Transition Planning

Transition planning must begin no later than the first IEP in effect when a student turns 16 — and in Alabama, for every student entering 9th grade regardless of age. The goal is a coordinated, individualized plan that carries the student from high school into whatever comes next: postsecondary education, employment, or independent living.

• IDEA — transition services requirements

• Alabama Administrative Code, Chapter 290-8-9

• Alabama Transition Standards (special education web page, Secondary/Postsecondary/Transition)

Age-Appropriate Transition Assessments must be used to set the student's postsecondary goals — a minimum of two assessments, each documented with its name and administration date, matched to the Postsecondary Education/Training, Employment/Occupation/Career, and Community/Independent Living goal areas.

Long-term postsecondary goals are selected or written for each of the three domains and must be based on the Alabama Transition Standards, individualized to the student's strengths, preferences, interests, and needs — not copy-pasted from a standard list.

For students in grades 9-12, the IEP must also address: anticipated date of exit, selected pathway to the Alabama High School Diploma (General Education / Essentials / Alternate Achievement Standards), program credits to be earned, and total electives.

Annual transition goals translate the long-term goals into what the student can accomplish this year, including present levels tied to the Transition Standards, at least two transition activities per goal, and the transition service area(s) involved (Vocational Evaluations, Community Experiences, Employment Development, Linkages to Agencies, Advocacy/Guardianship, and others).

Transfer of rights must be documented no later than the IEP in effect when the student turns 18 — record the date the student was informed that IDEA rights transfer to them at age 19, and carry that same date forward on every subsequent IEP.

• Fewer than two transition assessments documented, or assessments not matched to all three goal areas

• Transition goals not individualized — copied from the standards document rather than written from the student's own assessment results

• 9th-grade transition requirements skipped because the student is younger than 16

• Transfer-of-rights date missing or not carried forward on later IEPs