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Let’s look at all three conditions under Graduate by IEP. When choosing this graduation option for your child, how will you, and the other members of the ARD Committee, know your child is ready to graduate?
It is important to discuss in the IEP meeting what each option may look like for your child. By discussing each option, you will understand what skills your child needs to master in order to graduate by IEP. It may also help you make decisions regarding what your child may need to work on or services your child might need in those extra high school years.
Full time employment – Successfully maintained employment that doesn’t require any district support:
- This means the ARD committee determines the length of time a student is successfully employed before determining readiness for graduation. The student will be employed for a designated amount of time. Perhaps the employment is volunteer work. For example, the ARD committee may determine full time employment for a student will be for an hour a week maintained consistently for 6-9 weeks; whereas another student maybe able to maintain a job for 30 hours per week. The length of time is determined by the ARD committee based on each individual student abilities and/or the economic/job outlook for the particular community in which the student lives.
- The student does not have to be employed full time at the time of graduation. The student’s work performance and history demonstrates the student’s potential of being employed full time in the future.
Specific Employability skills and Self-help skills that don’t require any district support:
- These are the skills that directly relate to the preparation of students for employment, including general skills necessary to obtain or retain employment.
- The ARD Committee should discuss what those skills are so that parents and school both agree on what mastery will look like and graduation under this option is clear.
Access to Services for which the student has been prepared by the academic program:
- The student is linked with adult agencies such as the Texas Workforce Solutions – Vocational Rehabilitation Services, the Texas Health & Human Services Commission, or your local Mental Health Intellectual & Developmental Disability Authority, etc. Hopefully these agencies have been invited to ARD meetings and a clear coordination of services has been determined mutually by all parties. Handing the parents a booklet about services in the community is not a clear linkage.
- This does NOT mean the student is receiving services or support from those adult agencies upon graduation, although they could be. Parents should know that schools cannot access services for a student – that is a parent or adult student’s responsibility.
- Be cautious when choosing this option and understand what it means. There should be a clear linkage documented within the IEP to show how this graduation option will occur.
When all members of the ARD/IEP committee, including you, understand what graduation will look like for your child, better outcomes can be possible.
Texas Education Agency resources:
Certificate of High School Equivalency
Online College and Career Readiness Resource Center
Legal Framework for the Child Centered Process - Graduation
Texas Project FIRST resources:
Summary of Performance