Getting transition services into the IEP before your child leaves school
A transition letter asks the team to run age-appropriate transition assessments and write postsecondary goals for work, training and independent living. You do not wait for the annual review to raise it; a written request puts it on the next agenda. You can send it today: paste it into an email, replace what sits in brackets, and write down the day the school received it; the table below says which day starts each clock.
What the rule says
“Beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when the child turns 16 … the IEP must include— … Appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and … independent living skills”
34 CFR 300.320(b)
The goals get written backward from the life your child wants, and the assessments come first.
When to send it
- Fourteen came and went and nothing in the IEP mentions life after high school.
- The transition page repeats the phrase college or career with no assessment behind it.
- Graduation is close and nobody has mentioned vocational rehabilitation, agency referrals or a job coach.
What happens after you send it
| What is being counted | By when | How it is counted |
|---|---|---|
| Transition planning starts | Set by your state | Some states open transition planning well before IDEA does; check yours.34 CFR 300.320(b) |
| Rights transfer notice | One year | IDEA puts the notice in the IEP one year before the age of majority.34 CFR 300.320(c) |
What the letter has to contain
The assessments you want
Postsecondary goals written without assessment are somebody’s guess about your child, and they steer everything that follows.
Postsecondary goals rest on age-appropriate transition assessments the team arranges. 34 CFR 300.320(b)(1)
What comes after school
Training, employment and independent living are three separate columns. A letter that names one leaves two blank.
The IEP names the transition services needed to reach those goals. 34 CFR 300.320(b)(2)
Your child at the table
Nobody plans a life in the room next door. An invitation makes the meeting theirs as well.
The agency invites the child when postsecondary goals are on the agenda. 34 CFR 300.321(b)(1)
The agencies you name
Vocational rehabilitation has its own waiting list. Naming it early is what gets somebody in the room.
With your consent, the agency invites a participating agency likely to pay for services. 34 CFR 300.321(b)(3)
The letter
Replace everything in brackets. The rest sends as it stands.
- To
- Whoever coordinates transition at your child’s high school
- Subject
- Transition assessments and postsecondary goals for [Child’s first name]
Dear [Transition coordinator], I would like the IEP team to take up transition planning for [Child’s full name], who is now [Age] and in [Grade]. I am asking for four things: • Age-appropriate transition assessments in education or training, employment, and independent living • Measurable postsecondary goals drawn from what those assessments show • The transition services and course of study that lead toward those goals • An invitation to [Child’s first name] for the part of the meeting that covers this What [he/she/they] has said about life after school: [the work, the program, or the living arrangement your child talks about]. With my consent, please also invite [vocational rehabilitation, or the agency you have in mind], since that agency may share the cost. If the team decides against any of these, prior written notice is the answer I am asking for (34 CFR 300.503). [Your name] [Email] · [Phone] [Date sent]
If no answer comes back
There is no federal count for this reply, so watch your state’s window and follow up.
- Add it to the agenda for the meeting that is already scheduled.
- Write to the district transition specialist, who often sits outside the building.
- Write to your state vocational rehabilitation office and ask about eligibility while you wait.
A no owes you prior written notice: the decision, the reason for it, and the records behind it (34 CFR 300.503).
This is a template, not legal advice: it does not replace your state’s procedures, or advice from someone qualified to read your file.
Have the pages you are writing about read back to you, free.
The review reads every page you upload, names the wording that is vague or missing, and gives you its page number.
Review my IEP — freeFree, no card. It reads your pages and contacts no one.
Where this comes from
- Transition services in the IEP (34 CFR 300.320)The rule behind this letter.
- Who attends a transition IEP meeting (34 CFR 300.321)Who gets invited, and why.
- Center for Parent Information and Resources: transitionHow planning runs from here.
- Prior written notice (34 CFR 300.503)What a no owes you.
Response deadlines are set state by state, and the state pages carry each number with its rule.