or younger, the student should be involved in discussing their transition planning wants and needs prior to the IEP team meeting. The IEP team writes the PTP during the IEP team meeting. The PTP is a legal part of the IEP and must be attached to the IEP the school sends to the student and family.

What is an Age Appropriate Transition Assessment?

The path towards success after graduation starts right here! Transition assessments help the student learn more about what they would like to do after high school for education or training, employment, and independent living. The assessments provide valuable information to help all IEP Team members understand the student’s preferences, interests, needs, and strengths. Assessments must include the student’s input, but may also include the student’s family, teachers, community members, and agencies the student might be working with. A transition assessment will help guide the IEP Team, including the student and family, to write measurable postsecondary goals.

The teacher may ask about the student’s goals after high school and what they are good at. A teacher might ask family members and other teachers about the student’s skills and interests or observe the student in school or employment settings to identify these. The student might complete a career assessment, or try a few different jobs or job shadows to see what their preferences, interests, needs and strengths are in different employment settings.

The Academic and Career Planning (ACP) process also helps students explore careers, develop personal, social, and career goals, and provide personalized learning through activities and experiences that can build lifelong learning skills. The ACP may be helpful and should be reviewed as part of the postsecondary transition planning process. Transition assessment results and the ACP together build strong foundations for transition planning.

A transition assessment must happen before the first IEP Team meeting in which transition is discussed and is a critical part of the transition planning process. The Postsecondary Transition Plan (PTP) must be based on at least one age-appropriate transition assessment. Results from transition assessments are the foundation of the student’s PTP!

What are Transition Services?

Transition services are a set of activities that take place while a student is still in high school. They are a part of the Postsecondary Transition Plan (PTP) that help prepare students for adult life in the areas of education, employment, and independent living. Types of transition services include: job exploration counseling, work-based learning experiences, counseling on postsecondary education opportunities, workplace readiness training, and instruction in self-advocacy.

Beginning the year a student turns 14, the IEP must explain the transition services needed for that student. A list of classes and supports the student needs to help prepare them to move to adult life must also be provided.

What is an outside agency?

An outside agency is an adult agency that will assign an employee to the student to help provide resources, services, and payment for transition services written in your Postsecondary Transition Plan (PTP). Often, the student needs to be found eligible for an outside agency to provide services, so it is important to work with the family and IEP team to find the agency supports needed.

What will change after high school?

After high school, the student has the right to reasonable accommodations at college and work under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A college or university may not discriminate against an individual solely based on disability. They must provide reasonable accommodations to the student's known disability. These accommodations must give the student an equal opportunity to participate in the school's programs, activities, and services. This includes everything from the classroom to extracurricular activities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act provide students with disabilities powerful protections from discrimination. For more information visit, https://www.ada.gov and/or https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/disability/jobaccommodations

A student must have a mental or physical impairment that:

* substantially limits one or more major life activities, or
* has a record of such impairment, or
* is regarded as having such impairment.

Below are a couple of examples of help a student may receive from a college:

* Free auxiliary aids (ex. taped texts, note takers, interpreters, closed captioning). http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/auxaids.html
* Modifications to participate and benefit from their education (ex. extra time, notes, specialized materials, audio books, special technology).
There are limitations to your rights in college. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act only applies to schools that receive federal funds. Some schools do not receive financial aid or federal funding. Colleges do not have to modify class content or academic standards if it fundamentally alters their program. This simply means that colleges are not required to reduce their standards for grading or degree requirements because of a person’s disability. Colleges can request adequate medical documentation from the student that proves the need for the requested help and the connection to the student’s disabilities.

The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) helps individuals with disabilities get accommodations on the job. As an employee the individual must be able to complete the job tasks expected on the job. However, if the individual needs assistance to complete the tasks, they can ask the employer for a job accommodation or a change in their job that will help them complete the job duties requested. An employer does not need to provide the individual with exactly what they want, but does need to provide the individual with some type of accommodation to meet their needs on the job.

How can a student be a self-advocate in transition planning?

The student should state what they want their goals to be and what they feel they need to meet those goals. Be clear. The only purpose of the IEP Team is to come up with an education program for the student. That means it is all about the student's needs. The student should give the IEP Team examples of what they are asking for and how it will help them.

Remember that teamwork can help the student ask for what they want. Build strong relationships with IEP Team members. The IEP Team members have a lot of educational knowledge. The student is the expert about themselves. The student and their family members know the student’s needs and goals best. The student should respect school staff, but not be afraid to say what they want for their life.

Special education has many professional terms. These terms can be confusing and scary to students and parents. The student should ask the IEP Team to explain any term they do not understand. Remember, no one on the IEP Team knows the student's needs, interests, likes, and goals better than the student and their family members.

Good transition planning requires the student and family to tell the IEP Team the student's long-term plans and goals after high school. The more the student shares their hopes and dreams with the IEP Team, the better their transition goal will be.

Transition meetings must focus on what the student wants to do. It is about the student's interests. The IEP Team must listen to the student. Students may find it difficult to tell their interests, dreams, and hopes for their future to the entire IEP Team. The family and student should work together to find the best way for the student to tell the IEP Team what they want and need in order to move to adult life.

Here are some ideas for a student to get points across to the IEP Team

* Complete the transition app. This provides the student with a written document. It is called the student’s "Draft Transition Plan." The student should then share this plan with their IEP Team. It contains their goals for education, training, employment and sometimes independent living after high school. It will detail recommended transition services to assist the student in reaching their goals. The student should ask for the services and things listed in the "Draft Transition Plan."
* Write down goals for adult life prior to the IEP Team meeting. Share these with the team.
* Ask family members to help tell the IEP Team the student's goals.
* Self-advocate. The student should speak up for themselves in the IEP Team meetings. Again, no one knows the student better than the student does. Start a Postsecondary Transition Plan (PTP)