Introduction
Each student must have a postsecondary transition plan in place beginning with the first IEP that will be in effect when the student is 14 and updated annually. Normally the student’s postsecondary transition plan is created using the online IEP: Postsecondary Transition Plan (PTP) application at the IEP team meeting. The PTP Worksheet is used only when the IEP team meeting is occurring, and the online application is not available. The Department collects Indicator 13 data through the PTP; therefore, information recorded on the PTP Worksheet must be entered into the online application as soon as the application is available. 34 CFR § 300.320; Wis. Stat. § 115.787. Indicator 13 measures the percent of youth with IEPs aged 16 and above with an IEP that includes appropriate measurable postsecondary goals that are annually updated and based upon an age-appropriate transition assessment, transition services, including courses of study, that will reasonably enable the student to meet those postsecondary goals, and annual IEP goals related to the student's transition services needs. This data is reported to the Office of Special Education Programs.
The term "Transition Services" means a coordinated set of activities designed to be within a result-oriented process that is focused on improving academic and functional achievement to facilitate a student’s movement from school to post-school life. The activities are based on the student’s needs and must take into account the student’s strengths, preferences, and interests. The activities include instruction, related services, community experiences, development of post-school adult living objectives, acquisition of daily living skills if appropriate, and a functional vocational evaluation if appropriate. Review additional information related to transition services at the Department's Postsecondary Transition Planning page and at the Wisconsin Transition Improvement Grant website.
Implementation Considerations
While it may be possible to learn about a student’s interests and preferences from the student’s parents, it is preferable to obtain this information directly from the student. It is a good practice to identify the student’s preferences and interests in the IEP.
The IEP must contain a course of study aligned with the student’s postsecondary goals. It is a good practice to include a multi-year description of coursework.
If a participating agency fails to provide the transition services it agreed to provide, the location education agency (LEA or agency) must conduct an IEP team meeting to identify alternative strategies to meet the postsecondary goals for the student.
Form Content and Explanations
Content: Date and method of inviting student. Explanation: If a purpose of the IEP team meeting is to discuss a student’s post-secondary goals and transition services needed to reach the goals, the student must be invited. 34 CFR § 300.321. Record the date and method the student was invited to the IEP meeting.
Content: Steps taken to ensure that student’s interest and preferences considered. Explanation: If a student does not attend an IEP meeting to discuss post-secondary goals and transition services, the IEP team must take other steps to ensure the student’s preferences and interests are considered. 34 CFR § 300.321. Document how the preferences and interests were determined, e.g., a student interview or completion of an interest inventory.
Content: Postsecondary goals based on age-appropriate transition assessments. Explanation: Postsecondary goals must be based on age-appropriate transition assessments. 34 CFR § 300.320; Wis. Stat. § 115.787. Maintain documentation of the transition assessments. Check “Yes” or “No” to indicate whether the measurable postsecondary goals are based on age-appropriate transition assessments and are documented. Transition assessments may be formal or informal. They may include paper and pencil tests, structured student and family interviews, observational community or work-based assessments (situational), and curriculum-based assessments. It is good practice to identify in a student’s IEP the transition assessments used in determining the student’s postsecondary goals. For more information on transition assessments, visit the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition.
Content: Measurable postsecondary goals. Explanation: Record at least one measurable postsecondary goal for the student related to each of the following: (1) education and training, (2) employment and, (3) where appropriate, independent living skills. Education refers to community or technical colleges, college or university programs, and continuing education. Training may include short-term employment training and attending a vocational technical school (less than a two-year program). Employment includes competitive, supported, or sheltered employment, and military service. Independent living skills refer to activities of daily living. Postsecondary goals state what a student will achieve after high school and are measurable. 34 CFR § 300.320; Wis. Stat. § 115.787. For each postsecondary goal, include at least one measurable annual goal or short-term objective (form I-4) in the IEP that will help the student make progress toward achieving the postsecondary goal.
Content: Transition services needed. Explanation: Transition services focus on improving the academic and functional achievement of the student to facilitate movement from school to post-school life. Services may include instruction, related services, community experiences, integrated employment, the development of employment and other post-school adult living skills (including daily living skills), and functional vocational evaluations. 34 CFR § 300.320; Wis. Stat. § 115.787. State the transition services needed to assist the student in reaching the postsecondary goals.
Content: Involvement of other agencies in providing transition services. Explanation: To the extent appropriate, and with the consent of the parent or adult student, the LEA must invite to the IEP team meeting a representative of any participating agency likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services needed to assist the student in reaching postsecondary goals. Check the appropriate box to indicate whether another agency is or will be involved in providing transition services to meet the student’s postsecondary goals. Also check the appropriate box to indicate whether a representative of a participating agency was invited to the IEP team meeting.
Content: Courses of study. Explanation: Enter a course(s) of study that focus on academic achievement and functional performance to assist the student to reach postsecondary goals. 34 CFR § 300.320; Wis. Stat. § 115.787.
Content: Transfer of rights, age of majority. Explanation: Beginning at least one year before a student’s 18th birthday, and annually thereafter, the IEP must include a statement that the student has been informed about the rights under state and federal special education law that transfer to the student at age 18. The law also requires the agency to inform the student’s parents about the transfer of rights. The agency must continue to provide any notice required by special education law to both the student and the parents. 34 CFR §§ 300.320 and 300.520; Wis. Stat. § 115.787.
Indicate whether the student will be 17 or older during the timeframe of the IEP by checking the appropriate box. If the student will be 17 or older during the timeframe of the IEP, document how the student and the parents were informed of the rights that transfer, e.g., “On 9-19-2025 via letter.” Each IEP developed after the student is first informed of the rights that transfer at age 18 must include a statement that the student was informed about the rights.
Content: Graduation. Explanation: Eligibility for a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) ends when the student is granted a regular high school diploma, or at the end of the school term in which the student turns age 21. 34 CFR § 300.102; Wis. Stat. § 115.76(3). Check the appropriate box indicating whether the student will receive a regular high school diploma or turn age 21 at the conclusion of the current academic year.