School-to-Work for Youth with Disabilities
State and Community Policies to Serve All Youth

A Forum — December 1, 2000

At today’s forum, David Johnson, Director, National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota described several legislative provisions with potential to ease the transition of youth with disabilities between high school, postsecondary education and the workplace. Since the mid-80s, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), U.S. Department of Education has stressed the importance of improving secondary education and transition services for youth with disabilities nationally. Specific language on transition was included in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990 and again in the IDEA amendments of 1997.

Three pieces of legislation in 1994 influenced special education programs. The School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) was designed to provide school-age youth, including youth with disabilities, an opportunity to learn about and experience work. The Goals 2000: Educate America Act indicated a need for all young people to achieve higher level goals, including improved transitions. The Improving America’s Schools Act (IASA) also stressed high standards, accountability, professional development and partnerships between school partners to ease transitions for all youth. The focus of these laws on including all students has assisted youth with disabilities and their advocates to press for greater attention to their educational and transition needs within the mainstream educational system. One indirect result is that 46 states now have regulations for transition of youth with disabilities.

Johnson also cited some of the consequences, positive and negative, of these laws. Unfortunately, although the laws emphasize broad partnerships, youth with disabilities and their advocates are not often represented in the partnerships. Additionally, while some of the data on youth with disabilities is encouraging -- for example, of youth in school-to-work programs nationwide, 11% are youth with disabilities; and their high school graduation rates and postsecondary enrollment rates have increased -- 36% of youth with disabilities fail to complete high school; only 17% attend post-secondary education vs. 68% of the national population; numbers for college completion are essentially unknown; and small numbers of youth with disabilities are competitively employed with employment prospects much worse for older adults with disabilities.

Rich Tulikangas, Director, Linking Learning to Life (LLL), Burlington High School, Vermont, then spoke about the successes his program has experienced in serving youth with disabilities. LLL was established in 1997, by a partnership of the Burlington School District, the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce and the University of Vermont. In 1997, LLL received a five-year Urban Rural Opportunity Grant from the National School-to-Work Opportunities Office. Due to its successful inclusion of youth with disabilities in its school-to-work activities, LLL was recognized by the National Transition Alliance as an "all means all" site. LLL was also recognized by PEPNet (the Promising and Effective Practices Network of the National Youth Employment Coalition) for exemplary practice in the youth field.

The mission of LLL is to improve the educational performance and advancement, and the employment and career prospects of all Burlington School District students. Of the 1,400 students participating in LLL during the 1998-99 school year, 62 percent were high school students, 12 percent were in grades 6-8, and 25 percent were elementary school students. Thirty-one percent were eligible for free and reduced lunch, 12 percent had disabilities and 7 percent had limited English-speaking skills.

Like the other students participating in LLL at Burlington High School, youth with disabilities participate in mainstream courses with experiential, project-based curriculum; create portfolios of their work; have mentors; engage in community service; job shadow and have internships in workplaces in keeping with their career aspirations. They benefit from the work of the school’s "career direction center" in embedding career development into school curriculum. They also receive college counseling, assistance with college applications, go on college visits, and can receive college credit while still in high school.

Through LLL, Burlington High School is able to have its own school-based vocational rehabilitation counselor, Michelle Rath to provide extra transitional supports to youth with disabilities. Rath says that unlike her counterparts across Vermont, she is housed at one school rather than being responsible for 4 to 7 high schools. She provides special counseling to youth with disabilities regarding work and college and works with both employers and college staff to get adaptations for young people who need them. Rath’s 52 students are 15 to 21 years old. She works with the students from the 9th grade (at least two years earlier than other transition programs for youth with disabilities) until graduation and beyond. Their "files close" when the students have been employed for at least 90 days. Fourteen of her current group have graduated, but are still provided services. Twenty-three are currently employed. Several of her 14-16 year old students participate in "Ready, Set, Work" for eight weeks each summer where they work on job readiness and interview skills in the morning and work in the afternoon at a variety of workplaces. Youth are referred to Rath by special education teachers, case managers, agreements under student’s Individual Educational Plans (IEPs), and community vocational rehabilitation providers. Rath also works closely with parents and students to describe the services offered and help the student chose a college and/or workplace.

Raymond Wood, a senior at Burlington High School, is a special education student who has difficulty with reading and writing skills. His communication skills were excellent as he discussed his experience with LLL to the forum audience. Ray has worked at two internships through LLL and has shadowed his former middle school teacher to find out more about her work day. He is planning to attend college to teach in elementary school. Ray currently works at a department store and previously worked at a grocery store. At school he is in the drama club and works on the yearbook. Transitions, from elementary to middle to high school, used to be nearly overwhelming for him and he credits LLL with making them much easier. In response to a question regarding the need for more state legislation on transition, Johnson said, "We don’t lack policies on transition, there are tons of policies, it is how we put them together ... what we lack is the coordination of these policies -- the ‘glue.’" Johnson also indicated that professional development is sorely needed for general education teachers and counselors to understand the needs of youth with disabilities. The lack of data on the achievement of youth with disabilities is also an area of concern.

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