Our Mission Statement The District Office of Transition
Services is committed to empowering all students with
disabilities, beginning at age 14, with the skills necessary
to achieve their full potential in adult living, through
support and collaboration
with families, schools and communities.
Transition IEP & Parents
How are Transition Services determined for each student?
The IDEA mandates that transition services be addressed for all students with
disabilities, and as such, transition planning must be part of the
individualized education program (IEP) meeting held annually for each student.
The IEP is developed in a team meeting in which all members of the IEP team
decide what transition services should be included in the student's IEP. The
specific needs of the student for post-secondary services should determine who
is invited to the IEP meeting. As the student approaches graduation,
representatives of community agencies and organizations that provide adult
services should be invited to the meeting The student should always be included
as part of the team. Some students may even be able to chair their IEP meeting,
especially those who have been prepared to take the lead (Wehmeyer &
Kelchner, 1997).
What happens to the IEP process when the student reaches the age of majority?
When a student reaches the age of majority (age 18 in most states), the state
may provide that all rights accorded to the parents under Part B of the IDEA
will transfer to the student, with the exception of the right to notice which is
both retained by the parents and transfers to the student. Beginning at least
one year before the student reaches the age of majority, the IEP must include a
statement that the student has been informed of those rights under the IDEA, if
any, that will transfer to the student on reaching the age of majority. The
school district must notify the student and the parent of the transfer of rights
one year prior to the age of majority.
These requirements do not apply to students who have been determined to be
legally incompetent under state law. If the state has a legal means to determine
if a child who has not been legally determined to be incompetent is not able to
provide informed consent, that state may establish procedures for appointing a
parent or other person to represent the educational interests of the student.
The regulations clarify this to apply only if the state has additional laws and
procedures that allow for a lesser determination of competency for specific
purposes. Like the guardianship procedure, however, these "lesser determinations
of competency" are legal processes leading to some legal judgment about the
individual's capacity to provide informed consent.
