Transition Tidbit #4: Writing Transition IEPs

1. Transition Tidbit #4:Writing Transition IEPs Alabama State Department of Education Special Education Services Transition Team

2. Recent “Transition Tidbits” have focused on planning for Transition IEP meetings and conducting the required transition assessments. This tidbit focuses on actually writing the draft of the IEP for a student who will be 16 during the IEP implementation dates or who will be in 9th Grade or higher.

3. Transition Assessments and Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance Long-term Postsecondary Transition Goals Annual Transition Goals Transition Activities Persons/Agency(s) Involved Transition Services The Flow of the Transition IEP

4. What makes a good Transition IEP? • Adequate, appropriate transition information for all three areas: Postsecondary Education/Training, Employment/Occupation/Career, and Community/Independent Living. • Age-appropriate transition assessments informs a well-written present level of academic achievement and functional performance. • Appropriate long-term goals are identified. • Annual goals are based upon Alabama’s Transition Standards. • Activities are developed. • Person(s) involved are designated to fulfill responsibility of goal. • Finally, transition services that address the individual needs of the student are developed. Appropriate transition services help drive the student’s course of study and address post-school goals.

5. Writing Transition Information into the Profile Transition information may be documented within two sections of the first page of the Profile: • Student Preferences and/or Interests section, and • Results of the Most Recent Evaluations section On the second page of the Profile, the Special Instructional Factor that states, “Are transition services addressed in this IEP?” should be marked “yes” as well. Within the Student Preferences and/or Interests section, the IEP Team should include information obtained from the parent, student, teachers and other professionals about the student’s preferences and interests as it relates to his/her post-school goals. Information should be based on the data collected from the assessments conducted prior to developing the IEP. Transition assessment data, the “thread” that binds a Transition IEP together, should be documented on the Profile.

6. The Transition Page On this page, the IEP Team should do the following: • Document the student was invited to the IEP meeting, notating the date and method. • If applicable, after receiving parental consent, document that an outside agency was invited to the meeting. • Document what types of transition assessments were given. • List the specific transition assessments that were administered and the date of the assessment. Be sure at least two different assessments were given. • Select the long-term transition goals from the pick-lists for each goal: Postsecondary Education/Training, Employment/Occupation/Career, and Community/Independent Living. • Identify the pathway towards the Alabama High School Diploma (AHSD). • Document under the appropriate pathway credits to be earned, including the number of elective credits.

7. The Annual Transition Goal Page • Tips for writing the Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP): • Describe the student’s strengths, preferences, interests, and needs as they relate to postsecondary goals. • Describe the information obtained from the appropriate transition assessments. • State the information in a readily understandable way. • Provide a direct relationship between the PLAAFP and other transition components of the IEP. • Describe how the student’s disability affects the student’s participation in transition.

8. Identify Barriers to Long-Term Goals and Develop Appropriate Goals and Transition Activities In order to write annual transition goals that are individualized to the student, we must look at the long-terms goals that have been selected, and then identify the barriers the student’s disability will impose. Annual transition goals, activities and services should help address those barriers. Example: A student plans to pursue employment after high school but lacks pre-employment job-seeking skills necessary to successfully apply for and maintain a job. The lack of pre-employment skills is a barrier to successful employment. An annual transition goal should address this barrier, such as in this example: By the end of the school year, given a fictitious job posting, Joe Bob will complete a mock job application process, including a mock interview, with 90% accuracy based on a scoring rubric. (TS.OC.11.3.A) Activities: 1. Develop a résumé. 2. Complete a job application. 3. Write a letter of application. 4. Participate in a mock job interview.

9. Identify Barriers to Long-Term Goals and Develop Appropriate Goals and Transition Activities, continued For each postsecondary goal area, there must be an annual transition goal(s) included in the IEP that will help the student make progress towards the stated postsecondary goals. When developing these goals, ask yourself the following questions: • What skills and knowledge must the student attain this academic year to overcome the identified barriers? • What activities can be developed to support the student’s attainment of those identified skills and knowledge? • Who will be involved in completing the activities that lead to the attainment of the annual goal?

10. Writing Measurable Transition Goals that Reference the Alabama Transition Standards This formula can guide you in writing measurable annual transition goals, and components can be rearranged within goal.

11. Developing Transition Activities for Postsecondary Annual Transition Goals • Examples of Transition Activities • Postsecondary Education • Research colleges that offer identified major. • Employment • Participate in community-based work training. • Community Living • Prepare and develop a budget. Transition Activities are: • Designed to lead the student to goal completion. • Are “checkpoints” along the path towards mastery. • Are actions, and therefore should begin with an action verb.

12. Determine the Services Necessary to Accomplish the Postsecondary Annual Transition Goal When determining what services are needed, ask the following questions: • What is the specially-designed instruction for transition? • How will the content, methodology, and/or delivery of instruction be adapted to meet the student’s unique needs? • How much time will be required? • Where will the specially-designed instruction take place?

13. Special Education and Related Services on a Transition IEP – Tips for Services For Special Education under Transition: • Describe the specially-designed instruction in detail. • Decide how often the service will be provided. • Determine the beginning/ending duration dates for the service. • Determine the location. For Related Services: • Determine if there are any related services that would assist the student in meeting the identified Annual Transition Goals.

14. For further information, contact: Alabama State Department of Education Special Education Services 334-694-4782 Remember: IEPs are individualized to meet the unique needs of each student. Transition services should be different from what is provided to all students, with and without disabilities. Transition goals and services should be based upon data from age-appropriate transition assessments.