What can school personnel do to help students in the transition planning process?
Page 8: Interagency Collaboration Resources
Interagency collaboration can be crucial to a student’s successful transition from high school to post-school environments or activities. This component involves the IEP team determining what community businesses, organizations, and agencies might be instrumental in supporting a student’s transition. These can include universities or colleges, employers, mental health agencies, disability related agencies (e.g., Easter Seals), vocational rehabilitation centers, transit-access agencies, independent living centers, and disability specific agencies (e.g., programs for the blind and visually impaired, United Cerebral Palsy). When the IEP team has identified potential community resources, select members of the team are made responsible for:
Did You Know?
Although a student’s educational records are confidential, school personnel involved with the student’s education should have access to his IEP and other relevant records. However, school personnel must obtain written consent from the student’s parent (or the student if they have reached the age of majority) to release any records. This includes the student’s disability related information, assessment or evaluation data, progress reports, personal or family information, and IEP records.
- Identifying a contact person within each agency
- Serving as a liaison between each identified agency and the school
- Inviting appropriate agency personnel to a student’s future IEP meeting as needed
- Referring the student to the appropriate agencies, which will then determine the student’s eligibility for services
- Sharing student information through established methods of communication
Research Shows
Interagency collaboration promotes positive post-school outcomes for students with disabilities in the areas of education and employment.
(Test, 2012a)
