TRANSITION SERVICES

education is made available to students with disabilities.

56/3 57/1 49/6 37/3 47/2

GED exit option is available to

students with disabilities. ^{39/1 40/1 38/4 30/1 30/2}

Postsecondary options are adequate for students with disabilities upon exit from the school division.

30/8 27/3 27/14 20/2 25/10

Articulation agreements for postsecondary options are available for students with disabilities.

21/3 20/1 17/4 14/1 23/2

The transition plan accurately reflects the transition from school to postsecondary outcomes.

24/4 35/0 31/8 14/3 27/4

Technology is adequately used to

assist with the transition process. ^{22/4 33/1 28/7 19/2 30/4}

Teachers receive adequate staff development related to transition services.

18/10 27/7 26/17 13/21 27/7

Support staff receive adequate staff development related to transition services.

15/14 24/6 15/19 12/6 28/18

Administrators receive adequate staff development related to transition services.

15/9 28/11 18/12 13/4 28/2

The school division maintains agreements with

business/community partners for community-based training opportunities.

33/2 41/0 30/3 21/2 34/1

Source: Results of MGT survey, Virginia Beach City Public Schools, 2008.

1Percentage responding Agree or Strongly Agree/Percentage responding Disagree or Strongly Disagree. The neutral and don’t know responses are omitted.

For the last two years, VBCPS has made a concerted effort to bring its transition policies and procedures into compliance. Following a recommendation from the 2006 audit of high school special education programs, OPEC implemented a plan for addressing all

Policies, Procedures, Assessment, Student Performance, and Parent Involvement six of the transition planning recommendations. These recommendations involved

transition planning in the areas of:

„ Individualized planning.

„ Parental and student participation in decision-making.

„ Decisions based on present level of performance, needs, interests, and preferences.

„ Desired post-school outcomes.

„ Active student participation.

„ Family involvement.

„ Interagency collaboration.

The OPEC IEP review in 2007 regarding secondary IEP goals and transition services noted outstanding improvements to transitional IEPs, including:

„ A statement regarding related services, community experiences, employment and other post-school adult living options, daily living, and vocational

evaluation.

„ A statement that to the extent appropriate, a representative from any participating agency likely to pay for services was invited to the transition planning or meeting.

„ Measurable postsecondary goals based on age-appropriate transition assessments.

In an effort to implement new transition procedures, each VBCPS high school identified one special education faculty member as a transition specialist. These special education teachers facilitate student transition assessments and transition planning. They also assist in the development and implementation of the transition plan as part of the

student’s IEP. Training for school-based transition planning, however, is somewhat new.

VBCPS also lacks effective vertical planning between middle school teachers and administrators performing transition services for students with disabilities. Training for transition planning must begin at the middle school level through career exploration courses. Middle school administrators, teachers of special needs students, parents, and students must be better informed about the transition planning options that begin during the school year in which a student with disabilities turns 16 years old.

Another area of transition services in need of improvement is consistent implementation of self-advocacy training for students with disabilities. VBCPS has made available a self-advocacy video to teachers, students, and parents. Speak Up, Speak Up For Yourself serves as a practical guide for students, parents, and special education teachers regarding the process of transitioning from high school to college. This

ten-Policies, Procedures, Assessment, Student Performance, and Parent Involvement minute video provides an overview of the process students with disabilities may want to follow as they prepare for the independence and new experiences of college life. Speak Up, Speak Up For Yourself addresses typical concerns and offers suggestions for dealing with the following issues:

„ What high school classes are most helpful?

„ Which accommodations might be available in college?

„ How do students go about requesting services?

„ Who may be helpful in providing information about services and accommodations?

While this self-advocacy video is an excellent resource, MGT found that it was underutilized by teachers, students, and parents.

The OPEC is working toward improved transition services for students with disabilities.

Greater efforts should include a consistent, systematic approach to transition outcomes for students with disabilities.

RECOMMENDATION 4-4:

Implement clearly defined transition outcomes based on a data-driven model.

The OPEC should continue its development and implementation of a comprehensive approach to transition services. In addition, OPEC should continue its efforts to provide training and ongoing support for special education teachers to reinforce compliance with IDEA regulations with regard to transitional assessment, programming, and services.

The transition outcomes should ensure the implementation of a data-driven model that:

„ Empowers OPEC and schools to make changes in policies, procedures, processes, forms, programs, and approaches.

„ Identifies and evaluates current practices used to meet transition requirements.

„ Includes baseline data from IEPs as the context for goal-setting, strategy development, and implementation of a local school transition process;

„ Promotes an IEP process driven by the student’s post-school goals.

„ Emphasizes:

− Improving transition services.

− Increasing graduation rates.

− Showing results.

Policies, Procedures, Assessment, Student Performance, and Parent Involvement

− Increasing the likelihood that students with disabilities will graduate and be employed.

The VBCPS comprehensive transition approach should focus on measurable results that are consistent with IDEA transition requirements and that will improve the graduate rates, decrease dropout rates, and improve post school outcomes for students with disabilities, including:

„ A focus on transition requirements that lay a foundation for best practices.

„ Implementation and success with strategies, interventions, and solutions that can be generalized throughout the secondary schools in the division.

Initiatives for implementation of the transition approach should be included in the proposed OPEC strategic plan, as well as OPEC staff development. The OPEC and designated staff should continue to utilize the existing transition documents that have been merged into the Administrative Guidelines, Special Education manual.

Coordinators assigned to the middle and high schools, personnel assigned to the parent resource center, building-level transition specialists, and transition advisory council members should participate in specific train-the-trainer staff development regarding transition of students with disabilities.

The VDOE began the Collaborative Transition Initiative in 2003 and offers a collection of best practices in public schools throughout the United States.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIME LINE

1. The Superintendent should instruct the Director of OPEC and principals to implement a comprehensive, data-driven approach to transition services for students with disabilities.

September 2008

2. The Director of OPEC, principals, and designated staff should implement a comprehensive, data-driven approach to transition services for students with disabilities.

October 2008

3. The Director of OPEC and principals should instruct designated staff to utilize the existing transition documents in the

Administrative Guidelines, Special Education manual to guide the implementation of a comprehensive, data-driven approach to transition for students with disabilities.

November 2008

4. Designated staff in OPEC and schools should utilize the existing transition documents in the Administrative Guidelines, Special Education manual to guide the implementation of a comprehensive, data-driven approach to transition for students with disabilities.

February 2009

5. The Director of OPEC and principals should evaluate the effectiveness of the comprehensive, data-driven approach to transition services for students with disabilities and make changes in the process, as appropriate.

July 2009

Policies, Procedures, Assessment, Student Performance, and Parent Involvement

FISCAL IMPACT

There is no fiscal impact associated with this recommendation. The OPEC has the personnel to implement the recommendation without hiring outside consultants or incurring any overtime costs. It is estimated that in three working days the committee could develop the training requirements outlined in the implementation strategies and time lines. The strategies for training and monitoring would be incorporated into the existing job descriptions.

FINDING

VBCPS demonstrates significant differences in academic performance among student groups, resulting in an achievement gap between students with disabilities and students without disabilities.

NCLB requires annual testing to measure student progress in reading and mathematics.

NCLB also requires that schools, school divisions, and states meet annual objectives for adequate yearly progress (AYP) for student performance on statewide tests in reading and mathematics. For a school, a school division, or Virginia to meet AYP, it must meet or exceed 29 benchmarks for participation in statewide testing, achievement in reading and mathematics, and science (elementary and middle schools), or graduation (high schools).

Based on the VDOE, Special Education Performance Report: Indicator 3: Participation and Performance on Statewide Assessments, VBCPS met the AYP objective, as well as the participation rate, for English/reading and mathematics state assessment, for the subgroup of students with disabilities in 2005-06. VBCPS did not, however, meet the Virginia target for proficiency in English/reading or math for students with disabilities in 2005-06. These data are shown in Exhibit 4-10.

EXHIBIT 4-10

VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCTATION