Ability Centered Educational Services (ACES) Courses

A course by Ability Centered Educational Services (ACES)

ABOUT THE COURSE

The Transition Certification Course is a comprehensive professional development program that focuses on the transition mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The course is divided into three workshops.

Workshop 1 – The Law:

This workshop will take a deep dive into IDEA’s transition mandate and decipher each component of this highly misunderstood and confusing law. In addition, the workshop will cover the top misinterpretations and errors that trigger due process proceedings and how to avoid those. Infused throughout the workshop are findings from very recent court cases and research that are transforming how we perceive the transition process. Attendees will deepen their understanding of the transition process both from a legal standpoint and a best practices standpoint.

Workshop 2 – The Plan:

This workshop will take a step-by-step approach to the initial phases of the Individual Transition Plan (ITP). Age-appropriate transition assessments will be covered in detail (and why most assessments used do NOT meet legal criteria or best practices). We will cover how to identify assessments that meet the full requirement of the law and then how to use the results of those assessments to inform the development of student postsecondary goals and annual goals. Attendees will learn how to write a comprehensive transition report and how to combine the ITP and IEP into a seamless, unified, student-centered plan that is legally defensible and meaningful.

Workshop 3 – The Program:

This third workshop will continue the training on the ITP with an emphasis on transition services, how to document them on the ITP/IEP, and how to integrate them into a comprehensive school-wide transition program that goes beyond the walls of the special ed classroom. Attendees will learn how to partner with general education programs and staff, guidance counselors, and community agencies for the provision of transition services and learn how to document this system of coordination on the ITP/IEP. The popular and customizable tool, “Transition Planning Matrix” will be presented that makes the entire transition planning, programming, and implementation process as simple and time-saving as possible.

About ACES:

ACES is a California nonprofit corporation operated by a board of members who each have a professional and/or personal interest in ability-centered education and the school-to-adulthood transition. ACES was founded by Rachel De Bruin who has worked in special education for over 20 years. From early in her career, Rachel often felt frustrated by a special education system that was disability and deficit-centric – that is, students’ disabilities, inabilities, and weaknesses consumed most of the educational focus while student abilities and interests were generally ignored. Yet, in her experience and research, Rachel found that ability-centered education and transition planning have the greatest potential to launch students into successful and meaningful postsecondary life outcomes. As a result, Rachel has devoted her career to researching, building, and promoting legally defensible and effective transition systems.