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It’s graduation season. If you have a high school student with an IEP, you and your student should have been invited to a very important IEP meeting during the last thirty days of school: the summary of performance (SOP) meeting. All students with an IEP have an SOP meeting before they transition out of high school, regardless of their graduation track (diploma or certificate) or their post-secondary plans (college, career, day program, etc.) Use this helpful SOP document as you and your student plan the transition to adulthood.

A guide for next steps

 A well-written SOP serves as a helpful guide for post-secondary education, employment, and daily living. It is a culmination of all areas of the IEP with specific recommendations for the transition to adulthood, based on the student’s post-secondary goals. The recommendations should be specific to your student and based on their academic, functional, and transitional goals.

Sections in the SOP

The document presented at the SOP meeting is a draft and can be modified as needed at the meeting; be an active participant. Below are the sections covered in the SOP:

• A section for student demographics – make sure these are correct.
• A section with data from both formal and informal assessments, including transition assessments.
• A section with student-specific Transition Goals for employment, education, and if applicable independent living, from the current IEP.
• A section with a summary of IEP areas including academic and functional performance, accommodations, and modifications. An explanation to describe what is needed to meet these needs in post-secondary settings is also required. The explanation can be part of this section or included later in recommendations.
• A section for future assistive technology needs and how they apply to post-secondary settings. Keep in mind, these may be low- or high-tech and may or may not have been addressed in the IEP.
• A section with detailed, student-specific recommendations. Several areas should be covered: accommodations, assistive technology, assistive services, compensatory strategies, support services, and “other” areas as appropriate. These recommendations are based on the student’s current transition goals and future-plan information provided by the student and parent(s). This information is provided through an interview(s), questionnaire, or other appropriate formal or informal assessments to help design the self-determined post-secondary plan.

 

Self-determined transition plan

Specific guidance to support the student’s self-determined post-secondary transition plan should be included in the SOP. This should be more specific than “contact your community college disability services” or “contact local day programs” or “contact EIPD.”  It should provide program/college specific information.

At the very least, the address, website and phone number for potential programs should be on the SOP.

As appropriate, local Employment and Independence for People with Disabilities (EIPD, formerly vocational rehabilitation) information should be included. All other recommendations should also be student-specific based on needs, transition goals and plans, and other data shared about the individual student’s desired transition to adulthood.

Questions?

If you have already participated in your student’s SOP meeting, and still have questions, do not hesitate to reach out to their case manager at your child’s school for more information.

For more information about creating transition strategies for autistic students with IEPs, please use this link to download the Autism Society of North Carolina’s “IEP: Transition Component” toolkit. 

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