Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Vocational Rehabilitation (Blind)
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan [13] must include the following descriptions and estimates, as required by section 101(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by title IV of WIOA:
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[13] Sec. 102(b)(2)(D)(iii) of WIOA
d. 2. B. Transition planning by personnel of the designated State agency and educational agency that facilitates the development and implementation of their individualized education programs;
Current Narrative:
DBVI Blind Services Counselors developed and use Action Planning tools for transition planning for the IEP team. The Action Plan is a checklist of activities that need to happen for a student who is visually impaired to meet their transition goals. For example, students who plan to attend college have many action plan items that should occur each year leading up to graduation. The approach is designed for different members of the team to take responsibility for certain action items. Sometimes it is the DBVI Counselor, special educator, TVI, or guidance counselor. The responsibilities are shared and the student is included in all aspects of the planning.
Vermont has developed new high school graduation requirements that are based on Personal Learning Plans. Meeting the requirements for these plans is the pathway for all students including those with IEPs to graduate. The AOE has provided significant technical assistance for schools and agencies to help bridge the gap between (PLP) plans, IEPs, and Transition plans for students with disabilities. The following AOE web page outlines this guidance.
Secondary Transition Planning Resources
https://education.vermont.gov/student-support/special-education/special-education-resources
DBVI staff are learning to use AOE guidance, using case studies examples, as part of transition planning and IPE development for blind and visually impaired students. One important example is the Vermont AOE Case Study Learning Project. The goal of these case studies is to provide exemplars of the inter-relationship between a student’s Personalized Learning Plans (PLP), IEP transition plans and the student’s pathway to meeting Proficiency Based Graduation Requirements (PBGRs). These plans are very helpful as guidance for DBVI VR Counselors for developing Individual Plans for Employment (IPE) with students. Several exempe case studies were developed by Lee Ann Jung, a nationally recognized expert on personalization, disability and proficiency based learning. Through these AOE case studies examples, DBVI staff are learning how the requirements of the VT Education Quality Standards and transition goals in the IEP can be integrated with the IPE. These case scenarios provide potential models that can be adapted to fit each school’s particular context. These are exemplars of how these plans might be developed to support rather than duplicate each other. Many of the employment related transition goals from the IEP can be used when developing the Individual Plan for Employment (IPE). Additionally these case studies showcase a strategy for making Proficiency Base Graduation Requirements accessible for students with disabilities.
Here is one example of a case studies that can be used for IEP Transition Planning and IPE development.
Alex is a 19-year-old junior who is focused on having a successful career in the automotive industry. He is eligible for special education as a young person who experiences some dysregulation in his emotional and behavioral states. Alex also experiences a moderate hearing loss. Learn more about Alex’s story and his pathway to graduation. You will see his PLP and his IEP transition plan as well as how he accesses the PBGRs.
For a complete list of the AOE example case studies visit Vermont AOE Case Study Learning Project at
https://education.vermont.gov/student-support/special-education/special-education-resources