Federal, state, and local laws guide our practice for students with disabilities.  It’s important to have a clear idea of what the key laws say, and how they influence what we do as educators in Special Education.  Since the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001), and Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004), the field of special education has experienced mandated changes at the federal, state, and local levels (Mazzotti, Test, & Mustain, 2012).  Two new federal acts, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act, (WIOA, 2014) and Every Student Succeeds Act, (ESSA, 2015) continue to mandate changes at the federal, state, and local levels for our students with disabilities.  I’ve listed below each of those laws and a brief statement about each one.

NCLB (2001)  “mandated participation by all students in district and statewide assessments, increased accountability for all teachers, and required school to report adequate yearly progress” (Mazzotti, Test, & Mustain, 2012).

IDEA (2004) “required students with disabilities to exit from high school prepared for postschool education, employment, and independent living” (Mazzotti, Test, & Mustain, 2012).

WIOA (2014) “was designed to strengthen and improve the nation’s public workforce development system by helping Americans with barriers to employment, including individuals with disabilities, achieve high quality careers, and helping employers hire and retain skilled workers” (DOE, n.d.).

ESSA (2015) “students with disabilities will be required to take the same assessments and will be held to the same standards as other students.  ESSA allows for only one percent of students, accounting for ten percent of students with disabilities, to be excused from the usual standardized testing” (ESSA, 2015).

In addition to the laws that govern special education practices, the Annual Performance Report Measures (APR) are a series of reports prepared by the United States Department of Education (DOE) and the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). It provides educational data that is used to improve the quality of education for all students.  The APR consists of 20 Indicators.  10 Indicators are for compliance and 10 are for performance.  Four of those indicators pertain specifically to Secondary Transition.

• Indicator 1: Graduation Four Year Rate—percent of all exiting students in grade twelve, and exiting ungraded students eighteen and over, who graduate from high school with a regular diploma. (Performance)

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• Indicator 2: Dropout Four Year Rate—percent of all students in grades nine and higher, and ungraded students thirteen and over, who exit special education by dropping out of school. (Performance)

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• Indicator 13: Secondary Transition Goals and Services—percent of youth aged 16 and above with an IEP that includes all eight coordinated, measurable, annual IEP goals and transition services that will reasonably enable the student to meet the postsecondary goals. (Compliance)

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• Indicator 14: Post-school—Percent of youth who had an IEP, are no longer in secondary school, and who have been:     

  • enrolled in higher education     

  • enrolled in higher education or competitively employed     

  • enrolled in higher education, or in some other post-secondary education or training program; or competitively employed or in some other employment (Performance)

To improve the outcomes for students with disabilities in education, employment, and independent living, much is needed for federal, state, and local government changes to take place.  Bringing awareness of what students with disabilities need for a successful postsecondary transition is essential.  Without awareness, change cannot take place.  When studying the history of disability awareness, it’s evident that change is slow, but it is happening.

In the article, “Secondary Transition Evidence-Based Practices and Predictors: Implications for Policymakers” it’s noted that “as a result of a systematic process using quality indicators to establish levels of evidence, 64 practices have been identified to support students in the area of secondary transition.  These EBP’s provide teachers with tools to support skill development of students with disabilities, including development of individualized education program (IEP) goals and objectives” (Mazzotti, Test, & Mustain, 2012).  On the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT) website, it gives each of the 64 practices, which are organized in the Taxonomy for Transition Programming.  https://transitionta.org/sites/default/files/Tax_Trans_Prog_0.pdf

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I used the Taxonomy for Transition Programming as a guide as I developed a transition program for our district.    In addition, I used Evidence-Based Practices and Predictors in Secondary Transition: What We Know and What We Still Need to Know (Test, Fowler, & Kohler, 2013).  This provides a list of evidence-based practices, research-based practices, and promising practices by level of evidence and outcome area. 

https://transitionta.org/system/files/effectivepractices/EBPP_Exec_Summary_2016_12_13_16.pdf

Some of the ways that I have demonstrated leadership in our district is not only by training our professionals in secondary transition, but also participating in different committees.  I feel it’s important for our students with disabilities to have equal access to the same opportunities as our general education students.  In order to have equal access, there needs to be awareness that they are being left out.  I want our students with disabilities to be able to participate in the Career and Technical Education classes, to participate in internships or apprenticeships, to participate in employment while in high school, to have the opportunity to go to the college days, participate in career fairs, and be part of everything the general education community practices.  It’s important for our students with disabilities to advocate for themselves and feel empowered to make choices about their future.  By getting out into the community myself, as a voice for special education students, I learn about opportunities for them, and raise awareness so that all people with disabilities have access.  They have a lot to offer!

“Everyone is a genius.  But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Albert Einstein

“Tell me and I forget.  Teach me and I remember.  Involve me and I learn.”

Benjamin Franklin

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