Education Week

New federal guidance threatens to upend decades of progress in high school transition planning, which helps students with disabilities prepare for college, the workforce, and living independently, advocates and researchers say. In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Olmstead v. L.C. that states must eliminate unnecessary segregation of people with disabilities and ensure they receive services in “the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs.” The ruling established that unjustified institutionalization constitutes discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). But in June, the U.S. Department of Justice stated it “will not rely upon the Olmstead Guidance in its enforcement” of the ADA, and that Olmstead is “not enforceable.” The Olmstead ruling has for decades served as the backbone of students’ individualized education programs (IEPs) by requiring transition plans that teach students with disabilities 16 and older independent living skills. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, transition plans must include goals related to postsecondary education or training, employment, and, if appropriate, independent living. “To have a document that says segregated living is OK and transitioning into that integrated setting isn’t the priority, it’s really the antithesis of what we’re working for 21 years of their lives in special education,” said Meghan Burke, a professor of special education at Vanderbilt University. [...]

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