Transition to Life
Know Your Rights in Special Education

Having a child with a disability in the family requires important communication, research and advocacy skills. In special education, children and their families have many rights: but if you do not know those rights, it will be difficult to exercise them! There are many ways to learn about special education rights for families. We suggest starting at age 14. They must participate as equal partners in their own IEP meetings and be given the opportunity to share their opinions and plans for the future.

Learning about special education laws and rights and transition planning can be incorporated into goals on your child’s IEP. Materials (including books, videos, and workbooks) are available to help youth with developmental disabilities learn more about transition and self-advocacy. There are many good materials listed in the Additional Resource section on this website. You may also click on the Next Steps link to find workshops that might interest you.

We recommend that you plan backwards in the transition planning process.

First think about what outcomes the student and the family want when the student exits from special education system. The Transition Services section has questions that will help get you started. We also recommend that one of the important outcomes for the transition plan is full-time community employment and with benefits and the potential career.

Why do Transition Planning?

Some would say that transition planning should be a wake-up call for the families of young adults with developmental disabilities. It is a wake up call that indicates special education services does not last forever; and you must make the best possible use of the special education system and the services and supports if provides before your student reaches the age of 21 and exits the special education system.

Without a good transition plan, the following scenarios are quite possible:

• Your adult child could finish school and end up staying at home with nothing to do if you don’t plan ahead.
• The student could be stuck in a “dead-end” job that offers no opportunity for advancement or career development.
• The student could end up in a segregated workshop model. Adult services are not an entitlement like special education, and providers are not required to provide a “continuum of options.” Some commonly providers offer only segregated workshops and day programs for the adults they serve.
• Some students with developmental disabilities may exit the special education system and only get their name on a waiting list for adult community services. They could “wait” indefinitely without receiving services.

The reasons for having a good transition plan are obvious, but the fact is that even with a good plan, the adult community service system is much different from the special education system.

Any good transition plan will lay the groundwork for the student before he exits the special education system. The transition plan must be developed with the student and should center around his career interests and dreams.

Important Timelines in Transition planning:

Elementary School Years (6-12)

In the early years we want to develop a sense of value and work ethic. Everyone works in our society. Children should value their own contributions to their families and community. They should know that work is rewarded by money. Work is valued in society, In the elementary school years, we want the child to:

1. Learn as many self-help and daily living skills as possible
2. Be responsible for house hold chores
3. Make more choices about his/her personnel life
4. Earn allowance and have opportunities to learn to handle money
5. Learn about the world of work and have “career exploration” included in their Individual Education Plan (IEP) each year.

As a Parent, you will want to:

1. Advocate so your child will be able to work in the future
2. Begin to investigate work opportunities for adults with disabilities in your community
3. If you are also an employer, you will want to make sure that you hire people with disabilities
4. Develop and network with families who have older children (including adult children) with disabilities and find out what they are doing to help their children get employment.
5. Advocate with educators and professionals. Your child’s future is in the community along with their non-disabled peers. Their goals should include a meaningful career as a adult.
6. Once again investigate accessing assistive technology and environmental modifications to help your child become as independent as possible.

Age 12 – A critical time

This is when you will want to talk to an attorney who is knowledge about trusts, financial planning and estate laws specifically related to individuals with disabilities. This is a specialized field, so do your homework. What you want to do is set up a “Special Needs Discretionary Trust” for your child before his/her 13 th birthday. It is very important to do this at the age of 12 because this will relate to your child’s eligibility for government benefits (SSI and Medicaid) at age 18. The Illinois Department of Pubic Aid will look back at your child’s finances for the five preceding years from the date of application, so planning to protect those benefits is critical to the adult years.

If you have not already done so, you may want to work with a financial advisor who can inform you about the potential impact on your state and federal income tax situation

as a parent of a young adult with a disability. The IRS has publications on this topic: Medical and Dental Expenses; http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf Child and Dependent Care Expenses: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p503.pdf

Parents who receive or pay child support for a child with developmental disabilities should contact their legal advisor in advance in order to plan ahead for changes that may occur when the child turns 18. Additional information on this can be found at http://www.hrtw.org/tools/divorce.html, the website of the “Healthy and Ready to Work National Center”.

Middle School Years- (Ages 12-14)

IDEA is the federal special education law that requires a Transition Plan as a part of your child’s Individual Education Plan, starting at age 14. IDEA was reauthorized in December of 2004 and the transition law has been changed to 16. The Illinois state board of education has not made its revisions on how they will adopt this new law. At the current time is has been left at 14. You will want to check the website for further updates http://www.isbe.org Before your child’s transition plan is written we recommend that you read as much as you can about transition planning and different opportunities that a transition plan offers the student.

You should belong to a parent organization for your child’s specific disability (for example, The Arc of Illinois, the National Association for Down Syndrome, the Autism Society). There are several different websites to help you find parent organizations and support groups in your area. The ones listed in the Quick Reference section of this manual/website can offer that information. You will want to find the resources and supports that are available related to transitioning. You and your student should participate fully as members of the Individual Education Plan TEAM. Work individually with your child to prepare him/her to take an active role as an IEP member.

Now is the time to learn some of the tools being used to help teens and young adults prepare for their future, such as person-centered planning and MAPS (Making Action Plans): http://www.usd.edu/cd/systemschange/primer/maps.htm.

Make sure that job experiences are built into your child’s IEP, starting with in-school jobs, community volunteer work, and paid work in the community after the age of 16.

It is critical that all paid work has social security taxes (FICA) taken out of the paycheck. This will have major benefits for health coverage (under Medicare) in the adult years after school.

Transition Planning is all about real work experience, so say “no” to “vocational readiness” and “pre-employment training” that is offered only in a sheltered environment ( or simulated sheltered workshops within the school setting).

Another tool in helping to plan for a successful transition is our: Day in the Life Worksheet” Remember that under IDEA, all aspects of transition must be included in the Transition Plan. Use this worksheet to help with transition planning and developing appropriate IEP’s during your student’s transition years.

The Importance of the IEP for Transition planning:

Having an IEP transition plan that includes employment in the community, as well as a detailed plan to address all needed skills for employment and independent living, is of utmost importance,

The IDEIA 2004 entitlement to appropriate services in the least restrictive environment covered by the federal special education law is a very powerful civil rights law for students with disabilities under 21. There is no law for adults with disabilities that is as powerful and comprehensive. IDEIA 2004 describes students’ rights and includes mechanisms to protect these rights and advocate for their enforcement.

The annual IEP/Transition meeting is the first step to the implementation of these rights. The student and their family have the right to express opinions and have their plans and preferences considered by the IEP Team. This includes access to work in the community and comprehensive, coordinated transition planning,

The legal mandate for services in the least restrictive environment applies equally to all services in the students IEP, including employment and vocational training. This means, for example that offering a student a job only in a segregated setting such as a sheltered workshop is not permissible. Some schools districts have a transition coordinator and have developed formal “transition programs” and have systems of support in place, others do not.. These transition programs should not be barriers to self-determination or a substitute for making an individualized transition plan that may or may not include services and supports typically provided by a particular school district.

You have the right to have your plans for proposed services and supports considered by the IEP team.

Remember that you and your young adult student may need to develop your own proposed plan for action to present to the IEP team for consideration. It is not sufficient to merely oppose a plan that is being offered by the school for transition services and employment options. You should be pro-active!

You will have a much better chance of success if you develop your own plan, which might include, for example a proposal of starting a small business as a the means to become self employed: or a job in your community which you have obtained through your own contacts; or a vocational training course which you have researched thoroughly and are able to document all logistics and supports required.

Emphasizing self-determination in the transition process may be a new experience for some youth, families and school systems. Youth and families need to be ready to continue in their roles as strong self advocates and trailblazers to make things happen.

In Decades past, sheltered workshops and “day treatment program” were generally the only options available for adults with developmental disabilities which is no longer acceptable or appropriate.

Today, youth and adults with developmental disabilities need to be ready to join the workforce once they graduate from high school. Contact The Arc of Illinois Life Span Project for information and technical assistance for your advocacy efforts. (www.illinoislifespan.org)

You have the right to appeal any decision related to service and supports in your students IEP. The place to start appealing any decision made by the IEP team is by written request for another IEP meeting. Refer to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) special education rights manual for parents for additional information: http://www.isbe.net/spec-ed/parentrights.htm

Information is available in English and Spanish

If the issues are not resolved at the IEP meeting, you can then submit a request for mediation. Nowadays, school districts and families strive to resolve their differences through the mediation process. Of course, if this is not successful, then filing a request for a due process hearing is the next advocacy step to pursue.

Information about appeals related to special education services, mediation and due process rights, along with the required forms, can be found on the isbe website: http://www.isbe.net/spec-ed Refer to the sections on “Mediations,” “Due Process” and “Civil Rights Complaints” for instructions.(return to top)