VII.          TRANSITIONS (34 CFR § 300.1; Rules VII.)

VII.A.      TRANSITION FROM PART C TO PART B OF the IDEA (Rules VII.A.)

1. At the beginning of each school year, each LEA must have an IEP in effect for each student with a disability, ages three through five, within its jurisdiction (34 CFR § 300.323).
   
   
2. The USBE and LEA must have in effect policies and procedures to ensure that (34 CFR § 300.124):
   
   
   1. Students participating in early intervention programs assisted under Part C of the IDEA, and who will participate in preschool programs assisted under Part B of the IDEA, experience a smooth and effective transition to those preschool programs;
      
      
   2. By the eligible student’s third birthday, an IEP has been developed and is being implemented for the student;
      
      
   3. If a student’s third birthday occurs after the end of the school year, the student’s IEP Team shall determine the date in the next school year when services under the IEP will begin, except that the IEP Team may determine that extended school year services are needed outside the school year; and
      
      
   4. Each affected LEA will participate in transition planning conferences arranged by the designated lead agency for Part C.
      
      
3. In developing the IEP for a student with a disability, ages three through five or, at the discretion of WSD, a two-year-old student with a disability who will turn age three during the school year, the IEP Team must consider the contents of an IFSP that contains the natural environments statement and an educational component that promotes school readiness and incorporates pre-literacy, language, and numeracy skills (34 CFR § 300.323).
   
   
4. In the case of a student who was previously served under Part C of the IDEA, an invitation to the initial IEP meeting must, at the request of the parent, be sent to the Part C service coordinator or other representatives of the Part C system to assist with the smooth transition of services (34 CFR § 300.321).

VII.B.      TRANSITION SERVICES—SCHOOL TO POST-SCHOOL (Rules VII.B.)

1. Purpose (34 CFR § 300.1; Rules VII.B.1.)

To ensure that all students with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.

2. Definition (34 CFR § 300.43; Rules VII.B.2.)
   
   
   1. Transition services means a coordinated set of activities for a student with a disability that:
      
      
      1. Is designed to be within a results-oriented process that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the student with a disability, to facilitate the student’s movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation;
      2. Is based on the individual student’s needs, taking into account the student’s strengths, preferences, and interests, and includes:
         
         
         1. Instruction;
            
            
         2. Related services;
            
            
         3. Community experiences;
            
            
         4. The development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives; and
            
            
         5. If appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and provision of a functional vocational evaluation.
            
            
   2. Transition services for students with disabilities may be special education, if provided as specially designed instruction, or a related service, if required to assist a student with a disability to benefit from special education.

3. Parent or adult student participation (34 CFR § 300.322; Rules VII.B.3.)
   
   For a student with a disability age 14 and older, or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP Team, the notice of meeting must indicate:

1. 1. That a purpose of the meeting will be the consideration of the postsecondary goals and transition services for the student;
      
      
   2. That WSD will invite the student; and
      
      
   3. Identify any other agency that will be invited, with the consent of the parent(s) or adult student, to send a representative.

4. IEP Team (34 CFR § 300.321; Rules VII.B.4.)
   
   For an IEP Team meeting that includes as a purpose the development of a transition plan:

1. 1. WSD must invite the student with a disability to attend the student’s IEP meeting if a purpose of the meeting will be the consideration of the post-secondary goals for the student and the transition services needed to assist the student in reaching those goals.
      
      
   2. If the student does not attend the IEP meeting, [DISTRICT] must take other steps to ensure that the student’s preferences and interests are considered.
      
      
   3. To the extent appropriate, with the consent of the parent(s) or adult student, WSD must invite a representative of any participating agency that is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services.

5. Definition of IEP (34 CFR § 300.320(b); Rules VII.B.5.)
   
   
   1. Transition services. For a student with a disability, ages 14 and older, or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP Team, and updated annually thereafter, the IEP must include:
      
      
      1. Realistic and reasonable measurable postsecondary goals based upon annual age-appropriate transition assessments related to training or education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills;
         
         
      2. Transition services, including multi-year courses of study, that will reasonably enable the student to reach the post-secondary goals identified on the IEP;
         
         
      3. Evidence that the student was invited to the IEP Team meeting where transition services are to be discussed. If the student does not attend the IEP meeting, the IEP Team must take other steps to ensure the student’s preferences and interests are considered;
         
         
      4. If appropriate, evidence that a representative of any participating agency that might be providing or paying for any transition services was invited to the IEP Team meeting with written consent of the parent or adult student prior to the meeting; and
         
         
      5. Any modifications to graduation requirements, as permitted under R277-700.
         
         
   2. Students with disabilities must have access to school counselors for the purpose of planning and must be actively invited and included (when appropriate) in school activities which address course planning (including online courses), graduation, and post-secondary education and employment (i.e., college week, scholarship opportunities, ACT, and concurrent enrollment).
      
      
6. Transfer of rights at age of majority (34 CFR §§ 300.320(c), 300.520; Rules VII.B.6.)
   
   
   1. Not later than the student’s 17th birthday, the IEP must include a dated statement, signed by the student, parent, and an LEA Representative, that the student and the student’s parent(s) have been informed of parent’s rights under Part B of the IDEA that will transfer to the student on reaching the age of majority (i.e., age 18), except for a student with a disability who has been determined to be incompetent by a court.
      
      
   2. All rights accorded to parents under Part B of the IDEA transfer to the student on his/her 18th birthday unless the IEP Team determines that:
      
      
      1. The parent has obtained legal guardianship, power of attorney, or conservatorship; or
         
         
      2. The student has married or become emancipated (in which case the rights transfer at that time).
         
         
   3. All rights accorded to parents under Part B of the IDEA transfer to students who are incarcerated in an adult or juvenile State or local correctional institution.
      
      
7. Termination of eligibility as a change of placement (34 CFR § 300.305; Rules VII.B.7.)
   
   
   1. An evaluation is not required before the termination of a student’s eligibility under this part due to graduation from secondary school with a regular high school diploma, or due to exceeding the age of eligibility for FAPE under Utah law.
      
      
   2. For a student whose eligibility terminates due to graduation from secondary school with a regular diploma, or due to exceeding the age of eligibility for FAPE under Utah law, an LEA must provide the student with a summary of the student’s academic achievement and functional performance which shall include a statement of the student’s post-secondary goals, recommendations on how to assist the student in meeting the student’s postsecondary goals, and a statement of when and how accommodations were used for instruction and assessment.
      
      
   3. Receipt of a general educational development (GED) credential does not end eligibility for FAPE.
      
      
8. Failure to meet transition objectives (34 CFR § 300.324; Rules VII.B.8.)
   
   
   1. If a participating agency, other than [DISTRICT], fails to provide the transition services described in the IEP, the LEA must reconvene the IEP Team to identify alternative strategies to meet the transition objectives for the student set out in the IEP.
      
      
   2. Nothing relieves any participating agency, including a State vocational rehabilitation agency, of the responsibility to provide or pay for any transition service that the agency would otherwise provide to students with disabilities who meet the eligibility criteria of that LEA (34 CFR § 300.324).
      
      
   3. If any public agency other than an educational agency is otherwise obligated under Federal or State law, or assigned responsibility under State policy or an interagency agreement, to provide or pay for any services that are also considered special education or related services such as, but not limited to, services relating to assistive technology devices, assistive technology services, related services, supplementary aids and services, and transition services, that are necessary for ensuring a FAPE to students with disabilities within the State, the public agency must fulfill that obligation or responsibility, either directly or through contract or other arrangement or as provided in an interagency agreement.
      
      
9. Students with disabilities in adult prisons (34 CFR § 300.324; Rules VII.B.9.)
   
   
   1. The requirements relating to transition planning and transition services do not apply with respect to those students whose eligibility under Part B of the IDEA will end, because of their age, before they will be eligible to be released from prison based on consideration of their sentence and eligibility for early release.
      
      
   2. The obligation to make FAPE available to all students with disabilities does not apply with respect to students ages 18 through 21 to the extent that State law does not require that special education and related services under Part B of the IDEA be provided to students with disabilities who, in the last educational placement prior to their incarceration in an adult correctional facility (34 CFR § 300.102):
      
      
      1. Were not actually identified as being a student with a disability; and
         
         
      2. Did not have an IEP under Part B of the IDEA.
         
         
   3. The exception does not apply to students with disabilities ages 18 through 21 who:
      
      
      1. Had been identified as a student with a disability and had received services in accordance with an IEP, but who left school prior to their incarceration; or
         
         
      2. Did not have an IEP in their last educational setting, but who had actually been identified as a student with a disability.

VII.C.      GRADUATION (UCA 53E-7-202; R277-705; Rules VIII.C.)

1. The obligation of WSD to make FAPE available to all students with disabilities does not apply to students with disabilities who have graduated from high school with a regular high school diploma (34 CFR § 300.102(a)(3)(i)).
   
   
   1. The exception above does not apply to students that have graduated from high school but have not been awarded a regular high school diploma (34 CFR § 300.102(a)(3)(ii)).
      
      
   2. WSD may not withhold a regular high school diploma from a student who has met State or LEA graduation requirements.
      
      
   3. Graduation from high school with a regular high school diploma constitutes a change in placement, requiring prior written notice that must contain all the requirements in Rule IV.D, including being given a reasonable time before WSD proposed to terminate the student’s eligibility under the IDEA by issuing the student a diploma (34 CFR § 300.503).
      
      
   4. The term “regular high school diploma” does not include an alternative degree that is not fully aligned with the State's academic standards, such as a certificate or a GED (34 CFR § 300.102(a)(3)(iv)).
      
      
2. A student with a disability served by a special education program shall satisfy high school completion or graduation criteria, consistent with State and federal law and the student's IEP. WSD may modify graduation requirements consistent with the student’s IEP (R277-700-6(25)). WSD may award a student a certificate of completion consistent with state and federal law and the student's IEP.
   
   
3. The IEP Team must refer to the USBE Special Education Graduation Guidelines for additional information regarding modifying graduation requirements and IEP substitutions.

VII.D.      TERMINATION OF SERVICES UPON REACHING AGE 22 (R277-419-2(25)(b); Rules VII.D.)

1. If a student with a disability turns 22 any time after July 1, LEAs must continue to provide FAPE until the end of that school year.