Graduation Options for Students with Disabilities in Nebraska

This episode covers graduation options for students with disabilities and understand that a receipt of a signed diploma means that special education services from your school district have ended.

Transcript

Graduation Options for Students with Disabilities in Nebraska

 
Connie Shockley  0:02  

Welcome to Talking special Needs, a PTI Nebraska podcast. Helping families of children with disabilities and healthcare needs to develop advocacy skills while learning about special education, healthcare systems, and other topics that affect families lives.

Sandy Peterson  0:26  

Hi, this is Sandy Peterson. I'm the Young Adult Transition Coordinator at PTI Nebraska and today we're going to talk about graduation for young people who have disabilities in Nebraska. Our hope is that when you finish the podcast, you'll understand the options for graduation and understand that a receipt of a signed diploma means that services from your school district have ended. So let's get started. 

 There are three graduation considerations in Nebraska. 

 The first is that the student completes the standard course of study based upon meeting all of the requirements for graduation from their school district and completes their IEP goals. The course of study means the standard curriculum requirements and electives that the state and school district require.  And includes the courses related to the students post secondary goals in the transition plan goals and objectives and community activities. IEP goals include the annual academic and functional goals, as well as the transition plan and activities. The student would be eligible to receive a signed, regular diploma and participate in the regular graduation ceremonies with his or her peers. This is an IEP team decision. 

 The second consideration for graduation in Nebraska is the student completes the standard or modified course of study but not the IEP or transition plan goals. Course of Study means what we just reviewed, but not the IEP goals, which include annual academic and functional goals, for example, social skills, community activities, and so forth, as well as the transition plan and activities. For example, employability skills. Through social graduation, the student may participate in graduation ceremonies with his or her peers without receiving signed, regular diploma.  He or she may continue to receive services and supports from the school district until the IEP transition goals are met or until he or she completes the school year in which they turn 21.  At this time, the student would receive a signed regular diploma required by graduation and this is an IEP team decision as well.  As an example, a student who may fit this option could be a student who participated in all academically required classes and receive passing grades, possibly A's and B's. However, this young person still has IEP goals in the areas of, for example, social skills or executive functions, sensory skills, behaviors, that kind of thing that have not been met. Again, this highlights a productive and appropriate IEP. 

 And finally, consideration number three, student completes his or her IEP transition goals, but not the modified or standard course of study. This is another reason that the course of study is so very important and must be clarified. The IEP team must identify IEP transition goals for graduation that are consistent with the student's individual needs, and clearly state those courses that the student must accomplish, whether modified or standard. Upon completion of those goals, the student would be allowed to graduate with a signed regular diploma or remain in the 18 Plus program. A student may elect to participate in graduation ceremonies with his or her peer classmates upon completion of his or her courses study. This is also an IEP team decision. 

 So information about graduation, projected graduation, is when the student is expected to graduate. The IEP team needs to identify how the student's completion of coursework or participation in an alternate curriculum meets the requirements established by the School District's Board of Education for graduation and the diploma. Graduation should be addressed in all IEP transition meetings through the discussion of goals, futures planning and etc. and should be documented.  The course of study, goals, future plans and graduation are reviewed annually. 

 Several options are possible for an IEP team in prescribing the course of study and describing how the student will earn the diploma and graduate without meeting the general education requirements. And I'm going to give you two examples. 

 First example is that certain courses with corresponding credits are developed and offered for students with disabilities with the same basic content as the general education program, although there would be modifications in instruction materials, level of detail and so forth. 

 The second example would be an alternate curriculum totally which is offered that does not correspond to the general education courses and would focus on functional life skills, behavioral needs, self help skills, social skills development, functional academics, vocational training, and so forth. 

 It's important to know and understand that the receipt of a signed, regular diploma terminates the services and eligibility of students with special education needs in Nebraska. All diplomas awarded by a school district are to be identical in appearance, content and effect except that symbols or notations may be added to individual students diplomas to reflect official school honors or awards earned by students. 

 Diplomas are needed to attain the post secondary goals for example, jobs, education and so forth. Other documents for example, transcripts, MDT reports and IEPs may be needed to determine eligibility for post school education and training programs, accommodations and adult services. 

 The IEP team must review and document that all requirements IEP goals, transition post secondary goals, and curricular requirements for receipt of assigned regular high school diploma have been met. 

 A student who at graduation receives a document such as an unsigned diploma, and attendance document or a blank folder is eligible to continue receiving special education supports and services until receipt of a signed regular diploma or until the end of the school year in which the student becomes 21 years of age. A student who participates in the high school graduation ceremony with his or her peers and receives an unsigned diploma or certificate of attendance or the blank folder continues to be eligible to receive special education services. 

 It's important to note the IEP team must convene a meeting prior to graduating a student with a disability in order to review the IEP to ensure that graduation requirements will be met and the goals of the IEP transition post secondary plan will be completed. Graduation constitutes a change of placement and therefore requires prior written notice. And then the receipt of the summary of performance or the SOP. 

 We're typically asked questions by parents and professionals regarding graduation. And I'd like to talk about some of those now. 

 Question one.  Must the district continue to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education or FAPE to an individual with disabilities who has received a regular high school diploma? The answer that question is no. The district is not required to continue to provide FAPE to a student with disabilities who has received a regular high school diploma. It is expected however, that this would have been addressed within the IEP planning process. Part of that process should include the provision of a prior written notice to the student and his or her family regarding the student's projected change in eligibility and placement. 

 Question number two.  Are special education rights transferred from parents to students when a student reaches the age of majority or in Nebraska 19 years of age. In Nebraska, there's no such procedure to do that.  Special education rights do not transfer from parent to student when the student reaches the age of majority in Nebraska. 

 Question number three.  Must an IEP contain graduation criteria? The answer is that individuals Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, does not include a requirement that an IEP contains specifically identified graduation criteria or a graduation plan. However, the IEP team must include appropriate measurable annual post secondary goals and transition services including course of study needed to assist the student to reach these goals. The decision to graduate a student must be made by the IEP team and clearly documented. 

 Question number four.  Is a Multidisciplinary Team Evaluation required prior to graduation? The answer to that question is no. An evaluation is not required before the termination of a student's eligibility due to graduation. 

 Question number five.  Can a student participate in a graduation ceremony and continue to receive transition supports and services the following year? The answer that is if it is age or socially appropriate for students to participate in the graduation ceremony with their peer group they can do so however, the issuance of a sign regular diploma would end eligibility for special education supports and services for that student and unsigned diploma or a blank folder would be appropriate to give to a student at the ceremony allowing them to continue with transition services until IEP transition goals are met or until the end of the school year in which the student becomes age 21. 

 Question number six.  Is a student entitled to receive adult agency services upon graduation? The answer is that school systems are required by IDEA to provide education services to meet the needs of a student with disabilities. This is known as entitlement. There is no entitlement for services and adult services such as Vocational Rehabilitation, VR, or Developmental Disabilities, DD. These agencies have specific criteria that individuals must meet to in order to be eligible. Services may be provided only when applications are completed. DD will not supplant educational transition services. It is important that connections are made early with adult agencies to ensure that no gaps in services exist following graduation.

 And finally question seven.  If a student with disabilities has been awarded a certificate of achievement GED in place of a diploma, may that student continue to receive a FAPE, Free and Appropriate Public Education? The answer is yes. According to IDEA the right to FAPE is not ended if a student with disabilities is awarded some other certificate of completion or attendance instead of a regular high school diploma. The right to FAPE is ended either by a student successfully finishing a regular secondary education program or reaching the age of 21. 

 We hope this information has been helpful in your understanding of graduation in Nebraska for young people who have disabilities. Should you have more questions or want more information please contact me at speterson@pti-nebraska.org or 402-346-0525. If you found this podcast to be valuable, please click on the subscribe button and thank you for your participation.

 
Connie Shockley  11:47  

Thank you for joining us today on Talking Special Needs, a PTI Nebraska podcast. If you would like more information on today's topic or other special needs topics, please go to www.pti-nebraska.org.  Until our next podcast internet families remember, chaos is our normal.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai


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