Skip to main content

Teachers - Educators

The Importance of Transition Planning

Did you know?

A child’s IEP does not follow them to college or other post-secondary educational institutions. As soon as a child a) graduates high school or b) completes a transition-based program after the age of 21, their IEP is now null and void. Creating an individualized transition plan ensures that each student is preparing for life after high school and has the necessary skills to succeed in their postsecondary goals.

Students with disabilities experience higher unemployment rates and attend college or other postsecondary institutions less frequently than students without disabilities (Newman, Wagner, Knokey, Marder, Nagle, Shaver, & Schwarting, 2011). Students in middle school who have a disability are 50% more likely to drop out of school. Research has identified 20 evidence-based in-school predictors of post-school success for students with disabilities. View information on each predictor.

Census Bureau records indicate individuals with disabilities experience the highest rate of poverty of any subcategory of Americans. There are 34 million people with disabilities in the United States, 18-64 years old. Twenty-seven percent or 4 million, of these individuals live in poverty. This is more than double the 12.5% poverty rate for the entire population. Source: https://transitionta.org/wp-content/uploads/docs/toolkit_CIE.pdf