Tag: transition

Healthcare Transition and Medical Self-Advocacy

Posted on by Nicol Walsh

When young people turn 18, a lot happens. Adult responsibilities and decisions can feel scary and confusing for the unprepared. Becoming responsible for medical care is part of growing up, and that process is so critical that there’s a specific name for it: healthcare transition.

For example, at age 18 a young adult is responsible to sign official paperwork to authorize procedures or therapies. They must sign documents to say who can look at their medical records, talk to their doctors, or come to an appointment with them. Those rules are part of HIPAA, which stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA is a federal law that protects confidentiality, regardless of disability.

In this video, young adults living with various disability and medical conditions talk about their journeys in the adult healthcare system. They talk about how they make decisions and how they ask for help. Their ability to explain their needs, make decisions, and speak up for themselves is called self-advocacy. Take a look and listen to what they have to say in their own words!

For more information and resources around healthcare transition and self-advocacy, follow these links to the Family to Family Health Information website.

Another place for information is the Informing Families website, which includes a section called got transition.

Special Education Process Demystified in 10 Steps

Posted on by Nicol Walsh

Here is basic guidance about how special education works. For a bit more detail, visit the 10-Step Guide to the Special Education Process provided by Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Procedural Safeguards protect family and student rights throughout the process.

  1. Referral: Is there a known or suspected disability condition that may significantly impact educational access? If yes, family or anyone with knowledge of the student can request an evaluation from the school district in writing.
  2. Consent to evaluate: The school district has 25 school days to consider the referral and whether to evaluate. Family signs consent for an evaluation to begin.
  3. Initial Evaluation: The district has 35 school days to conduct an evaluation that comprehensively addresses all areas of suspected disability.
  4. Initial Evaluation Report: Family and school meet to review the findings. Discussion includes:
    • What did the evaluation find?
    • Is the student eligible?
    • What category of disability is the right fit for eligibility?
    • What services is the student eligible for?
    • Does the family have suggestions for goal areas or accommodations that school staff can consider for the initial IEP draft?
  5. Eligibility and Consent: For special education and related services to begin, family signs consent.
  6. Creating an Individualized Education Program (IEP): An IEP team meets within 30 days of the eligibility determination to write the IEP. 
    • A DRAFT IEP may be reviewed and discussed. Family can request a copy of the DRAFT before meeting.
    • The team decides what the final IEP includes.
    • School provides family with Prior Written Notice after the meeting to reflect the discussion and actions being taken.
    • Family has an opportunity to request further changes or more meetings.
  7. Special Education Begins: All teachers and service providers receive a copy of the IEP and implement the services, accommodations, and other elements of the program.
  8. Progress Monitoring and Annual IEP Review: The IEP team meets to discuss the program at least once a year. Changes can be made then or any time a team meeting is called because of concerns raised by the family or school.
  9. Reevaluation: The student is re-evaluated at least every 3 years to determine ongoing eligibility and to assess any needed changes to the program. If a student’s needs change, reevaluation can happen sooner.
  10. Transition: By the time a student turns 16, the IEP must have a plan in place for when the student will either graduate from high school or continue to receive school-based services, an option through age 21. Postsecondary goals drive the IEP process from that point forward.

Transition Training Series: Preparing for High School and Beyond (In English and Spanish)

Posted on by Nicol Walsh

English Video

Last month, PAVE partnered with Clark County to start the Family Training Series for families and educators supporting individuals with disabilities.  It is offered by the Clark County Developmental Disabilities Program, the Clark County Parent Coalition, the Vancouver, Camas, and Evergreen School Districts, PAVE, and ESD 112. While the information in the sessions are targeted for families and educators, it is valuable information for any county you find yourself in! Below is this training in Spanish.

Additional ideas and information are provided by ReadyWA.org, a coalition of state education agencies, associations, and advocacy organizations focused on student success beyond graduation. The agency provides an article: High School and Beyond Planning: What’s New for 2020-21. The article includes a section about aligning general education future planning with the IEP transition planning process and includes links to key documents in English and Spanish.  

Video en español

El mes pasado, PAVE se asoció con el Condado de Clark para iniciar la Serie de Capacitaciones para familias y educadores que apoyan a las personas con discapacidades.  Este entrenamiento fue ofrecido por el Programa del condado de Clark para discapacidades del desarrollo, la Coalición de Padres del Condado de Clark, los Distritos Escolares Vancouver, Camas y Evergreen, así como organizaciones como PAVE y ESD 112. ¡Aunque que la información de las sesiones está dirigidas a familias y educadores, es información valiosa para cualquier condado en el que usted se encuentre! Este video está en español para el apoyo de familias latinas.

Usted puede encontrar sugerencias e información en ReadyWA.org, que es una coalición de agencias estatales de educación, asociaciones y organizaciones que tienen como propósito ayudar a los padres de familia a defender a los derechos de sus hijos. También les ayuda a enfocarse en el éxito estudiantil que va más allá de la graduación de secundaria. Esta misma, proporciona un reportaje llamado:  High School and Beyond Planning: What’s New para 2020-21. Este reportaje incluye una sección que prepara a las familias en como planificar el proceso de transición del IEP e incluye enlaces o links claves proporcionados en inglés y español.

Ready for Work: Vocational Rehabilitation Provides Guidance and Tools

Posted on by Nicol Walsh

A Brief Overview

  • Vocational rehabilitation (VR) is a federal right that has not been waived during school and office closures related to COVID-19. Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) are one way to get support. Another is through 1:1 counseling and an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE).
  • The best way to seek DVR services for a student still working toward graduation is to contact the DVR counselor assigned to the student’s school. DSHS maintains an interactive map, Find a School Transition Counselor.
  • Families and students also can reach out to regional DVR staff for information about how to access services, including summer camps and programs.
  • Individuals with vision impairment and blindness are served through a separate vocational rehabilitation agency in Washington State, the Department of Services for the Blind (DSB).
  • Graduating seniors can seek DVR and DSB services now!

Full Article

Teenagers and young adults with disabilities have additional considerations when deciding what life looks like after high school. The transition planning process, which begins in middle school and continues through high-school graduation and beyond, is extra challenging with social distancing measures and uncertainty about how jobs and higher education are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Washington State, young people can get help from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), which is housed within the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). DVR staff are working remotely and creatively to continue providing services to adults and students during office and school closures, says Chelsie Gillum, a Regional Transition Consultant (RTC) in Pierce County.

DVR services are a civil right

The right to vocational rehabilitation (VR) services is an aspect of Title 1 of the amended Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In 2014, the Rehabilitation Act, which guarantees equitable access to public spaces and programs, was further amended to include the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) were already an aspect of the Rehabilitation Act, but WIOA further defines Pre-ETS and requires that VR agencies set aside 15 percent of their funding to provide or arrange for the provision of Pre-ETS.

Note that Section 504 is also a feature of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 504 guarantees the right to accommodations for equitable access in public facilities and programs and is the basis for a student’s “504 Plan” that provides accommodations, modifications, and anti-discrimination measures for educational access. Section 504 protections aren’t limited to school: Like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 protect a person in higher education, work, and elsewhere throughout the lifespan.

None of these federal rights have been waived during COVID-19.

Pre-ETS may include summer options

Gillum is among DVR staff who support groups of students with Pre-ETS. Generally, programs include job exploration, work-based learning, counseling about further educational options, workplace readiness and self-advocacy training. Some programs are being offered online or through other distance delivery methods in Summer 2020.

For example, a Youth Leadership Forum is being organized as a weeklong virtual camp in July 2020. A Facebook page for YLF is one way to learn more. Junior Achievement: Finance Park is another summer option for students statewide who want to learn more about personal finance and business. Families and students can reach out to regional DVR staff for specific information about these and other options for summer and beyond.

“Just because you cannot attend a camp in-person does not mean you have to miss out on valuable work readiness training and work-based learning experiences,” Gillum says.

Gillum says virtual job fairs, recorded informational interviews and virtual tours of job sites are options during social distancing. “Agencies and businesses are still hiring,” she says. “DVR applications are being processed, and intake meetings are being conducted.”

Gillum encourages 2020 graduating seniors to seek services right away: “I want to make sure our graduating students are as connected as possible, especially given how uncertain the world is right now,” she says.

Pre-ETS can start at ages 14-16 or later

Students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) can receive Pre-ETS as young as age 14, if the IEP includes a Transition Plan. An IEP team can write a Transition Plan into the IEP whenever the student, family and school staff are ready to begin that process. DVR staff can support that work, Gillum says, and families can initiate those contacts.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law that governs special education process and protects the rights of eligible student, requires that an IEP include a Transition Plan by the school year in which the student turns 16. PAVE provides an article and a video about the high-school transition process in general. In addition, PAVE has an article about graduation and life-planning impacts of the shutdown: High School Halt.

Students 16 and older can receive Pre-ETS from DVR if they have an IEP, a Section 504 Plan and/or a documented disability and a family caregiver and school staff sign a DVR consent form. If the student is 18 or older (educational age of majority in Washington), the student and school staff sign the DVR form.

Families and students can contact DVR directly

Gillum says the best way to access the 2-page consent form and begin services is to contact the DVR counselor assigned to the student’s school. DSHS maintains an interactive map on a page called, Find a School Transition Counselor. By entering the county, school district, and name of the school, families can get a name and phone number for the DVR staff member assigned to their specific school.

Families also can look on DVR’s Pre-Employment Transition Services website page and scroll down to the chart that lists Regional Transition Consultants by area/county and includes phone numbers.

Families, schools, and students will need to work collaboratively to provide the required signatures for consent forms during the pandemic. Scanned versions may suffice in the short term, although mailed copies may eventually be required. A DVR counselor can provide guidance about the best methods for submitting the required forms to begin services.

Services for the blind are managed separately

Individuals with vision impairment and blindness are served through a separate vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency in Washington State. The Department of Services for the Blind (DSB) provides Pre-ETS and VR for clients statewide and maintains an Orientation and Training Center (OTC), to help individuals learn to navigate the world with limited or no vision, in Seattle.

DSB continues to serve clients during school and facility closures, says Michael MacKillop, Acting Executive Director. In early spring, 2020, MacKillop noted that DSB had been able to serve all clients who qualified for services, clearing a waitlist that is part of the state’s Order of Selection to serve clients within its budget.

Order of Selection impacts access to 1:1 DVR support

DVR also operates with Order of Selection when clients apply for individualized vocational rehabilitation (VR) counseling. The Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) is a DVR program that is separate from Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS). The IPE is supported 1:1, whereas pre-employment services are generally provided to groups of students.

Through Order of Selection, individuals with the highest needs for support are prioritized for 1:1 support from a DVR counselor. When developing an IPE, the client and counselor establish a goal for employment; the counselor provides coaching, logistical and sometimes financial support to help make that happen. The case remains open until the employment goal is met if the client remains meaningfully engaged in the process. IPE services might include educational support if further education is needed to achieve a job goal.

Can a student get Pre-ETS and 1:1 help?

A student might receive services through both programs—Pre-ETS and the Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE). However, families should be aware that there are some specific rules related to Order of Selection.

  • If a student is already participating in Pre-ETS, the student can apply for an IPE and Order of Selection will not impact the student’s ongoing engagement in Pre-ETS.
  • If the student applies for an IPE first and is put on a waiting list, then the student also will have to wait to begin Pre-ETS.
  • A student will have more access to DVR services by engaging with the Pre-ETS first and then considering whether to also apply for individualized support.

Signing a consent form with DVR is the first step

The family and school need to work together to complete DVR’s consent form before services can begin. Some programs, including summer camps, require a student to be officially enrolled in Pre-ETS. Completing the consent form is a first step.

Services from DVR expand work underway at school

Note that all students in Washington work with counselors and other school staff on a High School and Beyond Plan, which includes interest surveys and career cruising, encourages volunteer work, and provides an organizational method to ensure that a student’s work in school strengthens a pathway toward adult goals. The state requires this planning to begin in Middle School, by 7th– 8th grade, for all students.

Summary of Tools for Transition

To summarize, a student with a disability has a set of possible tools to support the high-school transition and plans for higher education, work, and independent living:

  1. High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP)—described on the website of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). The HSBP is a tool for all Washington students and required to begin by 8th
  2. IEP Transition Plan—described by OSPI in a booklet, Guidelines for Aligning High School & Beyond Plans (HSBP) and IEP Transition Plans. A Transition Plan is an IEP requirement by age 16.
  3. Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) from DVR, for students with a documented disability who may have an IEP, a Section 504 Plan or no plan. A student does not need to be eligible for DVR case management to receive Pre-ETS.
  4. An Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE), if eligible, with 1:1 DVR support
  5. Person Centered Planning is another tool: PAVE provides an article about PCP, with reminders that sessions can happen in person or virtually.

Key elements of Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS)

Pre-ETS include five required services. Each service in this list is linked to a resource for further investigation. DVR counselors can provide additional resources to suit an individual’s unique circumstances:

  1. Job exploration counseling: career speakers, interest and ability inventories, investigation of labor market statistics and trends, and more
  2. Work-based learning experiences: in-school or after school opportunities, including internships, provided in an integrated environment to the maximum extent possible. According to the Brookings Institution, work-based learning is predictive of future job quality.
  3. Counseling on opportunities for further education: How to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid(FAFSA®) and how to locate disability resource centers at colleges and universities are part of college readiness.
  4. Workplace readiness training to develop social skills and independent living
  5. Instruction in self-advocacy, which may include peer mentoring, training in disability disclosure, and more

Work-based learning and work readiness programs are generally provided by agencies that contract with DVR, says Gillum from DVR in Tacoma. “Transition consultants oversee those contracts and help connect students and agencies to develop a service plan.”

Why VR is worth the work and where to go for more information

Research shows that access to an array of collaborative services during high school improves post-secondary outcomes, especially when school staff and service providers get to know one another and there are “warm hand-offs” between individuals who develop trusted relationships with the young person, according to data shared by the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT). Another place for data and detail about WIOA is the Workforce Innovation Technical Assistance Center (WINTAC).

Engagement with vocational rehabilitation services is supported by initiatives endorsed by the U.S. Department of Labor and its Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). These federal agencies promote the concept of Employment First, a framework for systems change centered on the premise that all citizens, including individuals with significant disabilities, are capable of full participation in integrated employment and community life. 

The PACER Center, a Minnesota-based agency founded in 1977 to promote a “parents helping parents” philosophy, supports the National Parent Center on Transition and Employment, which offers a collection of materials with more information about vocational rehabilitation and how to benefit from pre-employment and employment services. Included in the PACER Center’s materials is a booklet for parents to help young people prepare for college and careers.

Washington’s DVR program provides a video about the school-to-work transition with young people talking about their experiences with the agency and how it helped.

Chelsie Gillum from the Pierce County region of DVR encourages young people and families to contact DVR despite the pandemic. “Even if vocational rehabilitation services are not what you need immediately,” she says, “our team can help connect you with other resources to help you during the pandemic. We appreciate your patience and flexibility as we all adjust to meet people’s needs in this ever-changing landscape. We cannot wait to hear from you!”

 

Adolescent Health Care Act Provides Options for Families Seeking Mental Health and Substance Use Help for Young People Resistant to Treatment

Posted on by Nicol Walsh

A Brief Overview

  • The Adolescent Behavioral Health Care Access Act, passed into law by the Washington Legislature in 2019, gives parents and providers more leverage in treating a young person who won’t or can’t independently seek medical help for mental illness and/or substance use disorder.
  • The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) in March 2020 launched several website links with information about the new law, which includes an option for Family Initiated Treatment (FIT).
  • The Washington State Hospital Association on July 9, 2019, provided a slide presentation describing the law’s history and its primary features.
  • A place to connect with other families concerned about adolescent mental healthcare access in Washington State is a group called Youth Behavioral Healthcare Advocates (YBHA-WA) on Facebook. Included on the page are handouts that summarize key aspects of the new law. 

Full Article

Getting mental health help for a youth in crisis can be complicated, frustrating and frightening.

Mental Health America ranks states based on the incidence of mental illness and access to services. The agency’s 2020 rankings list Washington in the 43rd position, based on various measures that indicate a higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care.

Often a barrier to treatment is the youth, who may not be able to see a problem or want to get professional help. Parents often struggle to navigate systems that must balance a young person’s autonomy with concern that they may not be able to make good decisions because of their development, specific illness circumstances or symptoms that impact the brain.

In Washington State, the age of medical consent is 13. That means that a person 13-17 years old can independently seek medical treatment, without the consent or knowledge of parents.

Age of consent laws also have meant that Washington youth could say no to mental health or substance use treatment, regardless of whether parents and providers agreed that such treatment was necessary to protect the safety and well-being of the adolescent.

A law passed by the Washington legislature in 2019 gives parents and providers more leverage when a young person is struggling with a mental illness or substance use disorder and won’t independently engage with treatment. The law does not limit an adolescent’s ability to initiate treatment on their own.

A January 8, 2020, article in Crosscut profiles several families impacted by the new law. “Until the new law,” the article states, “parents often were shut out of their teenager’s care and treatment plans and couldn’t push a teen toward necessary outpatient or inpatient care without their consent.”

The Adolescent Behavioral Health Care Access Act enables parents/caregivers to bring a child for inpatient or outpatient treatment without requiring consent from the child, ages 13-17. The law includes elements introduced by the state Senate and House of Representatives, which originally titled the bill as HB 1874.

Passage of the law was a win for the Children’s Mental Health Work Group, which studied and reviewed recommendations from a stakeholder advisory group authorized by the 2018 legislature. The final version of the law included input from family members, youth, clinicians, hospital staff and many others who met dozens of times. A June 13, 2019, slide presentation available online provides additional history and detail about the work group and its recommendations: Family Initiated Treatment and Engaging Families in Treatment of Youth. The webinar with sound is available on YouTube.

The 2020 legislature is considering amendments to the law, and the Children’s Mental Health Work Group continues to meet to consider proposals to clarify provisions that relate to residential treatment and referrals for Wraparound with Intensive Services (WISe).

“Parent” is broadly defined

The 2019 law expands the definition of parent to include a wide range of family caregivers, guardians and others who have authority to initiate treatment. The Revised Code of Washington (RCW 9A.72.085) provides standards for “subscribing to an unsworn statement” that can apply to a caregiver initiating treatment. 

Note that parents retain the right to make medical decisions for children younger than 13, and adults 18 and older are responsible for medical decision-making if there is no guardianship.

A substantive change with the 2019 law is that providers may share mental health information with parents without an adolescent’s consent, if the provider determines that information sharing with family is in the best interests of the adolescent patient. A list of information-sharing guidelines is included below.

How Family-Initiated Treatment Works

If a parent/caregiver believes that an adolescent requires mental health or substance use disorder treatment, the adult can escort the young person to an inpatient or outpatient treatment facility even if the adolescent doesn’t readily agree to go.

A provider will assess the adolescent and consider information from the family to determine whether treatment is medically necessary. An adolescent’s refusal to engage with the provider cannot be the sole basis for refusing to treat.

An inpatient facility can detain the adolescent under Family-Initiated Treatment (FIT) if medically necessary. Note: another option could be detention under the Involuntary Treatment Act (ITA), if the adolescent is determined to be gravely disabled or at imminent risk of self-harm or harm to others.

If medical necessity is found by an outpatient provider, a counselor is limited to 12 sessions over 3 months to attempt to work with the adolescent. If the young person still refuses to engage with treatment, then the period of Family-Initiated Treatment with that provider ends.

State laws continue to encourage autonomy for young people, but family engagement is encouraged. According to the Revised Code of Washington (RCW 71.34.010):

 “Mental health and chemical dependency professionals shall guard against needless hospitalization and deprivations of liberty, enable treatment decisions to be made in response to clinical needs in accordance with sound professional judgment, and encourage the use of voluntary services. Mental health and chemical dependency professionals shall, whenever clinically appropriate, offer less restrictive alternatives to inpatient treatment. Additionally, all mental health care and treatment providers shall assure that minors’ parents are given an opportunity to participate in the treatment decisions for their minor children.”

Guidance for Information Sharing

Federal law, 42 CFR Part 2, restricts information sharing related to substance use, and clinicians cannot share that information without a patient’s written consent, regardless of whether the substance use co-occurs with mental illness.

Providers have discretion in determining what information about mental health diagnoses and treatment is clinically appropriate to share with parents of an adolescent 13-17. A provider retains discretion in withholding information from family/caregivers to protect an adolescent’s well-being. In general, the Adolescent Behavioral Healthcare Access Act encourages sharing information to support collaboration between the clinical setting and home. Specifically, providers and families are encouraged to discuss:

  • Diagnosis
  • Treatment Plan and Progress
  • Recommended medications, including risks, benefits, side effects, typical efficacy, dosages and schedule
  • Education about the child’s mental health condition
  • Referrals to community resources
  • Coaching on parenting or behavioral management strategies
  • Crisis prevention planning and safety planning

Information about state laws related to Behavioral Health Services for Minors is available through the Washington State Legislature website under RCW 71.34.

Information about child and youth behavioral health services in Washington State is available from the Health Care Authority (HCA).

Attention Students: Lead your own IEP meetings and take charge of your future

Posted on by Nicol Walsh

A Brief Overview

  • By the time you are 16 years old, the school is required to invite you to your IEP meetings. You can attend any time, and leading your own meeting is a great way to learn important skills.
  • If you need more help at school or aren’t learning what you need to learn, then your IEP might need some fixing. Your voice matters on the IEP team.
  • A website, I’m Determined.org, provides videos of students describing their goals. You can also print a goal-tracking worksheet from that website.
  • Read on to learn more about the parts of an IEP and how to get more involved in your own education.

Full Article

If you are a student with an Individualized Education Program (IEP), read this article to find out how you can be a leader on your IEP team. Your future is counting on you!

By the time you are 16 years old, the school is required to invite you to your IEP meetings. From that year on, your school program is matched to your long-term goals. It’s important to plan your time carefully so that every school day gets you closer to where you want to be when you are an adult. 

Learn to be a self-advocate

 An advocate (pronounced ad-vo-cut) is someone who asks for something in a public way. Public schools get money from the government, so they are considered public entities. When you ask the school to provide you with something that you need to succeed, then you are being a self-advocate.

The word advocate can also be an action word (a verb), but then it’s pronounced ad-vo-cate (rhymes with date). You advocate for yourself when you ask for what you need to succeed.

Here’s another way to use this hyphenated word: You can say that you “practice self-advocacy.” Leading your own IEP meeting is a great way to practice self-advocacy and develop important adult skills.

Your Transition Plan focuses on where you want to go

 The part of the IEP that focuses on your adult goals is called a Transition Plan. The Transition Plan is added to the IEP by the school year when you turn 16. The plan includes details about:

  • when you plan to graduate (you can stay in school through age 21 if your IEP goals require more time)
  • what jobs you might choose
  • whether college is part of your plans
  • what lifestyle you imagine for yourself (will you drive, cook, shop, live alone?)
  • how school is getting you ready for all of that

The Transition Plan is all about you and your future. You can start taking charge of your future by going to your IEP meetings. You may want to lead all or part of the meeting, and you have that right.

The law says it’s all about you

Your rights as a student with an IEP are part of a federal law called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The IDEA says that schools must include family members and students on the IEP team. If you don’t play on the team, you can’t win the game, right? This is more important than a game—it’s Your Life!

The IDEA is a unique law because it says you get what you need in order to access school and learning. Getting an education that is specially designed just for you is called an entitlement. What you are entitled to is called FAPE, which means Free Appropriate Public Education.

You can become a leader on your IEP team by learning more about FAPE and how to talk about what it means to you. Public education is free for all school-age students in the United States, but consider this question: What makes your education appropriate?

Here are some questions to help you think and talk about FAPE:

  • What is it like to have a disability?
  • What about your disability makes school hard?
  • What do you need at school that helps you learn?
  • Are you getting better and better at the skills you need to be good at?
  • Are your teachers helping you see what you do well?

If you are learning important skills at school, and your learning is helping you build on your strengths, then you are probably getting FAPE. If you need more help or aren’t learning the skills that you need to move forward, then your IEP might need some fixing. Keep in mind that the school is responsible to provide you with FAPE. You have the right to ask for FAPE.

Learn what your IEP can do for you

Here’s a starter kit to help you understand what your IEP says and how you can ask for changes. When you go to your IEP meeting, you have the right to ask the teachers and school administrators to help you read and understand your IEP.

These are some important parts of an IEP:

  • Category of Disability: This is on the “cover page” of the IEP document. It lists the type of disability that best describes why you need individualized help at school. You should know this category so you can understand how and why teachers are supposed to help you.
  • The Present Levels of Performance: This is the long section at the beginning of the IEP that describes how you are doing and what the school is helping you work on. The beginning of this section lists what you are good at. Make sure that section is complete so you can be sure the teachers help you build on your strengths.
  • Goals: When you qualified for an IEP, the school did an evaluation. You showed that you needed to learn certain things with instructions designed just for you. To help you learn, the teachers provide Specially Designed Instruction. They keep track of your progress toward specific goals in each area of learning. You can learn what your goals are and help track your progress. A website, I’m Determined.org, provides videos of students describing their goals. You can also print a goal-tracking worksheet from that website.
  • Accommodations: You can ask for what you need to help you learn in all the different classrooms and places where you spend the school day. Do you learn better if you sit in a specific part of the classroom, for example, or if you have a certain type of chair? Do you need to be able to take breaks? Do you do better on tests if you take them in a small, quiet space instead of the regular classroom? Do you need shorter assignments, so you don’t get overwhelmed? Helping your teachers know how to help you is part of your job as an IEP team member.

Get Ready for Your IEP Meeting

You can get ready for your IEP meeting by looking over the IEP document.  You may want to ask a family member or a teacher to help you read through the document. If you don’t understand what’s in your IEP, plan to ask questions at the meeting.

PAVE provides a worksheet to help you prepare for your meeting. It’s called a Student Input Form. You can use this worksheet to make a handout for the meeting or just to start thinking about things you might want to say. If you don’t want to make a handout, you might draw pictures or make a video to share your ideas.

These sentence starters might help you begin:

  • I enjoy…
  • I learn best when…
  • I’m good at…
  • It’s hard for me when…
  • I want more help in these areas…
  • I like school the most when …
  • Teachers are helpful when they…
  • I want to learn more about …
  • It would be great if…

You may want to think about your disability and how it affects your schoolwork. You could work on a sentence or draw a picture to help the teachers understand something that is hard for you. These might be the parts of a sentence that you can personalize:

  • My disability in the area of …
  • makes school difficult because…

Your handout can include a list of what you want to talk about at the meeting. Here are a few ideas, but your options are unlimited:

  • A favorite class, teacher or subject in school?
  • A time during the school day that is hard for you?
  • Your IEP goals?
  • Something that helps you feel comfortable and do well?
  • Something you want to change in your school schedule or program?
  • Graduation requirements and when you plan to graduate?
  • Your High School and Beyond Plan? (see information below)
  • Anything else that’s important to you?

High School and Beyond Plan

Maybe you started talking about what you might do after graduation when you were in middle school. Washington State public schools are required to help all students begin a High School and Beyond Plan by 8th grade. Ask a teacher, a school counselor and/or your parents if you haven’t started one of those: It’s required so you can graduate from high school.

It’s never too soon to think about what you want to do in the future. When you start building an IEP Transition Plan, it’s critical to think and talk through your ideas and how you see yourself moving forward. Here are some starter questions: 

  1. Where am I now? (strengths, interests, abilities)
  1. Where do I want to go? (aspirations, dreams, expectations)
  1. How do I get there? (goals, courses, activities, helpers, accommodations)

Here are some additional questions to help you plan:

Jobs, Trades, & Work

  • What jobs would be a good fit?
  • What training and/or supports will you need?
  • Does your IEP include community work experience?

Education after high school

  • Do your personal goals include college or technical school?
  • What accommodations will you need?
  • Have you contacted Disability Support Services on campus?

Living arrangements

  • Will you live with family, a friend or on your own?
  • How will you cook, clean, shop, & get around town?
  • Does your IEP have goals for Independent living?

Community experiences

  • What will you do for fun?
  • Will you join a club or support group?
  • How will you make friends and keep in touch?

It’s never too soon to plan ahead!

Setting goals and making some plans now will help your school and family help you make sure you’ve got the right class credits, skills training and support to make that shift out of high school easier.

Being a leader at your IEP meeting is a great way to build skills for self-advocacy and self-determination, which is another great two-part word to learn. Self-determination means you make choices to take control of your life. At your IEP meeting, you can practice describing what helps you or what makes your life hard. You get to talk about what you do well and any projects or ideas that you get excited about. In short, you get to design your education so that it supports your plans to design your own adult life.

Here are links to more ideas and tools to help you get involved in your own future planning:

The Center for Change in Transition Services has a toolkit for youth

Youthhood.org also has resources designed just for you

 

The School Might Call to Ask About a Young Adult’s Experience After High School: Here’s Help to Prepare

Posted on by Nicol Walsh

Post-Graduation Survey Support for Families

Each June 1-Nov. 1, Washington school districts call the homes of former students to reconnect and see how things are going. The information that families share helps the state make decisions about educational programming for students in special education.

If a school district representative calls, the interview will be about 15 minutes long and will include questions about work, further education and whether the student had support from any agencies while making the transition from high school to whatever came next. The caller might be a teacher, secretary, or other staff member.

By answering the survey questions, families provide valuable information that helps improve transition services for current and future students with special education programs. Families with youth still in high school can prepare to participate in this survey after graduation by making sure to provide a teacher with a reliable way to reach the family after graduation (phone, email, text).

Below are a few tips to help you plan for this interview, in case you get called. For a longer version of this guidance, visit the website of the Center for Change in Transition Services (CCTS), which is operated by Seattle University. CCTS provides the “Post-School Survey Student and Family Guide” as a Power Point and/or a downloadable handout in both English and Spanish.

All information is kept confidential. The data are summarized into reports about the post-school outcomes of students throughout Washington State. A statewide post-school outcome report is published by CCTS every December. School district reports are also published in December, and families can request a copy form the district.

Here’s a summary of questions. Families can prepare by writing down the answers and having them ready to access for the telephone survey, which is not pre-scheduled:

Work:

  • Is the young adult working? If so, where? How long?
  • How many hours? What are the hourly wages, or how much is being earned?
  • Whom does the young person work with?
  • If not working, what was the most recent job and its pay?

Schools and Vocational Agencies:

  • Is the young adult going to school? If so, where? How long?
  • Has the family or young person contacted any service agencies for support?
  • What service help is being given or lacking? For example, is the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) or a supported employment agency such as Trillium, WorkSource, Vadis or another company helping?

 

Washington’s 2019 Law Adjusts Graduation Requirements

Posted on by Nicol Walsh

The Washington State Legislature passed a law in 2019 that changes graduation requirements and may impact students who receive special education services. House Bill (HB) 1599 changes the rules about which tests students must pass in order to graduate and how they can earn a diploma.  

The new law removes the direct link between statewide assessments and graduation requirements by discontinuing the Certificate of Academic Achievement (CAA) after the graduating class of 2019 and the Certificate of Individual Achievement (CIA) after the graduating class of 2021.

Students in the class of 2020 and beyond will need to demonstrate career and college readiness through one of eight graduation pathway options that align with the High School and Beyond Plan, a requirement for all Washington students. The High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP) is expanded by the new law, and districts will be required to provide an electronic HSBP platform available to students beginning in 2020–21.

After-high-school plans are a critical aspect of the Transition Plan written into a student’s individualized Education Program (IEP) by age 16, and the expansion of the HSBP provides for improved alignment between these future-planning tools.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is the agency responsible for oversight of all public schools and non-public agencies in Washington State. OSPI maintains a website page with information about graduation requirements. Visit OSPI’s Graduation Requirements page for compete and updated material. The page includes a link to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

This article provides a brief overview of the new requirements, and parents can take this list to an IEP meeting to ask questions and create a plan to ensure graduation success. For more general information about planning for the transition from high school, take a look at a Recorded Webinar on PAVE’s website and/or read an article called Tips to Make a Well-Informed Transition into Life After High School.

Class of 2019, Take Note!

Some students in the Classes of 2014 through 2019 may be eligible to have their assessment graduation requirements waived in English language arts (ELA), math, or both. The Expedited Assessment Appeals Waiver requires that the student show that he/she has the skills and knowledge to meet high school standards and possesses the skills necessary to successfully achieve college or career goals established in the High School and Beyond Plan.

Students may use one of the following to meet the assessment graduation requirements:

  • Graduation standard on Smarter Balanced or WA-AIM (ELA and math)
  • Passing a dual credit course
  • Passing a Bridge to College course
  • ACT or SAT score
  • Advanced Placement score
  • Passing Locally Administered Assessment (COE-Local)
  • Grades Comparison
  • CIA cut-score on Smarter Balanced (“L2 Basic”) (for some students with disabilities)
  • Locally Developed Assessment (LDA) (for some students with disabilities)
  • Off-grade assessment (for some students with disabilities)
  • Expedited Assessment Appeals Waiver

Further information about the waiver is provided in an OSPI Bulletin.

Class of 2020: What will change?

Students will need to demonstrate readiness for post-secondary career or college via one or more pathways. Students in the Class of 2020 will also have access to a waiver. The pathways available to the Class of 2020 are:

  • Graduation standard on Smarter Balanced or WA-AIM (ELA and math)
  • Dual credit
  • Bridge to College
  • C+ in AP, IB, or Cambridge class or achieving certain score on AP, IB, or Cambridge tests
  • ACT or SAT score
  • Also, if completed during the 2018-19 school year: Locally Administered Assessment (COE-Local) This option is not available in 2019-20.

Students must demonstrate skills via a pathway for ELA and math. The above options can be used interchangeably to meet both requirements.