High School Transition Resources

Youth Leadership Forum - Hosted by TSLP

The Youth Leadership Forum enables young adults who have a disability to learn from each other and from successful adults with disabilities who are recognized leaders and role models. Students learn more about their own disability and others’ disabilities, to analyze their own strengths and weaknesses and to make decisions, organizational skills, learn different leadership styles, learn about the legislative process and disability laws, how to influence others, etiquette, and much more!

National Deaf Center (NDC)

The National Deaf Center’s mission is to close the substantial gaps in education and employment that exist for deaf people in the United States and its territories. They are a technical assistance and dissemination center funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). Project Officer: Dr. Louise Tripoli. The National Deaf Center is located at the University of Texas at Austin, based in the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at the College of Education. Carrie Lou Garberoglio, PhD, and Tia Ivanko, MA, NIC, are Co-Directors of the National Deaf Center.

Transition is the process all students go through as they move from a high school setting to what lies beyond. Transition programs assist students and their parents plan for life after high school in a proactive and coordinated way. An effective transition program provides students with the tools and the confidence to assume responsibility for their educational and employment decisions as they move into adulthood.

FAST FACTS: Transition for Individuals who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (PDF)

South Dakota My Life

SDMyLife is a FREE online program for South Dakota students to help them better understand themselves and how their interest, skills, and knowledge relate to real-world academic and career opportunities.  Students use SDMyLife to research, select, and plan their careers. They can explore by career cluster, keyword, or school subject. Students can also research postsecondary education and training options, build a portfolio, study with Method Test Prep and find out about scholarships opportunities.  They can also save assessment scores, log career planning activities and extracurricular involvement, and even build a resume!  Parents are also able to create a FREE portal to see what their child has been researching for employment ideas as well as have access to a number of resources that will be helpful in their child’s career planning.  For more information, please contact your school’s guidance counselor.

Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University

The Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University is a federally funded center with exemplary elementary and secondary education programs for deaf and hard of hearing students and is tasked with developing and disseminating innovative curricula, instructional techniques, and products nationwide while providing information, training, and technical assistance for parents and professionals to meet the needs of deaf and hard of hearing students from birth to age 21.

I'm Determined

The I’m Determined project, a state directed project funded by the Virginia Department of Education, focuses on providing direct instruction, models, and opportunities to practice skills associated with self-determined behavior.

A Transition Guide that assists with planning the following areas:

• Independent Living (Community Participation)
• Employment
• Post-Secondary Education & Training
• Self Determination

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), of the U.S. Department of Education (Department), is pleased to publish, A Transition Guide to Postsecondary Education and Employment for Students and Youth with Disabilities (PDF). OSERS’ mission is to improve early childhood, educational, and employment outcomes and raise expectations for all individuals with disabilities, their families, their communities, and the nation. To assist students and youth with disabilities to achieve their post-school and career goals, Congress enacted two key statutes that address the provision of transition services: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act), as amended by Title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).