Abstract
Adult student transition programs (also known as 18+ programs, 18–21 programs, adult transition programs, and community transition programs) are educational programs that provide instruction in age-appropriate community environments to adult students who have met the state credit and assessment guidelines for graduation but who still require transition services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004). IDEA Part B includes the provision of a free appropriate public education to children with disabilities ages 3 through 21 (some states provide services past the age of 21), and this provision of special education and related services past age 18, and thus 12th grade, is why adult transition services are to be provided by school districts when the child needs those transition services. Adult student transition programs are distinct from inclusive programs for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities at institutions of higher education in that adult student transition programs are an extension of special education services under IDEA, as opposed to programs at colleges and universities that are for adults with disabilities who have graduated from high school. Although adult student transition programs are generally thought to be appropriate for adult students with high-support needs, there is no specification in the IDEA that delimits these programs to students by disability category or level of need. Indeed, participation in an adult student transition program is not based on one’s disability category; rather, it is based on the individual’s need for transition services. However, states may have additional requirements regarding who receives adult student transition services.
The primary goal of adult student transition programs is to prepare students with disabilities for adult life in their communities. Thus, adult student transition programs are driven by the postschool needs of the students as indicated in their individualized education programs (IEPs). In these programs, IEPs are developed following age-appropriate transition assessment and in consultation with the adult students’ parents (in this article, we use “parent” to mean parent, guardian, primary caretaker, etc.). Although students in adult student transition programs are likely past the age of majority (and we believe student self-determination is very important), the role of the parent is still necessary because it will be the parent who will help the adult student after the cessation of transition services provided by the school.
“The primary goal of adult student transition programs is to prepare students with disabilities for adult life in their communities.
Adult student transition programs may assist adult students with disabilities in navigating their community, developing relationships with same-aged peers, improving communication skills, participating in recreational activities, applying for adult and community services, increasing independence, participating in postsecondary education or training, and obtaining employment. Adult student transition programs may also teach parents and family members strategies and skills for providing support to adult students with disabilities after exiting the program. As the adult student progresses through the transition programming, the student should be spending more and more time in natural community environments. Finally, by the time the student is ready to exit the adult student transition program, all the student’s time should be spent in the community. The community includes adult environments such as the home, workplace, volunteer sites, postsecondary education settings, recreation and leisure locations, and other community locations.
The challenge districts and schools have regarding adult transition services is knowing how to create evidence-based adult transition programming that results in postschool employment, education, and independent living for their adult students. This article provides steps for creating and improving adult student transition programs at the district level.
Ms. Rio, a special educator with 7 years of secondary classroom experience, was recently appointed as the transition specialist for the Ideal Independent School District, a suburban local education agency (LEA) that has never had a transition specialist before. After meeting with the special education director and reviewing the Indicator 14 data (i.e., postschool outcomes for students 1 year after leaving high school) over the last 5 years, one of Ms. Rio’s priorities is to develop a better transition-based special education program for the adult students 18 to 21 years of age served by the LEA. The LEA wants to improve the adult student transition programming considering the implications of the Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District Re-1 Supreme Court decision in which the former standard of a free appropriate public education of ensuring students make more than minimal progress was increased to enabling students to make progress toward challenging objectives in light of their circumstances.
After learning about the different models of adult student transition programs in her master’s program, Ms. Rio identifies the current adult student transition program in her LEA as a campus-based high school program. The adult students use school transportation and follow the high school’s bell schedule and calendar. Because the requirements for the state curriculum have been met by the students, the students’ days are filled with community-based instruction, some work-based learning in the community, and lots of craft projects. Although enjoyable for the students and staff, these activities are not promoting the students’ movement into individualized postsecondary environments and activities, as evidenced by the poor Indicator 14 data for the LEA. Ms. Rio consults with her professors and the state regional education service center to come up with a plan for improving the adult student transition program at Ideal Independent School District. During her exploration of the educational literature and discussions with transition experts, Ms. Rio comes up with a plan.
Step 1: Assemble a Strategic Planning Team
Making systems change requires support from educators at different levels of the educational system. Assemble a strategic planning team consisting of a district-level special education administrator, a district-level transition specialist, a secondary counselor, an assessment expert (e.g., diagnostician or school psychologist), a paraprofessional job coach, existing adult transition program staff or special education teachers interested in participating in the adult transition program, and the vocational rehabilitation counselor. The strategic planning team may also include a secondary campus administrator, especially if the adult transition program will be under the supervision of that campus administrator.
With the assistance of the special education director, Ms. Rio assembles a strategic planning team consisting of:
Ms. Rio, district transition specialist
Ms. Shelby, secondary special education supervisor
Mr. Quinn, school psychologist
Ms. Hutchinson, high school counselor
Mr. Grace, high school principal
Ms. Keller, job coach
Ms. Montague and Ms. Williams, functional skills teachers
Mr. Gardner, vocational rehabilitation counselor.
Step 2: Assess the Current Programming and Identify Priority Needs
Before developing an adult student transition program or improving an existing one, assess the current status of programming. Wehmeyer et al. (2006) suggested eight quality indicators of exemplary adult student transition programs: (a) program is provided in age-appropriate environments to promote social interaction and community inclusion; (b) instruction is functional and occurs progressively in natural settings (e.g., work settings, homes, and community recreation locales); (c) program focuses on postsecondary education or training, employment, and independent living outcomes; (d) academic instruction is functional and tied to students’ postschool goals; (e) person-centered planning and family involvement are components of the program; (f) adult service providers are involved in planning and implementation; (g) evidence-based transition practices are used; and (h) the program fosters student involvement and self-determination. Because adult student transition programs must result in postschool outcomes, evidence-based transition predictors of successful postschool outcomes need to be incorporated. Of the 17 evidence-based predictors Mazzotti et al. (2021) identified as predictors of postschool outcomes, 13 predictors are applicable to adult transition programs: (a) goal setting, (b) student support in obtaining employment, (c) paid employment/work experience, (d) parent expectations, (e) parent involvement, (f) self-care/independent living skills, (g) self-determination/self-advocacy, (h) youth autonomy/decision-making, (i) social skills, (j) transition program, (k) community experiences, (l) interagency collaboration, and (m) travel skills. Adult student transition programs that include these predictors and quality indicators are more likely to result in adults with disabilities successfully living, learning, and working in their communities.
“Before developing an adult student transition program or improving an existing one, assess the current status of programming.
The Quality Indicators for Adult Student Transition Programs is a tool LEAs can use to make changes to their adult student transition program at the programmatic level. The tool was initially developed by Mitchell (2021) reviewing the literature on best practices for adult transition programs and working with adult transition programs in the state of Texas so it includes the adult student transition program placement criteria for Texas (Mitchell 2021). Educators in other states will need to update this portion of the tool with their state’s criteria. The tool has been revised to ensure alignment with the taxonomy for transition programming (Kohler et al., 2016), evidence-based predictors (Mazzotti et al., 2021), and the quality indicators identified by Wehmeyer et al. (2006). Supplementary Figure 1 shows how the indicators and items on the tool are supported by research on transition programming, with a specific focus on adult student transition programming.
Each indicator on the tool consists of multiple items that schools or districts rate as regularly evident, sometimes evident, or not evident in their programming. After each item of an indicator has been rated, a total score for the indicator is calculated per the instructions on the tool. Next, the level of importance of each indicator to the school or district is rated. In general, indicators with lower total scores and indicator items with lower levels of evidence will be rated as having higher levels of importance.
The strategic planning team decides to use the Quality Indicators for Adult Student Transition Programs tool to assess the current adult student transition programming at the high school. Ms. Rio and her colleagues discuss each of the indicators and its respective items. They rate how evident each item is and follow the directions on the tool to compute a total score for each indicator. The total score for each indicator can range from 0 to 2, with 0 indicating all the items of the indicator are not evident and 3 indicating all the items of the indicator are always evident. The total scores for the seven indicators were 1.4, 1.0, 0.6, 1.4, 1.4, 0.6, and 1.4, respectively (Figure 2). The team interprets these scores to mean that the LEA has plenty of room for growth in the seven areas but especially Indicator 3: Policies and Procedures and Indicator 6: Assessments.
Indicators and items ratings
Next, Ms. Rio and her colleagues move on to the next part of the tool. The team rates the importance of each indicator’s items to the LEA’s programming and services at the current time. Ms. Rio tallies the number of items for each indicator that were rated as high importance. Based on the number of high-importance items and their total scores, Ms. Rio and the team rank Indicator 7: Instruction as having the first priority, Indicator 6: Assessment as having the second priority, and Indicator 5: Agency and Community Connections as having the third priority (Figure 3).
Levels of importance and priorities
Step 3: Develop the Action Plan Based on Priority Needs
After the indicators are prioritized based on the data from the tool, create goals and action plans. When creating the action plans, there are four questions the strategic planning team should consider: (a) When will I start working on this goal? (b) What areas will I focus on? (c) What training or support do I need? and (d) Who can help me with this goal? When answering the questions for each of the goal areas, it is helpful to assign tasks to specific team members.
When Will I Start Working on This Goal?
The sooner the LEA begins working on their goals, the sooner the adult student transition programming in the LEA will improve. After completing the Quality Indicators for Adult Student Transition Programs tool, develop a 1-year plan based on the priority goals identified in the tool. The Quality Indicators for Adult Student Transition Programs tool can be used annually to measure progress.
What Areas Will I Focus on?
To respond to this question, consider the items under each indicator and their level of importance. Ideally, change should be incremental and steady for the best results. Picking a small number of areas to focus on over the next year is recommended, as opposed to trying to do everything at once. By doing so, the LEA focuses on the quality of the implementation, which ensures the success of the programming.
What Training or Support Do I Need?
Identify areas in which the LEA needs training or support. For example, secondary special education staff may need training on student-led IEPs, and stakeholders may need to visit other adult student transition programs in the state. To identify adult transition programs that use evidence-based practices, the state education agency can provide recommendations as opposed to identifying a program to visit using a haphazard method of Who is close? or Who do we know? Visiting programs that do not use evidence-based practices may result in the reproduction of programs with lots of bells and whistles but few positive postschool outcomes. Regarding professional development on evidence-based adult transition models, outside assistance with professional development will likely be required.
Who Can Help Me With This Goal?
Change cannot occur without the support of multiple stakeholders. In addition to various LEA staff, parents and community partners are resources the team can use to improve the adult student transition programming in the LEA. Consultants may be able to work with the LEA. State education agencies provide professional development on special education topics and are a good resource for the LEA. Universities have experts in special education topics and may be able to provide professional development.
Ms. Rio and the team develop action plans based on priorities (i.e., goals) identified by answering the questions for each of the goal areas (Figure 4). The team answers the following questions: When will we start working on this goal? What areas will we focus on? What training or support do we need? and Who can help us with this goal?
Action plan
Step 4: Implement the Plan
After the action plan is developed, implement the plan. Because the action plan in the Quality Indicators for Adult Student Transition Programs tool prompted the strategic planning team to identify training and supports needed, the team is able to assign members tasks to begin. The strategic planning team should meet monthly throughout the year to make sure they are making progress. By meeting frequently, any issues with implementing the plan can be addressed and the plan revised as needed.
“Assessing progress and setting new goals for improvement are vital to continuous improvement.
The strategic planning team members read through the indicators for the goals and make assignments of the tasks needing to be completed. Because professional development will be required, Ms. Shelby and Mr. Grace get feedback from the rest of the team so they can budget the time and money for proposed trainings. The team sets the dates when they will meet throughout the year to make sure they are completing their tasks. Each team member takes their assignments and begins working on them. They are excited about the upcoming changes they will make and how these changes will have a positive impact on their students’ lives.
Step 5: Assess Progress and Repeat the Cycle
Assessing progress and setting new goals for improvement are vital to continuous improvement. In addition to meeting monthly to address hindrances to achieving the goals, the strategic planning committee will repeat the cycle of steps at the end of the academic year. Then, the team can compare their Quality Indicators for Adult Student Transition Programs tool scores from the year before to the present time to have a quantitative view of the progress made.
The strategic planning team had a lot to celebrate at the end of the year. The adult transition students are receiving instruction that aligns with their authentic postschool environments, and the district started using a person-centered planning tool as the basis of their transition assessment for students in the adult transition program. The district moved from placing students in work experiences based on the relationships the job coach had with nearby employers who did not hire their students to focusing on the adult students’ postsecondary goals for employment and finding viable placements in those areas. One of the most satisfying successes of the year was when one of their adult students, Madison, was hired as a receptionist in her neighborhood nail salon.
Another success was the assignment of an administrator, Ms. Raymond, to oversee the adult student transition services programming. It was not an easy endeavor, but the Ideal Independent School District administrators connected with other evidence-based adult student transition programs from other districts to obtain additional guidance. Reflecting on the progress, Ms. Raymond now attends each IEP meeting when a change of placement to the adult student transition program is proposed. Ms. Rio’s understanding of funding-related coding has improved, and the district staff who enters the coding information has accurate information. Because of the success of the year and their commitment to improving the postschool outcomes of their students with disabilities, the strategic planning team is eager to begin the cycle again. The process has already resulted in some positive changes, but the district wants good outcomes for all their students—and that requires a continuous improvement process.
Conclusion
Adult student transition programs prepare students with disabilities for life after high school in their communities. Using a continuous improvement process that includes a tool for evaluation of the adult transition programing, measurable improvements that result in individualized, positive postschool outcomes for their adult transition students can be achieved. This article provided steps and a tool districts can use to begin the process of evaluating, setting goals, creating plans, and implementing changes to create evidence-based adult student transition programs that result in outcomes for students.
Supplemental Material
sj-docx-1-tcx-10.1177_00400599221084367 – Supplemental material for Assessing and Improving Adult Student (18+) Transition Programs
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-tcx-10.1177_00400599221084367 for Assessing and Improving Adult Student (18+) Transition Programs by Leena Jo Landmark, Vickie J. Mitchell, Christina M. Gushanas and Townsley Tayebianpour in TEACHING Exceptional Children
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
References
Supplementary Material
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