How to Apply for Waiver Services
If you were unable to join us for our Vitals in Transition: Zoom @ Noon today, we had two exceptional ladies, Beth Will and Eileen Skogerboe, share their expertise with us regarding Waivers. You can watch the video under our EVENTS tab: AEA Zoom Recordings – 2020-21.
A copy of the PowerPoint (with links) is also available under the video on the AEA Zoom Recordings, and is also linked HERE
We hope you will join us for Part 2 in this series on Tuesday, January 12th @ noon.
Secondary Transition Updates
Kirsten Lane, Secondary Transition Program Facilitator for the Iowa Department of Education, shared a few updates around Secondary Transition in Iowa as we navigate this school year with so many changes. While these updates are relatively brief, she hopes they can provide some support and resources for you and your teams as you are returning to school this year.
Iowa Secondary Transition Learning Community (ISTLC): This will be the second year of the ISTLC. 
We will continue to offer webinars that will be recorded, and all past sessions are included in the link above. For any new staff you may have at the secondary level, please consider sharing the Transition 101 resources in the tab to the right.
Regular Diploma and 4.3.3.3: Our first students to be impacted by the change in rules for regular diploma will be juniors this year! It is critical that IEP teams are reviewing graduation dates and progress toward graduation with all students with IEPs. For students who may have been following an individualized pathway with alterations to the standards/expectations in coursework and documentation towards graduation needs to catch up with the instruction that has taken place, you may want to consider using a template to help you take a look back and document the progress. Feel free to modify this however it best fits for your district/students.
Transcript Notations: Related to regular diploma and 4.3.3.3 are questions about transcripts when standards have been modified for a student. Please take into account the following guidance as you work with your teams around planning for and documenting graduation requirements on transcripts:
“A notation on the transcript cannot identify the student as qualifying for special education services. Wording such as “special education goals” and IEP goals” for example or any other terminology that would identify the student as entitled for special education services may not be used. The wording “modified standard” is a legal notation, however, so long as modifications are available to any other student. Research recommends noting modified standards on permanent records and transcripts the same way it is done on the report card; by placing an asterisk (*) or some other symbol beside each grade that is based on a modified standard and then indicating on the form that this means the grade or mark is based on modified standards. No other information regarding the nature of the modification is needed as students may need modifications for a variety of reasons. This notation is imperative for honesty and accuracy in the information being reported for college and career decisions.”
Return 2 Learn support – Secondary Transition: This document was developed by a statewide team and provides resources and tools for virtual/hybrid and in person learning. There are also tips for applying effective transition planning practices through the use of the Iowa Transition Model. It was shared statewide in August and is a part of the Compendium of Resources for Special Education.
Guardianship and Conservatorship in Iowa – Updated
Issues in Substitute Decision Making
Iowa Legal Aid and The Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council (DD Council) have developed a guide entitled Guardianship and Conservatorship in Iowa 2020 to help further your understanding of guardianship and conservatorship in Iowa. This is a great tool to share!
In this publication, questions like “What is Guardianship and Conservatorship?”, “Who Needs a Guardian or Conservator?” are addressed. The criteria for establishing a guardianship or conservatorship and how to set up a guardianship are explained, as well as how to determine the actual need.
These materials are a general summary of the law. They are not meant to completely explain all that you should know about guardianship and conservatorship. You should see a lawyer to get complete, correct and up-to-date legal advice. Iowa’s law on guardianship and conservatorship is found in Iowa’s Probate Code starting at section 633.551.
This document is also linked under the PARENTS tab under LEGAL CONCERNS on Moving Students Forward for future reference.
Employment First Guidebook
service coordinators and integrated health home care coordinators with critical information. It is full of good information about employment for people with disabilities. There are parts of it that are adult system focused, but there is a lot that is very applicable to our work in schools. Kirsten Lane, Secondary Transition Program Facilitator at the DE, pointed out a few key things found in it, but depending on your students, you may want to wander through the entire guidebook. Here are some of the key things you may want to look at:- P 6 – what is Employment 1st – talks about the history of this movement within Iowa and nationally
- P 9 – nice review of all the different services and supports around work in our state
- P 26 – encouraging people to work
- P 28 – WIOA connections
- P 31 – myth busting scenarios about work
- P 42 – FAQs
- P 81 – a nice article in the appendix about high expectations
- P 93 – a nice article about the influence of families and starting early
Graduation Requirements
Our last Vitals for Transition zoom was on changes in graduation requirements that were sent out by the Iowa Department of Education earlier this fall.
The document can be found here: Administrative Consideration for Changes in Definition of Diploma
This change will impact this year’s freshman class, so it is critically important that we ensure that students’ second semester schedules (or second trimester) are well thought through with this new change. Curriculum mapping may need to be done for classes being taught in the reverse consultation model to show alignment with the Iowa Academic Standards in order to fulfill graduation requirements.
Here is the video of our conversation:
It is vitally important to take the time NOW to make sure your freshman (and this year’s eighth graders) schedules are purposefully planned to help them reach their full potential in regards to these changes.
New Assessments to check out
We hope you are all surviving the year so far! Students, families and teachers alike have officially transitioned into the new school year and are off to a great start!
We have added several new assessments for you to check on out on our Moving Students Forward website:
Strengths, Interests, & Preferences Pictures
This resource can be used with students/children who are non-verbal and/or need pictures to communicate their strengths, interests and preferences. This is just a sample of what could be created for a classroom using a variety of resources. Thanks for sharing this great tool!
Transition Planning – Skills for Life
This survey is intended for use as a guidance tool to generate discussion regarding various careers for students. Depending on your student’s readingStudent Dream Sheet
The Student Dream Sheet is a good resource to help students start connecting the dots to help them reach their dreams. It asks some basic questions that make them start thinking about what they may need to do to reach their dreams/desired outcomes. It addresses the living, learning, and working sections of the IEP.
Together We Can Conference – May 6th
Could be a great day of learning!!
Click CONFERENCE AGENDA to see more details.
ASVAB: There’s an App for that!
My, how times have changed! There seems to be an app for almost everything! And, if you happen to know a student who is thinking that the military is just right for them, they can now practice for the ASVAB test with the help of an app! But, unlike the days of old, a high school diploma is required to enter most military branches today.
The ASVAB test consists of eight sub-tests, so taking practice tests helps the student have a better idea of what to expect, which can increase their final test score.
The list of apps is too long to even begin to list, even just for the free ones. There are apps for Android/Google Play or for iPad/iPhones, depending on your need.
Of course, there are also free practice tests online as well, such as ASVAB Practice Test Online or ASVAB Practice Tests just to name a few! And there are many options to purchase various study guides as well.
Bottom line, it is important for students to know that each branch of the military has a required AFQT (Armed Forces Qualification Test) score. The AFQT score will determine whether they qualify to enlist in their particular branch of service. The ASVAB test also produces several line scores, which are different for each branch of service. Line scores determine which military jobs the students are qualified for, so the higher their score, the more job opportunities they have.
Students who are determined that the military is right for them should meet with the military recruiters when they come visit the school. The High School Guidance Counselor can arrange for a specific recruiter to come, and then the recruiter can explain the requirements and expectations for that specific branch of service.
As students begin to explore post-secondary options, let’s help them understand all the facets involved…. simply by helping them know the steps that they need to take!
WIOA what?!?
No… that is NOT Iowa spelled incorrectly! If you have heard the acronym “WIOA” it stands for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. WIOA is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy.
There are still lots of details to work out as this new process moves forward, so to help you have some basic information, here are several documents that may help you understand some of these changes:
- Memorandum of Agreement notice between IVRS & the DE
- WIOA Webinar Powerpoint – Dec. 2015
- WIOA Webinar – approximately 30 minutes
- FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
All of the information above may be found on the Department of Education website under Special Education/Secondary Transition.
As more information comes out, we will keep you posted!
Job Interests Picture Inventory & Strengths, Interests, & Preference Visual
The Job Interests Picture Inventory is another great tool you can use with your students that may need a visual cue on possible employment options.
This form was created by a fellow teacher, so a special thanks for both his creativity AND his willingness to share! Helping and learning from others…. now that’s what we want to model for our kids, right? 🙂
So, since he showed us a great example, if there are other careers that you want your students to have to choose from, you now have a guide for creating one on your own.
You could do something similar by using pictures from a computer program like Board Maker, etc. to make a visual representation to help your students determine their strengths, interests & preferences. Click Strengths, Interests, Preferences Picture Options for yet another great sample that was shared!
Keep all your great ideas coming! Together, we can help make our kids/student’s transition as seamless as possible!
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