Transition Services and The Broadening of The Special Education Mandate

By Caryl Andrea Oberman, Esquire*

The 1990 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act clarified the obligation of school districts to provide “transition services.” Although one purpose of the transition mandate is to require school districts to provide services designed to help students with disabilities secure productive post-school employment, the legislation is far broader. Essentially, the Act creates an entitlement for all older students with disabilities to receive services while they are in school to help them achieve their objectives in a variety of post-school settings, including not only employment and vocational training but also post-secondary academic education for those who are able and community and family living skills for those who are more severely disabled.

Prior to the 1990 amendments, the precise parameters of a school district’s obligations under the IDEA to assist in the transition of students with disabilities were unclear, particularly when the required services were ones traditionally provided by other state agencies. Too often, no governmental agency would assume responsibility to provide services acknowledged by all concerned as needed to assist in the student’s transition from school to post-school life. E.g., Gorski v. Lynchburg School Board, 1988-89 EHLR 441:415 (4th Cir. 1989).

The transition mandate has broadened traditional school district special education responsibilities in three ways.

The question of whether an undesirable behavior is exhibited at home or at school is irrelevant in the face of a goal of community living and competitive employment.
School districts become the guarantors of all needed transition services, regardless of the governmental agencies that usually provide them.
Services and programs not typically part of a school district’s repertoire for most special education students (community-based services, job coaching, mobility training, psychiatric counseling, etc.) are more frequently appropriate elements of transition plans.

Transition services are defined as “a coordinated set of activities for a student with a disability” and must meet three specific criteria. 20 U.S.C.§ 1401(30) and implementing regulations at 34 CFR §300.29(a).

Transition services must promote movement from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary education, vocational training, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living and community participation. 20 U.S.C. §30(A).
Transition services must be designed within an outcome-oriented process based upon the individual student’s needs, taking into account the student’s preferences and interests. 20 U.S.C. §1401(30)(A) and (B).
Transition services must includeinstruction, related services, community experiences, the development of employment and post-school adult living objectives, and, when appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation. 20 U.S.C. §1401(30)(C).

Beginning at age 14, each special education student is entitled to an IEP that includes a statement of the transition service needs of the student “under the applicable component of the child’s IEP that focuses on the child’s course of study.” 20 U.S.C. §1414(d)(1)(A)(vii)(I). At age 16 (or younger when determined to be appropriate by the IEP team) each special education student is entitled to an IEP that includes “a statement of needed transition services for the child, including, when appropriate, a statement of the interagency responsibilities or any needed linkages.” 20 U.S.C. §1414(d)(1)(A)(vii)(II).

School systems must be prepared to offer a range of programs and services, in each instance tailoring the specific services offered to the individual needs of the particular student. The IDEA extends entitlement to transition services to all students with disabilities in the mandated age range who have been determined by their IEP teams to be in need of such services in order to receive a free, appropriate public education. 34 C.F.R. §300.346(b)(2).

The range of required transition services is as broad as the range of students who are eligible under the IDEA. Obligations may include:

On-site job training or coaching. Urban by Urban v. Jefferson County School District R-1, 89 F. 3d 720, 24 IDELR 465 (10th Cir, 1996). See also Bonita Unified School District, 27 IDELR 248 (SEA CA 1997); Arlington Central School District, 28 IDELR 1130 (SEA NY 1998) ; Blaine (WA) School District No. 503, 22 IDELR 515 (OCR 1995).
Provision of community college courses. Chuhran v. Walled Lake Consolidated School, 22 IDELR 450 (6th Cir. 1995).
Assistance finding competitive employment. Coldspring-Oakhurst (TX) Consolidated Independent School District, 33 IDELR ¶ 250 (OCR 2000).
Provision of career information and evaluation and counseling for depression. Lancaster Independent School District, 29 IDELR 281 (SEA TX 1998).
Enrollment in sheltered workshops. Tuscaloosa County Board of Education, 29 IDELR 435 (SEA AL 1998) .
Assistance in pursuing higher education. Yankton School District v. Shram, 900 F. Supp. 1182, 23 IDELR 42 (DSD 1995); Cinnaminson Township Board of Education, 26 IDELR 1378 (SEA NJ 1997); San FranciscoUnified School District, 29 IDELR 153 (SEA CA 1998); Houston Independent School District, 32 IDELR ¶ 79 (SEA TX 1999) ; Bret Harte Union High School, 29 IDELR 1014 (SEA CA 1999).
College preparation. Caribou School Department, 35 IDELR ¶ 118 (SEA ME 2001); But see Fort Bend Independent School District, 34 IDELR ¶ 111 (SEA TX 2000); Elmhurst School District 205, 34 IDELR ¶ 112 (SEA IL 2000).
Daily living skills. Tuscaloosa County Board of Education, 29 IDELR 435 (SEA AL 1998); Arlington Central School District, 28 IDELR 1130 (SEA NY 1998).
Living in the community. Coldspring-Oakhurst (TX) Consolidated Independent School District, 33 IDELR ¶ 250 (OCR 2000) (voter registration); Portland School District, 30 IDELR 836 (SEA OR 1999)(use of city bus system); Novato Unified School District, 22 IDELR 1056 (SEA CA 1995)(residential placement in the community with on-site therapy and services of a one-to-one aide).
Assistance in transition of supportive services obligation from school district/education agency to other governmental agencies. Board of Education of City School District of the City of NY, 32 IDELR ¶ 24 (SEA NY 1999); Coldspring-Oakhurst (TX) Consolidated Independent School District, 33 IDELR ¶ 250 (OCR 2000).

Transition services must be provided in accordance with an IEP developed after a solid and comprehensive evaluation of the student’s individual needs and desires. A flawed assessment implies a flawed IEP and an inappropriate program. In Re: the Educational Assignment of Jason L., Pennsylvania Special Education Opinion 944 (1999); Lancaster Independent School District, 31 IDELR ¶ 24 (SEA TX 1998); Pasadena Independent School District, 21 IDELR 482 (SEA TX 1994); Fulton County School System, 29 IDELR 1031 (SEA TX 1999).

Good transition plans are like any other element of a good IEP, except for their subject matter. They contain outcome-oriented programs and services with measurable results based on solid evaluations that include serious consideration of the students’ desires and preferences. They describe the transition curriculum and the specially designed instruction necessary to achieve the outcomes and list those responsible for providing services and programs. Most importantly, they are implemented by school districts actually to deliver the services required.

A school district must do more than merely provide a checklist of other agencies that may have an obligation to the student, and remains ultimately responsible if the other agencies do not fulfill their responsibilities in the transition process. 20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(1)(A)(vii); Letter to Bereuter, 20 IDELR 536 (OSERS 1993); Mason City Community School District, 21 IDELR 248 (SEA IA 1994). Yankton, 900 F. Supp. 1182, 23 IDELR 42 (D.S.D. 1995).

Remedies for a school district’s failure to provide timely and substantively appropriate transition services may include extensive compensatory education, even if its provision would extend a student’s eligibility for special education services past the age of twenty-one. Urban by Urban v. Jefferson County School District R-1, 89 F. 3d 720, 24 IDELR 465 (10th Cir., 1996) (compensatory education is the preferred remedy for substantive denial of appropriate transition services).

Compensatory education awarded: East Penn School District v. Scott B., 29 IDELR 1058 (E.D. PA 1999); In Re: the Education Assignment of Alfred M., Pennsylvania Special Education Opinion 999 (2000) (2400 hours awarded); T.F. v. North Penn School District, 31 IDELR ¶ 101 (SEA PA 1999); J.B. v. Killingly Board of Education, 27 IDELR 324 (D CT 1997); San Francisco Unified School District, 29 IDELR 153 (SEA CA 1998);Novato Unified School District, 22 IDELR 1056 (SEA CA 1995); Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District, 33 IDELR ¶ 288 (SEA CA 2000).
Compensatory education denied:In Re: the Educational Assignment of Christine H., Pennsylvania Special Education Opinion 1139 (2001);Pace v. Bogolusa City School Board, 137 F. Supp. 2d 711, 34 IDELR ¶ 116 (ED LA 2001);Chuhran v. Walled Lake Consolidated School, 22 IDELR 450 (6th Cir. 1995); School Administrative Dist, # 1, 25 IDELR 1256 (SEA ME 1997); Novato Unified School District, 22 IDELR 1056 (SEA CA 1995); Wisconsin Dells School District, 35 IDELR Section 145 (SEA WI 2001).