Transition Services

Transition Services

Quick Links:

The Transition Book Transition Book Revised final 2019

Age of Eligibility

Virginia Department of Education Diploma Options

The Age of Majority: On Being 18

Virginia Dept. of Education Transition Services for Students with Disabilities

Securing a future for your child with a disability

Entering the world of work

What are Transition Services?

 Transition services consist of coordinated activities for a student with a disability that are:

• focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the student to facilitate their movement from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation;

• based on the individual student’s needs, taking into account their strengths, preferences, and interests; and

• includes instruction, related services, community experiences, the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives, and, if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.

(IDEA Regulations Secondary Transition. (2007, February 2). Retrieved from A Transition Guide to Postsecondary Education and Employment for Students and Youth With Disabilities

When do Transition Services Begin?

 A student’s IEP must include post secondary goals and transition services before they enter secondary school, but no later than the first IEP to be in effect when they reach age 14 (or younger, if the IEP team decides that it is appropriate).

Arlington Public Schools Transition Coordinators

Transition Coordinators work with each high school, high school program, and middle school to assist students as they move through the schools and into adult life.  Areas in which Coordinators can provide or make connections to supports include, but are not limited to, the following:

• self-determination/-advocacy development
• post-secondary education and career planning
• vocational evaluation and training
• explanation of diploma options
• independent living support and community participation
• procedures for requesting  accommodations in post-secondary education and employment settings
• resume building and interview skill development
• adult service agency referrals

 Transition Team Contact Information

Arlington Public Schools Transition Resources

The Career Assessment Program for Students with Disabilities – is a highly individualized set of interest inventories, standardized tests, and exploration activities designed to build a comprehensive picture of a student’s interests, aptitudes, employability behaviors, and career-decision making skills.

School-Based Transition Assessments – are both formal and informal activities, offered at each high school, conducted to assist students with transition planning in the areas of post-secondary education/training, employment, and/or independent living.

Functional Life Skills Programs – for students with disabilities, in each middle and high school, provide various skill development activities to increase career/technical integration, social competence, community integration, personal growth, health/fitness, domestic living, and functional academic skills.

Shriver Program –  The Eunice Kennedy Shriver provides a supportive environment for students with significant disabilities requiring a functional skills, community based educational program. Services are provided primarily in a self-contained special education setting with opportunities for interactions with students at the H.B. Woodlawn Program. In addition to functional academics, the Stratford Program also provides a range of various employment preparedness training options in an effort to meet the needs of the whole child. Students’ programs are developed around goals to achieve maximum social, emotional, physical, and cognitive growth and acquiring the related skills necessary to function in the community as independently as possible. For more information click here or call 703-228-6440.

Program for Employment Preparedness (PEP) – isa transition program, located at the Arlington Career Center and launched in school year 2014-15, that expands upon former APS programs known as Supported Work and Training(SWAT) and Experience Based CareerEducation (EBCE). This program incorporates Virginia’s Standards for Workplace Readiness, is multi-tiered, and creates a dynamic and targeted approach to meeting the transitional needs of students. PEP provides students with experiences and learning opportunities based on current business trends and needs so that students may gain relevant skills for obtaining employment in today’s market, including the requisite social skills necessary to secure and maintain long-term, meaningful employment. The program is designed for students to receive internship/apprenticeship experiences and may lead to trade certifications, licenses, college credit, networking connections, and/or employment directly upon graduation.

Interagency Collaboration

ArlingtonTransition Coordinators collaborate with other community agencies in the provision of transition services. Some of these include:

• Arlington County Department of Human Services

– Aging and Disability Service Division

– Mental Health Programs and Services

– Employment Center

• Arlington County Therapeutic Recreation Office

• Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS)

• Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center, Project PERT (Post-Secondary Education/Rehabilitation and Transition)

•  Northern Virginia Community College

– NVCC High School Outreach
– Pathway to the Baccalaureate Program
– GPS for Success Program

• The ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia, Inc.

• Northern Virginia Transition Coalition