Transition Services
Transition Information for Students
What is transition?
"Transition" refers to planning and services that are needed to prepare you, as a student with a disability, for moving smoothly from school to adult living, learning, or earning roles in the community after leaving high school. This process includes instruction, community learning experiences, or support services to develop skills, knowledge and abilities and other strategies to address post-school living, learning or working needs. It may also include assistance in making applications prior to leaving school for services from community agencies, colleges, or employment.
As you approach graduation, you should begin planning for your transition out of High School and into the workforce or into post-secondary education. This webpage contains general information about transition - what it means and how you can effectively plan for it - and specific information about agencies and services that are to help you with this process.
Does everyone need a transition plan?
In New York State, transition components are built into your Individualized Education Program (IEP) for special education, annual guidance plan for general education and/or Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) for vocational rehabilitation. All youth with disabilities, aged 14-21, must have transition components in their IEPs.
What should be on my IEP regarding transition?
Your Individualized Education Program (IEP) transition content will include assessment information regarding your skills, knowledge and abilities as these relate to readiness to transition successfully to postsecondary education, community living and employment. Needs for development of skills, knowledge and abilities should also be identified as transition service needs. Beginning at age 14 and updated each year, your IEP must include Long-Term Adult Outcome Statements expressed as your preferences and interests for post school participation in postsecondary education, community living and employment.
Who is responsible for transition?
The school district Committee on Special Education (CSE) has the legal responsibility to coordinate transition planning and provide transition services through your Individualized Education Program (IEP). However, schools also must have the active participation of students, families and community agencies in order to make the transition process effective and meaningful for individual students.
In regard to who has the final decision about what is actually written about transition on the IEP, all members of the CSE make the decisions. You, your family, and school personnel are expected to decide together what the transition services content will be. The success of the IEP depends on all parties working cooperatively to develop and implement the programs, services, and activities in the IEP.
What is the role of adult service agencies (VESID, CBVH, OMH, OMRDD) in transition planning?
Numerous adult service agencies are available for consulting with the Committee on Special Education (CSE) as appropriate and for helping districts design new services. Adult service agencies have extensive experience with adults who have made successful or unsuccessful transitions in the past. Adult agencies will provide individualized services directly to consumers who are found eligible for the specific service. One of the most important agencies that you should become familiar with is VESID (Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities). You should apply to VESID in your junior or senior year. If you are eligible, VESID's vocational rehabilitation program can help you to:
Plan for your career
Obtain job coaching
Get training to achieve your work goals
Find a job that matches your abilities, interests and needs, and
Work with your employer or college to make sure you receive reasonable accommodations when you need them.
For more information on VESID services, who is eligible, and why you should apply for them, follow this link.
I definitely want to go on to college. As a student with a disability, what do I need to know about services and supports at the college level?
More and more high school students with disabilities are planning to continue their education in postsecondary schools, including vocational and career schools, two- and four- year colleges, and universities. As a student with a disability, you need to be well informed about your rights and responsibilities as well as the responsibilities postsecondary schools have toward you. Being well informed will help ensure you have a full opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the postsecondary education experience without confusion or delay.
Students with disabilities who know their rights and responsibilities are much better equipped to succeed in postsecondary school. Work with the staff at your chosen post-secondary school because they, too, want you to succeed. Seek the support of family, friends and fellow students, including those with disabilities. Know your talents and capitalize on them, and believe in yourself as you embrace new challenges in your education.
Below you'll find answers about the rights and responsibilities of students with disabilities who are preparing to attend postsecondary schools as well as expanations about the obligations of a postsecondary school to provide academic adjustments, including auxiliary aids and services, to ensure the school does not discriminate against you on the basis of disability. At the bottom of the page, you'll find a file containing 'Effective College Planning' - this booklet is a fantastic resource that will give you even more information.
As a student with a disability leaving high school and entering postsecondary education, will I see differences in my rights and how they are addressed?
Yes. Unlike your high school, your postsecondary school is not required to provide a Free and Appropriate Education. Rather, your postsecondary school is required to provide appropriate academic adjustments as necessary to ensure that it does not discriminate on the basis of disability. In addition, if your postsecondary school provides housing to nondisabled students, it must provide comparable, convenient and accessible housing to students with disabilities at the same cost.
May a postsecondary school deny my admission because I have a disability?
No. If you meet the essential requirements for admission, a postsecondary school may not deny your admission simply because you have a disability.
Do I have to inform a postsecondary school that I have a disability?
No. However, if you want the school to provide an academic adjustment, you must identify yourself as having a disability. Likewise, you should let the school know about your disability if you want to ensure that you are assigned to accessible facilities. In any event, your disclosure of a disability is always voluntary. At the bottom of the page you'll find a workbook that may help you decide whether to disclose your disability and how to talk about it if you do. A file at the bottom of the page has a list of questions you may want to ask the disability coordinator at your chosen college.
What academic adjustments must a postsecondary school provide?
The appropriate academic adjustment must be determined based on your disability and individual needs. Academic adjustments may include auxiliary aids and modifications to academic requirements as are necessary to ensure equal educational opportunity. Examples of such adjustments are arranging for priority registration; reducing a course load; substituting one course for another; providing note takers, recording devices, sign language interpreters, extended time for testing and, if telephones are provided in dorm rooms, a TTY in your dorm room; and equipping school computers with screen-reading, voice recognition or other adaptive software or hardware.
In providing an academic adjustment, your postsecondary school is not required to lower or effect substantial modifications to essential requirements. For example, although your school may be required to provide extended testing time, it is not required to change the substantive content of the test. In addition, your postsecondary school does not have to make modifications that would fundamentally alter the nature of a service, program or activity or would result in undue financial or administrative burdens. Finally, your postsecondary school does not have to provide personal attendants, individually prescribed devices, readers for personal use or study, or other devices or services of a personal nature, such as tutoring and typing.
If I want an academic adjustment, what must I do?
You must inform the school that you have a disability and need an academic adjustment. Unlike your school district, your postsecondary school is not required to identify you as having a disability or assess your needs.
Your postsecondary school may require you to follow reasonable procedures to request an academic adjustment. You are responsible for knowing and following these procedures. Postsecondary schools usually include, in their publications providing general information, information on the procedures and contacts for requesting an academic adjustment. Such publications include recruitment materials, catalogs and student handbooks, and are often available on school Web sites. Many schools also have staff whose purpose is to assist students with disabilities. If you are unable to locate the procedures, ask a school official, such as an admissions officer or counselor.
When should I request an academic adjustment?
Although you may request an academic adjustment from your postsecondary school at any time, you should request it as early as possible. Some academic adjustments may take more time to provide than others. You should follow your school’s procedures to ensure that your school has enough time to review your request and provide an appropriate academic adjustment.
Do I have to prove that I have a disability to obtain an academic adjustment?
Generally, yes. Your school will probably require you to provide documentation that shows you have a current disability and need an academic adjustment.
What documentation should I provide?
Schools may set reasonable standards for documentation. Some schools require more documentation than others. They may require you to provide documentation prepared by an appropriate professional, such as a medical doctor, psychologist or other qualified diagnostician. The required documentation may include one or more of the following: a diagnosis of your current disability; the date of the diagnosis; how the diagnosis was reached; the credentials of the professional; how your disability affects a major life activity; and how the disability affects your academic performance. The documentation should provide enough information for you and your school to decide what is an appropriate academic adjustment.
Although an individualized education program (IEP) or Section 504 plan, if you have one, may help identify services that have been effective for you, it generally is not sufficient documentation. This is because postsecondary education presents different demands than high school education, and what you need to meet these new demands may be different. Also in some cases, the nature of a disability may change.
If the documentation that you have does not meet the postsecondary school’s requirements, a school official should tell you in a timely manner what additional documentation you need to provide. You may need a new evaluation in order to provide the required documentation.
Who has to pay for a new evaluation?
Neither your high school nor your postsecondary school is required to conduct or pay for a new evaluation to document your disability and need for an academic adjustment. This may mean that you have to pay or find funding to pay an appropriate professional for an evaluation. If you are eligible for services through your state vocational rehabilitation agency, you may qualify for an evaluation at no cost to you.
Once the school has received the necessary documentation from me, what should I expect?
The school will review your request in light of the essential requirements for the relevant program to help determine an appropriate academic adjustment. It is important to remember that the school is not required to lower or waive essential requirements. If you have requested a specific academic adjustment, the school may offer that academic adjustment or an alternative one if the alternative would also be effective. The school may also conduct its own evaluation of your disability and needs at its own expense.
You should expect your school to work with you in an interactive process to identify an appropriate academic adjustment. Unlike the experience you may have had in high school, however, do not expect your postsecondary school to invite your parents to participate in the process or to develop an IEP for you.
What if the academic adjustment we identified is not working?
Let the school know as soon as you become aware that the results are not what you expected. It may be too late to correct the problem if you wait until the course or activity is completed. You and your school should work together to resolve the problem.
May a postsecondary school charge me for providing an academic adjustment?
No. Furthermore, it may not charge students with disabilities more for participating in its programs or activities than it charges students who do not have disabilities.
What can I do if I believe the school is discriminating against me?
Practically every postsecondary school must have a person—frequently called the Section 504 Coordinator, ADA Coordinator, or Disability Services Coordinator—– who coordinates the school’s compliance with Section 504 or Title II or both laws. You may contact this person for information about how to address your concerns.
The school must also have grievance procedures. These procedures are not the same as the due process procedures with which you may be familiar from high school. However, the postsecondary school’s grievance procedures must include steps to ensure that you may raise your concerns fully and fairly and must provide for the prompt and equitable resolution of complaints.
School publications, such as student handbooks and catalogs, usually describe the steps you must take to start the grievance process. Often, schools have both formal and informal processes. If you decide to use a grievance process, you should be prepared to present all the reasons that support your request.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome from using the school’s grievance procedures or you wish to pursue an alternative to using the grievance procedures, you may file a complaint against the school with OCR or in a court. You may learn more about the OCR complaint process from the brochure How to File a Discrimination Complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, which you may obtain by contacting us at the addresses and phone numbers below, or at http://www.ed.gov/ocr/docs/howto.html.
Last but not Least...A few words about the importance of Self-Advocacy
Never forget - your involvement in the transition process is CRITICAL - after all, it's YOUR life! You can make meaningful contributions to the transition process by learning to be an effective self-advocate.
Becoming a self-advocate in high school will help you succeed in a job or in college. In college, you will be responsible for identifying and requesting support services. Parents aren't automatically involved with your college education, and most colleges prefer working directly with the student.
What is a self-advocate?
Self-advocates are those who:
make choices based on their preferences, beliefs, and abilities
take control and make decisions that impact the quality of their lives
take risks and assume responsibility for their actions
advocate on behalf of themselves and others
As a "self-advocate" you communicate your needs with logical and positive language. To be an effective self-advocate, you must understand your disability, know how it impacts your learning, and become comfortable with describing your disability and academic-related needs to others.
These practices will help you become a self-advocate:
Review your case file with your parents and Individual Education Plan (IEP) team (special education teacher, school psychologist) to better understand your disability and its effect on your learning. Ask for copies of your IEP and other assessment reports. Ask these questions:
What is my disability?
How does it affect how I learn?
What are my academic strengths?
How do I learn best?
What strategies can I use to help me learn?
Consider meeting with the doctor or school psychologist who performed your testing for the terms needed to explain your disability.
Take an active part in the discussions at your IEP meetings. Understanding your learning strengths and weaknesses gives you valuable knowledge that can influence your IEP planning and the services you may request in college, or accommodations you may request at work.
Before each IEP meeting:
Understand the purpose of the meeting.
Know who will be there and their role at the meeting.
Review the report from your last IEP meeting. Understand the goals listed on the report.
Practice saying how you accomplished the goals.
Establish new goals and be prepared to state them.
At the IEP meeting:
Summarize your past goals and accomplishments.
State your new goals.
Ask for ideas and feedback from other members.
Know what support and help you will need to accomplish your goals — and ask for it.
Ask questions if you don't understand.