How can educators help support students in the transition planning process?
Page 6: Interagency Collaboration
Because of the range of professionals and services involved in transition, interagency collaboration is crucial to a student’s seamless transition from high school to postsecondary environments. Interagency collaboration refers to establishing a community of partners—including the student and their family, school professionals, agency personnel, and service providers—to work toward a common goal. When interagency collaboration is overlooked in the transition process, students tend to lack a support network once they exit school. However, school-based IEP teams can build this type of network by collaborating with relevant agencies and community resources such as:
- Community-based organizations (e.g., Vocational Rehabilitation offices, Centers for Independent Living)
- Postsecondary education institutions (e.g., community colleges, public universities)
- Employers
Centers for Independent Living (CIL)
Community-based, cross-disability organizations run by and for people with disabilities; core services include information and referrals, independent living skills training, peer counseling, individual and systems advocacy, and transition services.
Several interlocking gears of various sizes featuring examples of interagency collaborators. The largest gear in the center is labeled Student and Family. It extends to slightly smaller gears, including Centers for Independent Living, Disability-Related Organizations, Vocational Rehabilitation, and School Personnel. These gears extend to smaller gears, such as Advocacy Organizations; Postsecondary Education Institutions; Transportation Organizations; Informal Support; Department of Health; Social Security Administration; Community Organizations; and Potential Employers, Businesses.
Did You Know?
Although educational records are confidential, school personnel involved in the education of a student with a disability must have access to relevant records, such as IEPs, assessment or evaluation data, and progress reports. Representatives from outside organizations who are involved in a student’s transition plan might also need access to such information. To release any educational records to external partners, the school must obtain written consent from the student’s parent.
To make a student’s transition as seamless as possible, interagency collaboration must play an ongoing role throughout the process. To develop and foster collaborative relationships, IEP teams can follow the steps below.
- Identify potential partners: Taking into account the student’s strengths and needs, the IEP team determines agencies and community resources for possible collaboration. When doing so, the IEP team considers which partners would be most relevant to supporting the student’s transition goals related to education and training, employment, and (if necessary) community engagement and independent living.
- Initiate and build partnerships: When adding new partners to a student’s transition plan, select members of the IEP team take responsibility for:
- Identifying a contact person within each relevant organization
- Initiating referrals to appropriate agencies who can determine the student’s eligibility for their services
- Establishing methods of ongoing communication, including designated points of contact, data sharing agreements, and releases of information
- Develop and implement the plan: Partners and the IEP team collaborate to align the student’s transition plan across organizations and to clearly identify roles and responsibilities. With permission of the student and parent, appropriate partners should be invited to the student’s IEP meetings when transition will be discussed.
- Monitor and evaluate: IEP team members and relevant partners monitor the student’s progress toward achieving their transition goals and regularly evaluate the need for changes to the transition plan.
Keep in Mind
The student is an integral member of the IEP team and the transition planning process. Therefore, educators should support students in exercising self-determination by having them communicate with all relevant partners, advocate for their own needs and preferences, and contribute to decisions about their services and supports.
In this interview, Valerie Mazzotti describes the value of interagency collaboration, those who are typically involved, and how this benefits students during secondary transition (time: 2:24).
Valerie L. Mazzotti, PhD
Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor of Special Education
Department of Special Education
University of Kansas
Transcript: Valerie L. Mazzotti, PhD
Interagency collaboration is probably one of the most important pieces to the transition planning process. We know that when students with disabilities are connected with the services and supports they need in high school, they are more likely to have positive post-school outcomes in the areas of education, employment, and community engagement. Transition planning should be a coordinated effort, both intra-agency (meaning those folks that are within the school community) and interagency (meaning those people that are outside of the school building and even sometimes outside the district). When we think about interagency collaboration, that typically involves a special education director, a transition coordinator, and adult service providers like Vocational Rehabilitation, developmental disability services. It’s collaboration with employers within the community to help ensure kids are getting jobs. It’s collaboration with higher education, whether that’s a community college or a university, to ensure that students can access education and training when they leave. It might be somebody from the Chamber of Commerce who can help solve problems and barriers that youth with disabilities might face. We’ve found that building those collaborative partnerships increases opportunities for students and gives them options for work experiences that align with their post-school goals, options for community engagement related to recreation and other experiences, and options for just deciding what to do after high school. Bringing community partners to the table to partner with families and students with disabilities can really open the minds of families and students to know “There’s something for me after high school.” So I can’t emphasize enough the importance of interagency collaboration for students and families, as it can help them really understand services, supports, and opportunities that can allow them to successfully transition into adulthood.
Returning to the Challenge
Learn how Carly’s and Omar’s teams engage in interagency collaboration.
During Carly’s IEP meeting, the team discusses the importance of collaborating with external partners to prepare for her secondary transition. They identify three potential partners to support Carly’s transition goals:
- Local hospital: The team identifies the internship coordinator at a nearby hospital as a potential collaborator, as Carly hopes to gain experience and eventually work in the healthcare field.
- Vocational Rehabilitation (VR): Her special education teacher also refers Carly and her family to the local VR agency and encourages them to pursue these services to support Carly’s employment goals.
- Center for Independent Living (CIL): The IEP team recommends connecting with the local CIL to help Carly access training and mentorship for independent living.
Throughout Carly’s high school years, her IEP team expands to include representatives of these organizations, all of whom collaborate to implement and monitor her transition services.
Although Omar’s transition team has not previously included any partners outside of the school, the IEP team expands to include representatives of two external groups during his senior year:
- Local disability support group: Omar’s teacher refers him to a local organization that offers a monthly support group for adults with autism.
- University disability services office: After Omar is accepted into his first-choice university, the IEP team connects with their disability services office to help Omar understand and prepare for the process of registering as a student with a disability and requesting accommodations.
For more information about interagency collaboration, please visit the IRIS Module:
