69´«Ã½

Special Education

Many 69´«Ã½ Can Get Special Ed. Until Age 22. What Districts Should Do

69´«Ã½â€™ responsibilities under IDEA aren’t always clear-cut
By Mark Lieberman — June 27, 2024 4 min read
Instructor working with adult special needs student.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

School districts in most states have a responsibility under federal law to provide services to students with disabilities until they’re 21 or 22. But carrying out those responsibilities isn’t always intuitive.

Special education services often cost orders of magnitude more than what schools spend to educate students without disabilities. To make those investments, districts often have to dip into local funds when states and the federal government don’t contribute enough.

Staffing is also a pressing concern. Virtually every state has a shortage of educators who teach students with disabilities. And special education teachers in school buildings are often recruited to cover for classroom teachers or instructional aides when they’re absent or when positions are vacant.

See Also

Teacher helping adult special-needs student with computer.
iStock

Perhaps the most fundamental challenge, though, is what constitutes a “free, appropriate public education†given that disabilities rarely look the same from one student to the next.

Many parents don’t realize that their children with individualized education programs, or IEPs, are entitled to special education services subsidized by the school district even in their early years of legal adulthood, at a time when they might be on a waitlist for state services. District leaders, at their most helpful, can connect vulnerable students to services that improve their lives.

Here’s what experts say schools should be doing to meet these obligations and help students to the best of their ability.

Meet with students as early as age 14 to start transition plans

69´«Ã½ shouldn’t wait until 11th grade to start helping students prepare for a future beyond high school. Those discussions must begin, according to federal law, by age 16. But starting earlier is better, said Audrey Trainor, a professor of special education at New York University who studies the transition from childhood to adulthood for people with disabilities.

The fundamental question as transition work begins, Trainor said, is: “Is the student going to graduate with their peers at age 18? Or do they need more time in school before transitioning to whatever’s next?â€

Oftentimes these early meetings are parents’ first introduction to the idea that their student might remain in high school after their same-age peers have graduated.

Be prepared to negotiate with parents over what’s feasible and appropriate to offer

There isn’t a single correct path for a student with disabilities, even if a school has served other students with similar disabilities before.

As a result, schools should be ready to evaluate requests from parents for particular services, such as sending a student to a private provider or ensuring that a student has extensive one-on-one time with an educator throughout the day. Educators can weigh such factors as cost, evidence of effectiveness, and their own knowledge of a student’s ability to handle different types of services.

“A parent might ask for an accommodation, the school might come back and say, ‘We don’t see that that accommodation is necessary. Let’s try this other accommodation first,’†Trainor said.

Inform students of their rights

Once a child turns 18, they have a legal right to decide for themselves whether they want to remain in special education services.

“Sometimes IEP teams don’t necessarily inform students who are turning 18 that they have that right,†Trainor said. “And it also can be an uncomfortable conversation with parents whose children have disabilities.â€

69´«Ã½ with disabilities may not feel empowered to decide for themselves on the best course of action. And some parents may disagree with their child’s assessment of what their next step should be.

69´«Ã½ should be prepared to navigate these conflicts and conduct conversations sensitively, Trainor said.

Let parents know when opportunities outside the school system arise

The school’s job isn’t solely to provide adult students with services within the school building or through an out-of-district provider. Educators are also tasked with connecting students to services that get them out of the classroom, or out of the school district environment altogether, if that’s the most appropriate environment for the student.

One of the major opportunities comes through vocational rehabilitation services, typically provided by cities and states. Adults who take advantage of those services work with a counselor to develop an “Individualized Plan for Employment"—comparable to an IEP, but geared toward helping them identify job possibilities, career goals, and necessary workplace accommodations.

Vocational rehab helps with some of the basics of venturing into the professional world, like practicing for interviews and polishing resumes. But it can also include mental health counseling and physical therapy.

One key difference between school and vocational rehab, though, is that children and young adults with disabilities are legally entitled to school, whereas adults with disabilities don’t automatically qualify for vocational rehab. They have to apply and be deemed eligible for the service.

Many states have substantial waitlists for these and comparable services. In Illinois, school district administrators who work in special education often feel like the adult services the state provides aren’t sufficient, said Melissa Taylor, executive director of the Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education.

“We do always advise parents that if an opportunity for an adult services-type placement opens up, even if it’s within that time when kids are still eligible for our programs, they should think seriously about taking it,†Taylor said.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Special Education 5 Key Ways to Support 69´«Ã½ With Learning Differences
Teachers are often uncertain about how to support students who have dyslexia, dysgraphia, or dyscalculia.
4 min read
Black teacher smiling and giving a student a high five in a classroom of Black elementary students.
E+/Getty
Special Education How 69´«Ã½ With Disabilities Fare in Both Charter and Regular Public 69´«Ã½
69´«Ã½ with disabilities experienced inequities in both types of schools, a new analysis shows.
6 min read
An illustration of a small person of color dragging a very large bookbag on their back.
DigitalVision Vectors
Special Education Interactive 5 Common Learning Differences in 69´«Ã½: A Data Snapshot
Some key facts and figures about students with learning differences.
1 min read
An array of vibrantly colored brain illustrations arranged in a grid for easy examination. Categories, classifications, learning differences, brain scans.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + DigitalVision Vectors
Special Education Explainer Talking to 69´«Ã½ About Their Learning Differences: A Guide for Teachers
Teachers who talk to kids about why learning is difficult equips students to understand themselves and become their own advocates.
13 min read
An adult holds a child's hand in front of a large grid representing neurodiversity. Some tiles are missing, where it's hard to explain.
Nix Ren for Education Week