LEAs Must Address Transition Activities and Provide the Summary of Performance

Julie Weatherly featured an article in a journal titled In Case, Volume 48, Numbers 4-6; and in Volume 49, Numbers 1-2. The title of the article is Avoiding Legal Disputes in Special Education: 21 Training Points for Administrators. According to Weatherly,

"Pursuant to IDEA 2004, beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when a student is sixteen years old, and updated annually thereafter, an IEP must contain 'appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment and, where appropriate, independent living skills' and the transition services (including courses of study) needed by the child to reach those goals. In addition, some states are choosing to add to this requirement by making age fourteen the mandatory age for transition services to be included in an IEP (in SC the age is 13). It is expected that there will be increasing challenges made to IEPs based upon an alleged failure to appropriately address the issue of transition, which is known to be a weakness in the process of educating children with disabilities. It is vital that school staff be trained to understand exactly what is required to be included in the transition planning process, including the requirement to provide a summary of performance once a child's eligibility for FAPE has expired via graduation with a regular high school diploma or aging out of eligibility."