The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997 requires each State to ensure a free appropriate public education (FAPE) be available to all children with disabilities. To assist local education agencies (LEAs) in the provision of FAPE, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) provides consultative services to school districts for effective student secondary transition and post-school success.
Secondary transition consultant services are available to schools for student-specific Individualized Education Program (IEP) planning for those students ages 14 and older who are most at risk of failing to achieve successful post-school outcomes. Transition consultant services also include technical assistance to school districts interested in participating in the national Transition Outcomes Project.
The Transition Outcomes Project is designed to assist schools in:
• Meeting IDEA transition service requirements;
• Evaluating the effectiveness of IEP programming for transition services to students and families;
• Obtaining training and resource materials on the transition process for educators, administrators, adult agency personnel, parents and others; and
• Improving graduation rates and post-school outcomes for students with disabilities.
All school districts are encouraged to take advantage of an upcoming two-day secondary transition training opportunity to be conducted January 21 and 22, 2004 in Little Rock. Interested districts should complete the attached registration form and fax it to Brook Charton at (501) 329-7409 by November 21, 2003. There is no charge for the training, but attendance will be limited to pre-registrants only.
For further information, contact either George Elliott or Brook Charton at bcharton@conwaycorp.net.