Tips for parent centers and families: Help your state make the most of post-school outcome surveys Do you know how special education students are doing after they leave high school in your state? Since 2004, U.S. states have collected information from former students with disabilities about their employment and further education activities in the first year after leaving high school. About one year after they leave school, young adults who had Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are asked some very important questions: Are they enrolled in college? Have they found a job? Are they pursuing job training? Although a youth’s personal information is kept confidential, states compile a report summarizing the education and employment outcomes of all of the youth they have interviewed and include this information in their Annual Performance Report (APR) to the U.S. Department of Education. Answers to the key questions that follow can be found in the indicator 14 section of your state’s State Performance Plan (SPP) for special education. This plan is publically posted on your State’s special education department website. How does your state conduct post-school outcome surveys? Learn about your state’s Every state is required to conduct annual post-school outcomes surveys but each has survey & results developed its own process for doing so. Some states survey former special education The National Post-School students from all districts each year. Other states survey a representative sample of districts Outcome (NPSO) Center on a rotating basis, once every five years. How often surveys are conducted in a school provides links to: district affects how PSO data is used for program improvement at the district level. If it is not clear how often each school district is surveyed from your state’s SPP, contact your • Each state’s State SEA Transition Specialist. (See box at right.) Performance Plan and Annual Performance How does your state use post-school outcome data? Reports/ (SPP/APR) • Contact information for The annual collection of post-school outcomes data can provide valuable information to State Transition state and local education personnel, parents, and other community stakeholders whose Coordinators responsibility it is to prepare children with disabilities for college and careers. Post-school • Regional parent centers & outcome data can help the state, school districts, families, and others assess how well information on parent transition programs are preparing youth for future success and to develop strategies to centers in your state increase the number of students with disabilities who go on to post-secondary education and employment. What can be learned from the data your state has collected? Is the http://psocenter.org/content_Pages/47 information easy to locate? Has it been shared with local school districts and the public? Is it presented in a format that can be easily understood by families and other non- professionals? Are families and other stakeholders included when results are interpreted and strategies discussed to address weaknesses and improve student outcomes? Indicator 14 HOW YOU CAN HELP AT THE STATE LEVEL Indicator 14 requires states to To learn more about what your state is currently doing: report the “percent of youth who • Read the Indicator 14” sections of your state’s SPP and APR. are no longer in secondary • How is the outcome data used to strengthen accountability, decision making, and school, had IEPs in effect at the program improvement systems as it relates to improving postsecondary outcomes for time they left school, and were: special education students? A. Enrolled in higher education • If you can’t find answers to these questions in the APR/SPP, or have more questions, within one year of leaving high ask your State Transition Specialist/Coordinator for clarification. school. • Ask to see a copy of the state survey. Are the questions clear to you? B. Enrolled in higher education Contact your State Transition Specialist/Coordinator to discuss ways family members or or competitively employed parent advocates can provide feedback on the survey process, and support the within one year of leaving high dissemination and use of post-school outcome findings: school. • Learn about opportunities for families and other stakeholders to provide input and C. Enrolled in higher education feedback. Can you participate in the meetings of your State Transition Team? Is a or in some other postsecondary formal application needed to serve on a committee, or can you express interest by education or training program; telephone? or competitively employed or in • Will the state’s post-school outcome activities/findings be discussed at a State some other employment within Education Advisory Committee meeting? Can you attend and participate? one year of leaving high school. (20 U.S.C.1416(a)(3)(B) • Encourage your state to hold public events to present survey results and provide stakeholders with opportunities to discuss ways to improve transition policies/practices. Offer to help plan such activities for parent audiences. • Volunteer for ad hoc committees related to the state’s post-school survey design, implementation, and analysis. • Encourage your state to use the NPSO Data Use Tool Kit, or STEPSS, to share and use post-school outcome data with school districts and stakeholders. WAYS TO HELP SCHOOL DISTRICTS Contact your school district’s Special Education Director to discuss ways to increase district response rates, contact families that are difficult to reach, and use survey results to improve post-school outcomes for students. • Raise awareness of the annual survey – and the importance of responding – at school events attended by parents of students with disabilities. • Encourage the district to use materials developed by NPSO, PACER Center, and others to promote participation. • Form or join a local stakeholder team examining the graduation, dropout, and PSO data in order to make decisions for program improvement using the data. Consider the following questions: o What patterns can be seen in the State and district graduation, dropout, and PSO data when you look at the categories of disability type, gender, method of exit, and race/ethnicity? o Is there a region or geographic area in the State where youth are graduating, dropping out or engaged at higher rates? What do you think contributes to the higher rates in this area? o How does your district’s data compare to other districts? What district policies and/or procedures may be contributing to the graduation, dropout, and engagement outcomes for youth with disabilities? o What actions could the district to take to improve graduation and engagement rates? • If your state does not survey every school district on an annual basis, how frequently are former special education students in your district being surveyed? Is this interval frequent e • Enough to support district level decision-making and program improvement? HELPFUL PARENT CENTER ACTIVITIES • Invite the State Transition Coordinator to present information on survey results at an activity planned by your organization, such as a staff meeting, family forum, or annual transition conference. • Use NPSO’s “Be a Superstar” YouTube video at parent center transition workshops, and embed a copy on your website along with state contact information for those who want to learn more. • Hand out flyers developed by your state or NPSO to promote survey participation at transition workshops. • Include an article on your state’s post-school outcome survey activities in the spring issue of your newsletter or on listservs, before annual survey activities begin in April. • In collaboration with your State Department of Education, post a tutorial on your center’s Website explaining the State’s data collection activities, how to find survey information on the state agency website, and providing guidance for interpreting annual survey results. INVOLVE INDIVIDUAL FAMILY MEMBERS Visit the NPSO website at psocenter.org to learn more about what information states are required to collect, how it • Share NPSO resources/information with parents, needs to be reported, and what other states are doing to your child’s school/district, and other stakeholders. enhance survey questions and improve response rates. This document was developed by the National Post-School Outcomes Center, Eugene, Oregon, (funded by Cooperative Agreement Number H326U090001) with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. This document has been reviewed and approved by the Office of Special Education Programs. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education. OSEP Project Officer: Dr. Selete Avoke