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Federal Register
/Vol. 62, No. 204/Wednesday, October 22, 1997/Proposed Rules
prior written notice of the agency’s proposalsor refusals, or both, regarding the child’seducational program and placement, and theparents have the right to seek resolution of any disagreements through mediation orother informal means, or by initiating animpartial due process hearing. Every effortshould be made to resolve differencesbetween parents and school staff throughvoluntary mediation or some other informalstep, without resort to a due process hearing.However, mediation or other informalprocedures may not be used to deny or delaya parent’s right to a due process hearing.10. Does Part B require that public agenciesinform parents regarding the educationalprogress of their children with disabilities?Yes, the Part B statute and regulationsinclude a number of provisions to helpensure that parents are involved in decisionsregarding, and informed about, their child’seducational progress, including the child’sprogress in the general curriculum. First, theparents will be informed regarding theirchild’s present levels of educationalperformance through the development of theIEP. Section 300.347(a)(1) requires that eachIEP include:***a statement of the child’s presentlevels of educational performance,including—(i) How the child’s disabilityaffects the child’s involvement and progressin the general curriculum; or (ii) forpreschool children, as appropriate, how thedisability affects the child’s participation inappropriate activities***Further, §300.347(a)(7) sets forthrequirements for regularly informing parentsabout their child’s educational progress. Thatsection requires that the IEP include:***a statement of—(i) How the child’sprogress toward the annual goals ***willbe measured; and (ii) how the child’s parentswill be regularly informed (by such means asperiodic report cards), at least as often asparents of nondisabled children areinformed, of—(A) Their child’s progresstoward the annual goals***; and (B) theextent to which that progress is sufficient toenable the child to achieve the goals by theend of the year.Finally, the parents will, as part of the IEPteam, participate, at least once every 12months, in a review of their child’seducational progress. Part B requires that apublic agency initiate and conduct a meeting,at which the IEP team:***(1) Reviews the child’s IEPperiodically, but not less than annually todetermine whether the annual goals for thechild are being achieved; and (2) revises theIEP as appropriate to address—(i) Any lack of expected progress toward the annual goals*** and in the general curriculum, if appropriate; (ii) The results of anyreevaluation ***; (iii) Information aboutthe child provided to, or by, the parents***; (iv) The child’s anticipated needs; or(v) Other matters.
III. Preparing Students With Disabilities forEmployment and Other Post-SchoolExperiences
One of the primary purposes of the IDEAis to ‘‘*** ensure that all children withdisabilities have available to them a freeappropriate public education thatemphasizes special education and relatedservices designed to meet their unique needsand prepare them for employment andindependent living ***’’ (§300.1(a)).Similarly, one of the key purposes of theIDEA Amendments of 1997 was to ‘‘promoteimproved educational results for childrenwith disabilities through early intervention,preschool, and educational experiences thatprepare them for later educational challengesand employment.’’ (House Report No. 105–95, p. 82 (1997).) Thus, throughout theirpreschool, elementary, and secondaryeducation, the IEP for each child with adisability must, to the extent appropriate forthe individual child, focus on providinginstruction and experiences that enable thechild to prepare himself or herself for latereducational experiences and for post-schoolactivities, including formal education, if appropriate, employment, and independentliving.Although preparation for adult life is, asexplained, a key component of a freeappropriate public education throughout achild’s educational experiences, Part B setsforth specific requirements for transitionfrom secondary education to post-schoolactivities, which must be implemented nolater than age 14 and 16, respectively, whichrequire an intensified focus on thatpreparation as students with disabilitiesbegin and prepare to complete theirsecondary education.11. What must the IEP team do to meet therequirements that the IEP include ‘‘astatement of *** transition service needs’’beginning at age 14 (§300.347(b)(1)(i)),’’ anda statement of needed transition services’’ nolater than age 16 (§300.347(b)(1)(ii))?Section 300.347(b)(1) requires that,beginning no later than age 14, each student’sIEP include specific transition-relatedcontent, and, beginning no later than age 16,a statement of needed transition services:
Beginning at age 14,
each student’s IEPmust include ‘‘*** a statement of thetransition service needs of the child underthe applicable components of the child’s IEPthat focuses on the child’s courses of study(such as participation in advanced-placementcourses or a vocational education program)’’(§300.347(b)(1)(i)).
No later than age 16
(and younger, if determined appropriate by the IEP Team),each student’s IEP must include ‘‘a statementof needed transition services for the child,including, if appropriate, a statement of theinteragency responsibilities or any neededlinkages ***’’ (§300.347(b)(1)(ii)).The House Report on the IDEAAmendments of 1997 makes clear that therequirement added to the statute in 1997 thatbeginning at age 14, or younger if appropriate, the IEP include ‘‘a statement of the transition service needs’’ is ‘‘***designed to augment, and not replace,’’ theseparate, preexisting requirement that the IEPinclude, ‘‘*** beginning at age 16 (oryounger, if determined appropriate by theIEP Team), a statement of needed transitionservices ***’’ (House Report No. 105–95,p. 102 (1997).) As clarified by the Report,‘‘The purpose of [the requirement in§300.347(b)(1)(i)] is to focus attention onhow the child’s educational program can beplanned to help the child make a successfultransition to his or her goals for life aftersecondary school.’’ (House Report No. 105–95, pp. 101–102 (1997).) The report furtherexplains that ‘‘[F]or example, for a childwhose transition goal is a job, a transitionservice could be teaching the child how toget to the job site on public transportation.’’(House Report No. 105–95, p–102 (1997).)Thus, beginning at age 14, the IEP team, indetermining appropriate measurable annualgoals (including benchmarks or short-termobjectives) and services for a student, mustdetermine what instruction and educationalexperiences will assist the student to preparefor transition from secondary education topost-secondary life. The statement of transition service needs should relate directlyto the student’s goals beyond secondaryeducation, and show how planned studiesare linked to these goals. For example, astudent interested in exploring a career incomputer science may have a statement of transition service needs connected totechnology course work, while anotherstudent’s statement of transition needs coulddescribe why public bus transportationtraining is important for future independencein the community. Though the focus of thetransition planning process may shift as thestudent approaches graduation, the IEP teammust discuss specific areas beginning at theage of 14 years and review these areasannually.This requirement is distinct from therequirement, at §300.347(b)(1)(ii), that theIEP include:*** beginning at age 16 (or younger, if determined appropriate by the IEP Team), astatement of needed transition services forthe child, including, if appropriate, astatement of the interagency responsibilitiesor any needed linkages.The term ‘‘transition services’’ is defined at§300.27 to mean:*** a coordinated set of activities for astudent with a disability that—(a) Is designedwithin an outcome-oriented process, thatpromotes movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondaryeducation, vocational training, integratedemployment (including supportedemployment), continuing and adulteducation, adult services, independentliving, or community participation; (b) Isbased on the individual student’s needs,taking into account the student’s preferencesand interests; and (c) Includes—(1)Instruction; (2) Related services; (3)Community experiences; (4) Thedevelopment of employment and other post-school adult living objectives; and (5) If appropriate, acquisition of daily living skillsand functional vocational evaluation.(Section §300.347(b)(2) provides, however,that, ‘‘If the IEP team determines that servicesare not needed in one or more of the areasspecified in §300.27((c)(1) through (4), theIEP must include a statement to that effectand the basis upon which the determinationwas made.)Thus, while §300.347(b)(1)(i) requires thatthe IEP team begin by age 14 to address the
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