On Thursday, the Senate passed legislation that should improve transition for students with special needs. This legislation responds to a very real problem which I have encountered repeatedly doing constituent services as a legislator. When students with substantial disabilities reach the end of their school years, there is often a failure to plan next steps for them. They spend several years in emotionally dangerous limbo before getting in gear with employment and housing.
The legislation is intended to build more capacity among special education teachers to help their students plan for the future.
The official press release prepares below.
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BOSTON – Massachusetts students with special needs will be better prepared to get a job, go to college and live on their own under legislation passed unanimously by the Senate on Thursday that aims to improve transition planning and services required by federal law.
“Transitioning from high school to the real world can be a very stressful time for anyone,” Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth). “Students with disabilities have additional challenges to overcome, and it is important that we have trained specialists developing the plan and services they need for success. This bill makes sure special educators have the necessary training to start evaluating students earlier, focus on their abilities and help get them to that next phase in their lives.”
“Unfortunately, many students with disabilities are not receiving the transition planning services needed to help them further their education, access employment opportunities, and live independently,” said Senator Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett), lead sponsor of the bill. “This bill will begin to remedy this problem by empowering special education teachers to receive specialized training to provide these critical services. Young people with disabilities should be afforded every opportunity to reach their full potential as they leave of the school system and begin the next chapter of their lives. I would also like to thank former Senator Steven Tolman and Senate President Therese Murray for all their hard work on this bill.”
Once a student with special needs turns 22 in Massachusetts, the school system is no longer responsible for providing services, making proper transition planning essential. The bill will directly benefit students with special needs between the ages of 14 and 22 when transition preparations become most important. Currently, because of lacking state standards, special educators through no fault of their own can be unprepared to provide transition services.
Under the bill, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will establish an endorsement program by which licensed special education teachers and rehabilitation counselors can receive the additional training and field experience necessary to qualify as transition coordinators.
Educators and advocates believe that higher standards and a new focus on transition planning will help alleviate some discouraging trends.
For example, Massachusetts Advocates for Children reports that the national unemployment rate for adults with special needs is approximately 70 percent. In Massachusetts, the dropout rate for students with special needs is 50 percent higher than typical students (5 percent compared to 2.5 percent). Additionally, they are less likely to graduate from high school and “three times more likely to live in poverty as adults.”
According to recent testimony on the bill from Debra Hart, director of education and transition for the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston: “Current research supports that the best possible employment outcome for people with disabilities is integrated paid employment; meaning competitive employment – a real job earning a living wage in the community. Yet of the 4,000 students ages 16-26 enrolled in the Massachusetts vocational rehabilitation system, only 25 percent had an integrated employment outcome.”
Additional testimony from colleges and universities indicated an ability and willingness to offer transition services coursework. Contingent upon the bill’s passage, UMass Boston is ready to make use of a $1.25 million federal grant to develop courses for special educators to earn a transition services endorsement.
The bill now goes back to the House for enactment.
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This is a fabulous bill, and I am very grateful for it to have been enacted. However, the bill only works if there are services for the young adults to be transitioned to. The next huge gap to plug is the lack of services for adults on the autism spectrum. We have the Department of Mental Retardation for adults with cognitive disabilities and the Department of Mental Health for adults with mental illness. However, for adults with autism who are of average intelligence and do not have a mental illness (which is a large part of the population), they fall through the cracks. (For “crack” read “gaping hole”).
Sincerely,
Laura Bagnall
Fair point. I agree that there may not be enough for kids to transition to, even if they get help with the transition.
And yes, re autism, under the leadership of Barbara L’Italien, we made good progress on services for kids on the spectrum in the last session — providing that autism treatment should be covered by health insurance — but we may not be doing enough for adults on the spectrum. The DMH is funded at a level low enough that only those with the most immediately severe mental illnesses get public treatment.
Will,
The posted discussion does not indicate how these services are to be financed. Is it expected that the local school district will be responsible for compensating teachers and counselors for their additional training?
Liz
This is not a mandate. It allows for teachers to voluntarily become qualified in the area of transitional services. It has no effect on school budgets in a town. A teacher choosing to do this would follow the regulations as would be done for any other type of special qualifications/certificate that the teacher wants to add to his/her professional resume. DESE has said that the regulations will be promulgated using existing resources of the department so there will be no additional budget request for them either.
The hope is that with more training for teachers in this area, the transitioning students will be better served. To the extent teachers with the additional qualifications seek additional compensation, this will be a subject of local collective bargaining.