Expect, Empower, Engage Resource Database

These recommendations are based on a comprehensive review of laws, policies, and best practices related to transition as well as extensive interviews with experts. Topics include school and adult agency collaboration, work experiences, community activities, qualified personnel, and education for families.

This "Families Matter" video from the National Center on Deaf-Blindness introduces Jake and his family. They share experiences throughout Jake's life related to communication, literacy, movement, transition, empowerment, and teaming. An important theme of the story is how experiences throughout life are preparation for transition to adulthood.

This tool helps students who are deaf-blind, parents, and professionals determine essential transition activities related to assessment, programming, and team collaboration. Activities are categorized by 4 age groups: prior to age 14, 14 through 17, 18 through 21, and 22 through 26. The completed tool should be used to generate a plan of action and develop goals and objectives for IEPs and transition plans.

This resource provides a vignette and highlights strategies for the critical transition students increasingly are making from a self-contained, special classrooms to inclusive educational environments.

Transition education and services should be grounded in quality research. NTACT:C has identified evidence-based and research-based practices that lead to the most successful outcomes. Practitioners can use Practice Descriptions and Lesson Plans to support transition-focused instruction.

A series of resources on a systems approach to justice, equity, and inclusion initiatives targeting specific marginalized students with disabilities.

Transition services are mandated and expected to be provided by multiple agencies. This resource is a conversation starter for understanding roles and responsibilities in serving students and young adults as they strive toward successful outcomes.

This webpage provides information on requirements, guidance and tools to ensure seamless transitions for children and their families as they leave Part C and other early childhood programs, so they have timely access to appropriate services. This page provides information on State and local structures, policies, interagency agreements, personnel development processes, and other critical mechanisms that must be in place to support the transition process.

This webpage provides information to support successful transitions between preschool services to Kindergarten. The page provides state information, as well as resources from other National Centers to ensure young children have a successful transition from preschool service to the K-12 system.

This self-paced module focuses on the transition process from high school to post-secondary settings. Among other topics, it discusses IEP planning, engaging students in the process to become better advocates for their own needs, and partnering with outside agencies such as vocational rehabilitation.

This self-paced module helps users better understand the benefits of student-centered transition planning, identify ways to involve students in collecting assessment information and developing goals, and be better able to prepare students to actively participate in their own IEP meetings.

This self-paced module defines and discusses the purpose of interagency collaboration and addresses the importance of partnering with agencies to improve outcomes for students with disabilities who are transitioning from high school.

This blueprint was designed with input from in-person and remote educators, leaders, researchers, professional learning providers, and technical assistance providers — it details the indicators of learning programs that successfully integrate equity, well-being, and academics. The blueprint leverages an asset-based approach that values diversity in race, culture, language, ability, and ways of interacting with the world, rather than characterizing students and families by what they may need or lack.

In this video, Billy Pickens explains how his teacher’s high expectations for him were not always welcome in high school, but as an adult who is deaf-blind he now appreciates how important it was for his future. To help facilitate reflection and discussion using this video, this resource includes a discussion guide or quick guide. The quick guide can be used to facilitate brief discussions (15 minutes) while the discussion guide can support longer and more in-depth discussions.

Family participation is an essential feature of the development and implementation of high-quality educational programming for students with disabilities. Families bring important information related to their child's academic, functional, and behavioral strengths, needs, and goals. As a result, it is important to ensure that the individualized education program (IEP) team is truly a partnership that values all participants' perspectives. All participants must understand each team members’ role and value the expertise they bring to the development and implementation of the IEP. This webinar, More Than an Invitation: Tips for Ensuring Parents are Partners in Developing and Implementing the IEP, featuring the PROGRESS Center, Center on PBIS and PEAK Parent Center shares resources and tips to help schools to effectively engage parents as partners in the IEP process.