Special Education and Support Services
Secondary Transition
What's New?
-
Health and the Transition to Adulthood: Building the Foundation for Success
The Integrated Services Committee of the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and UIC Specialized Care for Children presented a webinar for parents and families on incorporating health goals into IEPs and transition plans. The recording of this webinar is available here. The resources and tools discussed in the webinar are available at this link: http://illinoisaap.org/projects/medical-home/transition/resources-for-families/.
-
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Summary of Performance: Supporting Students’ Post-School Success
This PowerPoint presentation provides the legal basis for development of the SOP and also provides practical information about the development and use of this tool to promote successful post-school outcomes for students with disabilities. Viewers can access the slide “notes” by hovering over the icon in the upper left-hand corner on the relevant pages.
-
New "Soft Skills" Curriculum for Youth Released by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
ODEP has unveiled a new curriculum designed to strengthen the professionalism and interpersonal skills of young people preparing to enter the workforce. Titled "Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success," this creative and universally designed program features a series of interactive, hands-on activities that educators and youth service professionals can use with youth both with and without disabilities. The curriculum is available in both English and Spanish. Access the curriculum at http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/.
-
Determining Educational Environment Coding for Students with Disabilities Participating in DRS Secondary Transitional Experience Programs (STEP)
-
Transition Practices Alignment: Evidence-Based Practices, Tools and Resources, and Lesson Plans
The Transition Practices Alignment tool assists in the development of goals, strategies and activities for district and/or school improvement plans and provides a go-to resource for teachers or any transition stakeholder to find evidenced-based practices, peruse a variety of tools and resources, and/or research lesson plans. This tool uses the Transition Practices Self Assessment (TPSA) categories of program structure, interagency collaboration, student-focused planning, student development and family involvement for easy correlation with TPSA data.
-
NSTTAC Presenter Guides
To assist states and local school districts with professional development efforts in the area of secondary transition, NSTTAC has created presenter guides on (a) Indicator 13, and (b) Transition Assessment. These guides include ready-made power points, scripted notes (included in the power point), and all necessary materials needed to complete the activities included in the presentation. Each topic includes a 3-hour presentation and a 1 hour presentation. The guides may also be combined to create full day trainings.
-
Proyecto Visión
This bilingual web site is a project to connect Latinos with disabilities to employment opportunities. It provides information on education, employment, and independent living resources and lists hundreds of job, scholarship, internship, grant, award, and other educational opportunities of interest to Latinos and students with disabilities.
Indicator 13 - Tools and Resources for the Secondary Transition Plan
Including: information regarding district requirements for Indicator 13, tools and resources for FACTS data collection, district tools such as the Illinois Indicator 13 checklist, a Transition Practices Self-Assessment, a comprehensive PowerPoint slide show on building a better IEP, a transition plan sample, and links to resources from the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center.
Indicator 14 - Tools and Resources for Collecting and Using Post-School Outcome Data
Including: district cycle, suggestions for post-school outcomes (Ind. 14) data collection, sample district letter to former student, post-school survey interview questions and interviewer script, strategies for increasing response rates and advise from the field.
Transition Outreach Training for Adult Living (TOTAL) Project
In October 2002 The US Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) awarded the Illinois State Board of Education an IDEA Model Outreach grant to implement a multi-tiered statewide training and technical assistance package on research based best practices in secondary transition. The key focus of TOTAL was to systematically build capacity to provide state-of-the-art transition services throughout Illinois. Though the Project period ended in March 2007, the tools and resources developed under the Project are supported by the Illinois State Board of Education and continue to be accessed and implemented in school districts and special education cooperatives across the state.
The link below provides additional information about the TOTAL training modules and access to the TOTAL module videos, the power point slides, tools and resources.
Descriptions of Federally-Supported Projects and Centers That Focus On Youth Transition
The Federal Interagency Partners in Transition Workgroup has developed a directory of federally funded projects and centers focusing on youth transition. The directory includes fifteen descriptions, detailing the name of the project or center, the funding agency, and the target audience. The directory also contains a brief description of each center's purpose, the services they provide, and links to center websites and publications. It is important to note that the document is not exhaustive of all transition services extended through federal, state, or local entities.
Evidence-based Practices in Secondary Transition
Users Guide now available at www.ideapartnership.org
This Users Guide was developed by an IDEA Partnership* cross-stakeholder group of practitioners and Technical Assistance Center personnel to provide efficient access to and use of research and materials located on the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center website.
These tools reference educational practices and specific strategies supported by rigorous educational research which have yielded evidence of positive results for students. Included in this Users Guide are a glossary of terms and a PowerPoint with presenter information. Highlighted throughout are various materials regarding transition research synthesis, lesson plan starters, and professional development resources.
To access the Users Guide, please go to www.ideapartnership.org and click on the Guide under Partnership User Guides on the right side of the home page.
*The IDEA Partnership is a collaboration of more than fifty-five national organizations and technical assistance providers at national, state, and local levels. The Partnership is dedicated to improving outcomes for students and youth with disabilities by joining state agencies and stakeholders through shared work and learning.
