1

New York 

Monitoring and Support Visit Summary and Next Steps

September 28-30, 2016

Focus Area: Secondary Transition DMS Designation: Targeted

Background

Under the area of Compliance, NYSED was identified for targeted engagement for Secondary Transition 

(Annual Performance Report (APR)) Indicator 13) due to the State’s FFY 2013 APR data for Indicator 13:

77.17% of youth aged 15 and above had an IEP that includes appropriate measurable postsecondary goals that 

are annually updated and based upon an age appropriate transition assessment, transition services, including 

courses of study, that will reasonably enable the student to meet those postsecondary goals, and annual IEP 

goals related to the student’s transition services needs, and evidence that the student was invited to the IEP 

Team meeting where transition services were to be discussed and evidence that, if appropriate, a representative 

of any participating agency was invited to the IEP Team meeting with the prior consent of the parent or student 

who has reached the age of majority.

Special Note

The State’s FFY 2014 data for Secondary Transition (APR Indicator 13) were 78.29%, which represents 

improvement from the FFY 2013 APR data. The State has identified issues with one large district as the major 

contributing factor to the State’s inability to meet the 100% target for secondary transition.

Purpose of Monitoring Activity

The purpose of this monitoring activity was to explore New York’s challenges with ensuring secondary 

transition requirements are met by discussing: 1) the factors impacting the State’s data; 2) the activities 

(technical assistance (TA)/training, corrective action, enforcement actions, etc.) the State has conducted to 

address the issues; and 3) ways in which OSEP and/or OSEP-funded TA centers can assist the State. 

Visit Summary

OSEP met with State representatives, including staff from the State’s TA centers, to discuss secondary 

transition requirements in IDEA section 614(d)(1)(A)(i)(VIII) and 34 CFR §§300.320(b) and 300.321(b). The 

discussion focused on the following topics:

Secondary Transition Data: OSEP and NYSED staff discussed the State’s data collection procedures for 

secondary transition, including how its data measurement for this area is more expansive than the federal 

requirement. Consistent with IDEA requirements, the Indicator 13 measurement for secondary transition

requires States to include youth with IEPs age 16 or older, whereas NYSED has chosen to include 15-year-old

youth with IEPs as part of its measurement for secondary transition.

During further discussion of these data, NYSED shared that the State collects data from districts every six years 

through a reporting cycle, which impacts the its ability to track district performance continuously or compare 

data from year to year. NYSED did report that high-performing districts conduct their own annual reviews of 

IEPs and have leadership that is invested in the process, whereas low-performing districts are challenged by 

high turnover in leadership. NYSED supports regional transition specialists; district-level transition 

coordinators are mostly assigned to this responsibility part-time, which impacts the extent of the TA they can 

provide.

Use of Technical Assistance and Professional Development Resources: NYSED is working with 

Cornell University on Secondary Transition issues. Cornell University, in turn, is working closely with the 

National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT), an OSEP-funded TA center, and NCSI’s CrossState Learning Collaboratives. In addition to the external TA that the State is receiving, some regions of the 
2

State are also engaged in their own TA activities. For example, one large district with challenges in meeting 

secondary transition requirements has transition planning coordinators at each school and conducts ongoing 

professional development in order to implement corrective actions taken to address noncompliance. NYSED 

noted that New York City is in the process of developing career access centers, planned for each of the five 

boroughs. The first two centers were scheduled to open by Fall 2016 and will provide resources for parents, 

students, and teachers on transition.

Next Steps

During FFY 2016, OSEP will continue to support NYSED on Secondary Transition, as this is also a targeted 

area of focus in the 2016-2017 DMS cycle. Engagement may include targeted conversations with the State to 

explore improvement activities and discuss the progress and effectiveness of activities currently underway, as 

well as an analysis of the factors that contribute to low data.

In addition, OSEP will work collaboratively with OSEP-funded TA providers, as appropriate, to identify and 

share resources and materials with NYSED that may be most helpful for addressing Secondary Transition, 

including the following resources discussed on-site:

1. Essential Tools for Secondary Transition 

2. Indicator 13 Q&A