by Fred Gruber
One of the main goals of our nation’s system of public education is to give all students the tools they need to succeed in adult life, and this is especially so for students with disabilities.
For more than 35 years, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has guaranteed students with a wide range of disabilities the right to a free, appropriate education with one main goal: to prepare them for further education, employment and independent living.
But when Congress reexamined IDEA in 1990, they found that the Act was failing to live up to its promise – too many students with disabilities were dropping out or leaving high school unprepared for adult life; few were going to higher education; and few were ready for jobs. At that time, lawmakers added language to IDEA intended to help teens with disabilities make a successful transition from school to adult life. Twice more — first 1997 and again in 2004 — they further strengthened IDEA as it pertains to transition planning and transition services, each time, with the goal of improved outcomes.
Transition planning is important because it provides a framework for identifying long-range goals, and it allows parents, students and educators to map out services, supports and strategies that will help the student be successful in adult life.
With all this to do, it can be nearly impossible to squeeze everything into the school year, and four years of high school, so it stands to reason that many students with disabilities will require education beyond age 18.
And while the federal law allows students with disabilities to receive service through the end of the school year in which they turn 21, in practice, very few do.
A quick look at the exit data in New Jersey for 2011 show that the vast majority of students with disabilities who exited the special education– more that 11,600–graduated at the age 17 or 18, just like students without disabilities.
About 1,000 students remained an extra year to graduate at age 19; another 500 graduated at age 20; and 340 graduated at age 21. Only a small handful of students – 255– remained in school until they ‘aged out’ at 21, most of whom are students with very severe, complex disabilities who transitioned directly into the adult service system.
The decision about when to graduate and accept a diploma is not always clear. Often, the decision is based on accumulated credits, test scores and grades – measures that fail to capture a student’s readiness for adult life.
For some students, particularly those with more significant disabilities, the answer about special education beyond age 18 is easier, because their needs are more apparent. For other students, IEP teams need to take a look from a different perspective.
Take for example Evan, a bright 18-year old student with Asperger’s syndrome. Evan has earned the credits needed to graduate and easily passed the state High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA). He even took several AP courses and did well. His goal is to attend community college part time and work part time, and on paper, it might seem that he is ready to move on. But a closer look at Evan’s overall functioning shows that he still does not know how to assess or describe his own needs for support services, cannot reliably demonstrate the “soft skills’ needed to get through a job interview, does not know how to shave properly, and still without a driver’s license– has no idea how to use public transportation. Evan is academically capable of college, but is still missing many of the skills he needs for adult life – and therefore, he should not accept a diploma.
Fred Gruber is the Educational Supervisor at the Y.A.L.E. School, a state-approved private school serving students with disabilities in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
