How to Read an IEP: New York
Understanding Extended School Year & Transition Services and Planning
New York IEP Guide: Transition Services and Plan
What are transition services and plans?
This is the part of the IEP where the team discusses the student’s plan for transitioning from high school into higher education or employment. Generally, this section is either blank or missing entirely from IEPs for younger students but, beginning at age 16, it is a required part of students’ IEPs and will appear in all high school students’ IEPs. In this section, the team has to list what the student’s goals are for after high school, how they will get there, and any transition specific services they need. It also often includes the courses a student will take throughout high school, with a list of the courses they expect to take each year and how many credits they need for graduation.
Where in the IEP are transition services and plans found?
Varies widely! You might not even see it in younger students’ IEPs. It is always labeled transition but can be literally anywhere in an IEP.
How does transition planning vary across states and districts?
So much! The placement can vary and how the questions are phrased– and whether it appears on younger students’ IEPs at all. All districts will have both evidence of transition assessments and goals for older students, but the phrasing of them can vary a lot!
This IEP comes from the Rochester City School District. See the full IEP here.
TRANSITION NEEDS
IN CONSIDERATION OF PRESENT LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE, TRANSITION SERVICE NEEDS OF THE STUDENT THAT FOCUS ON THE STUDENT’S COURSES OF STUDY, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE STUDENT’S STRENGTHS, PREFERENCES AND INTERESTS AS THEY RELATE TO TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL TO POST-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES:
Transition Needs relate to the student’s needs to be addressed with the support of the school in order to achieve MPSGs
Must align to post secondary goals—consider skills related to self-determination, advocacy or academic areas
Can make bulleted list of needs for this section
Course of study statement is narrative
Should contain diploma student is going to achieve (must match with transcript section & with participation in state/local assessments)
Should contain instruction related to post secondary goals
This will help you to determine Coordinated Set of Activities (and Annual Goals) needed for the coming year
“Currently, (student’s name) is able to do (fill in what she can do in relation to the skills needed for his/her future goal(s) as specific as possible) but will need to work on ____________ (fill in what she needs to work on in detail) in order to be successful as a ____________.”
New York State Education Department IEP Form
“The student will need to develop skills in the area of ______________ in order to be successful in a training program or job.”
“As an employee in any career field, the student will need to develop skills in ______________ (identify skills the student needs to continue to develop as it relates to the disability) in order to be successful in achieving post-secondary goals.”
CITATION IIA:
The IEP includes a statement of the transition service needs of the student that focuses on the student’s courses of study such as participation in advanced placement courses or a vocational education program.
“(Student’s name) will be enrolled in ______________________ which will help provide the foundation skills necessary to become a ____________.”
“(Student’s name) should consider courses such as __________________ to support needs in the area of ___________________.”
“(Student’s name) will continue to take Regent’s level classes to gain skills necessary for going to college.”
COORDINATED SET OF TRANSITION ACTIVITIES
NEEDED ACTIVITIES TO FACILITATE THE STUDENT’S MOVEMENT FROM SCHOOL TO POST-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
| SERVICE/ACTIVITY | SCHOOL DISTRICT / AGENCY RESPONSIBLE |
INSTRUCTION
Identify instruction student will be getting THIS YEAR (the year the IEP is in effect) to support achievement of MPSGs
MUST list activities for this one
DO NOT USE DROP DOWN STATEMENTS
“Student will be provided the opportunity to…”
List courses as related to MPSGs
Can be bulleted statements
CITATION IIIc:
The IEP includes needed activities to facilitate the student’s movement from school to post-school activities.
MUST list district and role (not name) of person responsible
CITATION IIIc:
The IEP includes a statement of the responsibilities of the school district and, when applicable, participating agencies for the provision of such services and activities that promote movement from school to post-school opportunities or both, before the student leaves the school setting.
CITATION IIId:
To the extent appropriate and with parental consent or the consent of a student who is 18 years of age or older, the school district must invite a representative of any participating agency that is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services. If an agency invited to send a representative to a meeting does not do so, the district should take steps to involve the other agency in the planning of any transition services.
“With special education support, (student’s name) will learn to highlight and define key vocabulary words in order to improve reading comprehension.”
“With special education support, (student’s name) will learn to tell time on an analog clock.”
“Student receives special education services to develop organizational skills.”
“Student attends CTE classes for auto mechanics.”
RELATED SERVICES
Identify what related services are going to be provided THIS YEAR and how they will support the transition plan
Can be bulleted—at least one statement per service
Should correspond to related service
MUST list agency responsible if agency is paying for/providing service (agency must be invited to CSE with parent permission)
“(Student’s name) receives counseling in order to address behavior outbursts.”
(ABC School District, School Counselor)
COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES
Describe any community-based experiences that will be provided to the student THIS YEAR
Consider job shadow for 11th/12th graders?
Cannot be experiences that are not supported by the district (church, Boys/Girls Club etc.)
If none then write… “Considered, but not needed”
“(Student’s name) will identify community bus routes and times in order to transport to his/her job at ____.”
“(Student’s name) will explore the local Workforce Development Office with support from special education staff. The student will then identify how this office can assist in finding employment.”
(ABC School District, Special Education Teacher / Transition Specialist / Student / NA)
DEVELOPMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND OTHER POST-SCHOOL ADULT LIVING OBJECTIVES
Must identify activity. School must provide student to support college, employment and/or independent living goals
MUST list activities for this one
Include ACCESS-VR (formerly VESID) application/connection for seniors only
Cannot be experiences that are not supported by the district (volunteer experiences, work obtained on their own)
“(Student’s name) will have the opportunity to meet with an ACCESS-VR counselor.”
(ABC School District, School Counselor / ACCESS-VR Counselor)
ACQUISITION OF DAILY LIVING SKILLS (IF APPLICABLE)
Identify what activities to assist student in health care, cooking, budgeting, etc.
Think about—SCANS and CDOS Standards for skill areas:
Organization?
Time management?
If none then write… “Considered, but not needed”
“Due to attention issues, (student’s name) will practice selecting clothing appropriate to the daily weather with support from special education staff.”
“Due to difficulties with gross/fine motor skills, the student will learn how to complete self-help tasks with support.”
“No activities necessary at this time.”
(ABC School District, Special Education Teacher / NA)
FUNCTIONAL VOCATIONAL ASSESSMENT (IF APPLICABLE)
DO NOT list Level I Assessment—State prefers the phrase “Considered, but not needed” for any of these 6 areas in which no activity is required
“(Student’s name) will have the opportunity to participate in a functional vocational assessment at BOCES in order to identify possible career interest areas.”
“(Student’s name) will have the opportunity to participate in a community based assessment with XYZ Agency in order to determine the level of support the student will need for future employment.”
“CSE has determined there is no need for a Functional Vocational Assessment at this time.”
(ABC School District, Special Education Teacher / ABC BOCES, Transition Specialist / XYZ Agency / NA)
These are pretty all over the place! Generally, you want to see that there was an age appropriate transition assessment where the student was asked about what they want to do after high school. You should also see measurable transition goals. These are often something like the ones in the Arizona sample IEP; “1. Kyra will meet with Vocational Rehabilitation Services before she graduates to develop a career and independent living plan. 2. Kyra will apply to rent an apartment so that she may live independently. 3. Kyra will enroll in Mohave Community College to get her basic requirements for an AA degree.” You should see that there is both a current assessment and meaningful goals related to that assessment.
Teachers, the only thing to look for here is the student’s goal. It gives you a sense of what the student is planning after high school– which can tell you what the student is into and whether college is in the picture or not.
New York IEP Guide: Extended School Year
What is extended school year (ESY)?
ESY is summer school for students with disabilities. Typically, programs will run on a half day schedule for one month over the summer– something like nine to noon, Monday to Thursday.
Qualifying for ESY is a team decision but the criteria should be whether the student will regress over summer without IEP services.
In general, the only students who qualify for this are students with more significant needs for whom a break without school can cause significant regression. This might be a child with Autism who without the routine of school over the summer will have a lot of challenges managing in the fall or a child with really, really significant learning challenges who will regress over the summer. Only a small fraction of students typically get ESY– although any parent can request it and see what happens.
ESY is taught by whoever the district can find and generally consists of activities like making ants on a log and recess with a lot of supported communication from a speech pathologist. So don’t expect it to be like a hard hitting summer school– it’s a routine of going to school made as fun as the staff can pull off.
Where in the IEP is ESY?
Sometimes there is an ESY box on the special factors page. If not, it can literally be anywhere in the IEP. To be annoying, most districts don’t spell out ESY and the page never states that it is extended school year. If you think your child needs it, hunt for it. If not, ignore it.
How does ESY vary across districts and states?
Extended school year is part of IDEA. That means that every single district in the United States is required to offer it. Some try to hide it and will never mention it and some will offer it readily– and some have programs so bad it is a waste of your child’s time. But all of them are legally required to have an ESY program. However, there is no rule about what ESY needs to look like, how many days per week it needs to meet, or how many hours per day. ESY has to exist under the law– but everything else from who goes to how long it is to what happens during it (other than the delivery of basic IEP services) can vary widely across districts and states.
This IEP comes from the Rochester City School District. See the full IEP here.
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12-MONTH SERVICE AND/OR PROGRAM – STUDENT IS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES AND/OR PROGRAM DURING JULY/AUGUST:
☐ NO ☐ YES
IF YES:
☐ STUDENT WILL RECEIVE THE SAME SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM/SERVICES AS RECOMMENDED ABOVE.
OR
☐ STUDENT WILL RECEIVE THE FOLLOWING SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM/SERVICES:
Services can be provided to students with disabilities who…
Have intensive management needs
Have severe multiple disabilities
Are in home, hospital or residential programs
New York State Education Department IEP Form
🔴 Require ongoing instruction to avoid substantial regression (as defined by NYSED ESY policy 2006)
| SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM/SERVICES | SERVICE DELIVERY RECOMMENDATIONS | FREQUENCY | DURATION | LOCATION | PROJECTED BEGINNING/SERVICE DATE(S) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can be different from what was provided during school year. |
NAME OF SCHOOL/AGENCY PROVIDER OF SERVICES DURING JULY AND AUGUST:
FOR A PRESCHOOL STUDENT, REASON(S) THE CHILD REQUIRES SERVICES DURING JULY AND AUGUST:
If the child qualifies for extended school year, there needs to be a box checked on the IEP and information entered about what goals will be worked on. If you want your child to get something out of ESY, prepare to be organized. ESY teachers are almost never the regular school year case managers and ESY programs are infamously disorganized. You will want a copy of your child’s IEP and, if possible, a binder of stuff for them to work on that you can hand deliver to the ESY teacher. For real. Sometimes it takes all of ESY for the teacher to get access to the IEP. I subbed a month once and never got IEPs. I used to hand deliver all of my students’ IEPs to their ESY teachers along with every piece of work I wanted them to do over the summer– and they prayed they would do at least a fraction of it.
Note that it is up to the team if a student will qualify. The criteria is supposed to be whether a student will regress but a lot of students who regress academically over the summer will not be offered ESY– districts tend to focus on students with significant communication or social needs. If you want your student to have ESY, push for it! But you also need to know that you aren’t getting credit recovery summer school or services with your child’s case manager– you are most likely getting something much more laid back!
