A Preliminary Investigation of How States Are Responding to the Transition Assessment Requirements under IDEIA 2004

Abstract

The most recent reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, retitled the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA, 2004), strengthened the transition requirements by including specific language regarding age-appropriate transition assessments. This study was designed to examine how states are interpreting and implementing the new transition assessment requirements. Thirty-six state educational agencies responded to an online survey that examined state activities with respect to state education agency (SEA) interpretation of the transition assessment language in IDEIA. In addition, data were collected regarding whether state policies, guidance documents, and recommendations to the field were being developed. The results indicated that 2 years after the reauthorization, most of the SEAs had at least begun to discuss the regulations, but very few have developed policy and guidance documents for the field. Implications for future research are addressed.