Transition IEP Meeting Agenda

An overview of what an agenda for a transition IEP meeting could include.

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Transition IEP Meeting Agenda

Connie: Welcome to Talking Special Needs, a Nebraska podcast.  Helping families of children with disabilities and health care needs to develop advocacy skills while learning about special education, health care systems and other topics that affect families’ lives.

 Sandy: Hello. My name is Sandy Peterson, and I am the Young Adult Transition Coordinator at PTI, Nebraska. 

 Today we're going to talk about the transition IEP meeting agenda. So, what that meeting could look like, might look like, some school districts will have an agenda ready to follow for the meeting and some will not. So, this is just an idea or a thought of what that agenda could look like. There are 13 points that we will go through when it comes to the agenda, and with any luck, we'll be able to give you some information that's valuable for the next meeting that you participate in. 

AGENDA MEETING 1 – WELCOME/INTRODUCTION

 The first item number one is to welcome and then introductions. And when we say welcome and introductions, it's important that you understand that there are required members, according to the law, required members of the IEP meeting, and some who are not required but who do attend because they have information to share. We want to be sure that you take paper and pencil along and that you're prepared to participate in the meeting by maybe having a listing of those required, legally required roles. And then you would write down the names of those folks who are covering those roles so that you know who's responsible for what in the introductions and in learning what those roles are. Of course, the parent you the parent would be important and should be a participant in the meeting. It's important that parents have the chance to give their information and share their thoughts when it comes to the IEP and the growth of their child.

 The next role that we have that is required is the role of the student. Once the student reaches age 14, that's when the transition IEPs begin. So, your student should be participating in that meeting. We would hope that, previous to the meeting there's discussion with them about the meeting, about their role, and about the different pieces of the meeting and their thoughts on those pieces so that they are prepared to participate. 

 The next required role is the special education teacher role.  That typically is the case manager for the IEP, but also could be other special ed staff who co-teach or have a responsibility to your student. So, it could be more than one, but there has to be at least one special ed staff person at the meeting. 

 The next role is that of the general ed teacher. There is a requirement that a general ed teacher, at least one, participate. We would look at, for example, the student who has a learning disability in reading. It would be important that the general ed teacher be either an English teacher or a reading teacher of some sort. If the learning disability was in math, we'd want to be sure that the math teacher was there: general Ed Math teacher was participating.  But an understanding of the fact that there must be at least one general Ed teacher participating in the meeting. 

 The next required role would be the Representative of the School District. Oftentimes that's the principal. Sometimes it is a combination where the special ed teacher who is there also takes on the role of the Representative of the school district. It depends on the district in which you live.  But it is important that that representative or designee is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of special education services, has knowledge of and the general education curriculum, and then finally is knowledgeable about the availability of the school's resources. So, if there was something that was determined to be valuable to the student and support the student to be more successful, but it is expensive, it would be responsibility of that representative of the school district to be able to talk about that in particular, and the resources that the school district has available to be able to purchase something that may be expensive. 

 Another role is that of a person who can interpret instruction and evaluation. Sometimes it's a school psychologist, sometimes it's a speech pathologist. Kind of depends on the school district, but it's somebody who understands the MDT or that multidisciplinary evaluation report that was done and then can explain any portions of that when there are questions. 

 Another legal role is that of a person who was invited at the discretion of the parents or the school district. For example, parents often invite an advocate as somebody who can listen, take notes, maybe give input, ask questions and so forth. Those folks would be also able to be invited to the meeting. 

 And another area of legal role or responsibility would be that of other agency representatives for transition planning. Oftentimes, that's the folks from Nebraska VR or VOC Rehab, could be someone from developmental disabilities. Kind of depends on what goals are being set and then the people who may either financially or responsibly be able to step forward and give information in that regard. So that that really covers the legal roles. 

 So, if you had listed those participants and then their names, you would be able to remember who's participating for what reason and be able to include those folks as you ask questions and are specific about some of those things. 

 AGENDA MEETING 2 - EXCUSALS

 Number two, as far as our transition IEP meeting agenda is the discussion of the IEP meeting excusals with the parent. Establishing IEP team members will be present for the duration of the IEP unless excused by the parent in writing. 

AGENDA MEETING 3 – OUTCOMES 

 The third piece would be IEP meeting outcomes. By the end of the meeting, we would hope to have one (1) shared understanding of the post-secondary goals, goals that are after high school.  Two (2), shared understanding of the present levels of performance. Again, that person that can explain what occurred during the multidisciplinary team meeting, that evaluation information, that would be something that we want to make sure that parents understand. Three (3) a shared understanding of the agreement on the annual goals and objectives. And then the fourth (4) thing would be agreement on the young adult’s educational placement and services.

 So those four areas would be the outcomes that we would hope to have by the end of the meeting.

AGENDA MEETING 4 – GROUP NORMS

 Number four, as far as the agenda is concerned, would be group norms for the IEP meeting.  We want to be sure that everybody is ready to attend the meeting and ready to participate. 

 So, some of the ideas for group norms would be things like 

-       communicating clearly and listening carefully, 

-       sharing your views and ideas willingly, 

-       respecting the views and ideas of others, 

-       asking for and welcoming questions for clarification. 

-       Honoring the time limits and staying on task. 

 
Other examples of ground rules for IEP meetings are things like; 

-       don't interrupt when other participants have the floor. 

-       don't criticize the ideas of others

-       build on the ideas that are shared by others. 

-       remain open minded and non-judgmental.

-       start and end the meeting on time 

-       that we would want everyone to participate. 

-       that no one would dominate this meeting, 

-       that complaints are okay when they come packaged with a solution. 

-       We want to stick to the agenda and the time frame as much as possible. 

So those are the kinds of group norms that we would hope occur and people follow during the meetings. 

AGENDA MEETING 5 – IDENTIFY POST-SECONDARY GOALS

Number five for the agenda would be to identify and discuss the student's post-secondary goals. Those are those goals that are after high school based upon age-appropriate transition assessments in the following areas: education and training, employment and if appropriate, independent living.

So, there are three areas, two areas for sure, and one that's in, if appropriate, the independent living, that we would want to be sure that we've identified post-secondary goals. 

AGENDA MEETING 6 – PRESENT LEVELS

Number six for the agenda would be that we would discuss the students present level of academic and functional performance. In that area, we would look at the review of initial or recent evaluations, including those age-appropriate transition assessments that are required by law. We need to do at least one evaluation or assessment and those are really the foundation of the decisions that we're making. We look at the age-appropriate transition assessment to be the again the foundation of the development of the goals and whether they be the goals for annual goals or whether they be goals for post-secondary goals. 

We want to review the performance on state and district wide assessments. We want to consider the participation for the future assessments so that we are aware of and have a plan for those assessments. 

We want to identify the student's strengths, preferences, interests, and needs. Again, that would come from those age-appropriate transition assessments. That's called SPIN. The Strengths, Preferences, Interests and Needs of the students. 

We want to have the parental information included in the present concerns and future goals of the young adult. We want to identify how well the student is functioning in relation to their post-secondary goals. 

We'd want to consider and discuss special factors; factors like appropriate behavioral strategies if behavior impedes learning. Language needs for English language learners. The use of Braille for students who are blind or visually impaired. Communication needs. If deaf or hard of hearing to consider opportunities for communication and direct instruction in the child's language and communication mode. And then finally, assistive technology services and devices that may support the student to be more successful. 

AGENDA MEETING 7 – MULTI-YEAR COURSE OF STUDY

The seventh point in our agenda would be to develop a multi-year course of study that satisfies the following. One (1) directly relates to the post-secondary goals, two (2) outlines the requirements for receiving a signed regular diploma, and three (3) considers a plan for continuing special education until the year in which the student is 21 years of age, if appropriate. Again, that's that course of study that needs to be developed. 

AGENDA MEETING 8 – STATE OF NEEDED TRANSITION SERVICES

Number eight for the agenda would be to develop a statement of needed transition services, strategies, and activities that one (1) directly relate to and promote movement from high school to post-secondary goals, (2) will typically be completed in the next calendar year, and (3) we want to make sure that we consider the following through a written statement of need.

We want to think of instruction, related services, community experiences, employment, and other adult living objectives, independent living if appropriate, functional vocational evaluation if appropriate. And then linkage to outside agencies such as Nebraska VR, VOC Rehab and Developmental Disabilities through DHHS. 

AGENDA MEETING 9 – DEVELOP ANNUAL IEP GOALS

Number nine of our agenda would be to develop annual IEP goals and objectives around current academic and functional needs. So that would include annual goals, must also build skills and knowledge needed to meet post-secondary goals, that at least one annual goal must be directly linked to the student's post-secondary goals. And that discussion of how progress will be measured and reported is done. 

AGENDA MEETING 10 – OFFER EDUCATIONA PROGRAMS/SERVICES BASED ON ANNUAL GOALS/TRANSITON PLAN

The number ten area of our agenda would be to offer educational programs and services based on annual goals and the transition plan. So, we would look at service delivery options considering the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). We would look at supplementary aides and services. We would look at the accommodations and modifications the student needs to be successful. We would look at special education and the discussion of special instruction. We would look at the related services that are needed by the student. We would look at transportation and we would look at the extended year services. 

AGENDA MEETING 11 – AGE OF MAJORITY

Number 11 in the agenda would be for students who will be turning 19. A discussion of the transfer of rights at the Age of Majority. So, at the Age of Majority, what the federal government says is that federal law permits but does not require states in the transfer of parent rights to a youth with disabilities who has reached the Age of Majority. The Age of Majority in Nebraska is 19. Nebraska has not implemented this provision. Therefore, regardless of the youth's age, a parent or a person meeting the definition of parent, must be included in the IEP meeting. Again, that is at the Age of Majority, which in Nebraska is 19. 

AGENDA MEETING 12 – CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING, REVIEW/CLARIFY

Number 12. As far as the agenda is a check for understanding, to review and to clarify. So, we want to make sure that everybody at the table understands what our plan is, that we want to make sure that everybody at the table understands what our roles and responsibilities are as far as the delivery of all of that information. 

AGENDA MEETING 13 – THANK YOUs/SIGNATURES

And then number 13 of our agenda is to thank all the participants for working together to develop the plan and then to gather the required signatures for the IEP. 

That is our agenda for a transition plan IEP.  

If you have questions or concerns about this, please don't hesitate to contact someone at PTI Nebraska who would be more than happy to support you and to answer any questions that you may have. Thank you so much for participating today.

Connie: Thank you for joining us today on Talking Special Needs, a Nebraska podcast. If you would like more information on today's topic or other special needs topics, please go to www.pti-nebraksa.org,  Until our next podcast Internet Families remember, chaos is our normal.