Indicator 14: What's Next?
Last year, nearly 1,700 students with disabilities who had Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs) left Indiana high schools to begin the next phase of their lives. That next phase can include job training, postsecondary education, employment, and community life and participation. But a year after they’ve left school, what specifically are these young adults doing and how successful was their transition in preparing them for adulthood?
Those are the questions IIDC’s Center on Community Living and Careers (CCLC) is seeking to answer as it takes on the task of data collection to fulfill the federal Indicator 14 requirement. Indicator 14 is one of a series of regulations mandated by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. It requires states to collect information about students one year after they’ve left school. The data is used to determine how successful a state’s transition programming is, to identify trends and needs, and to find out just how many students with IEPs are, for instance, taking college classes or earning a paycheck.
The challenge to obtaining this useful data is that students and their families don’t always remain in contact with their high schools. Email addresses change, students move, last names may change. In the past, that’s meant that the percentage of students responding to the Indicator 14 surveys has been much lower than what the Indiana Department of Education would like to see.
To improve on those numbers this year CCLC created a new outreach campaign called “What’s Next?” Through campaign, the center is asking students and their families to stay in touch by subscribing to a monthly “What’s Next?” newsletter, featuring transition tips, resources, and next steps for that first year after school. By remaining engaged with the center, students and families will not only receive valuable information, they may also be more likely to follow-up and complete the end-of-year survey. “What’s Next?” campaign staff use mail, email, and phone calls to reach out to students and can provide materials and the survey in other languages as needed.
Indiana Disproportionality Resource Center
In 2018, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) implemented a Results Driven Accountability and Differentiated Support (RDA) system that included three elements: Compliance, Results, and Data Timeliness. The Indiana Disproportionality Resource Center (IDRC) at the Center on Education and Lifelong Learning (CELL), provides technical assistance to IDOE in defining and identifying disproportionality in special education. IDRC tracks Indicators 4A, 4B, 9, and 10, which focus on discipline and identification and placement of special education students. IDRC shares findings with school corporations in an effort to address disproportionality and inequity and implement new policies and practices to create long-term change. Additionally, IDRC makes monitoring tools, resources, and technical assistance available to LEAs as they address sources of inequality. These resources address specific issues related to culturally responsive change, and offer practical, evidence-based solutions that LEAs can implement for long-term change.
Learn more about the IDRC
Autism Team Training
With the increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in Indiana, the Indiana Resource Center for Autism (IRCA) has been building local district capacity to implement proactive and positive programming that is evidence-based for students across the autism spectrum. Since 1995, 484 school district teams and community mental health centers have attended IRCA-led training sessions focusing on supporting strategies that support initiatives around PBIS, RTI, and MTSS (multi-tiered system of support). District commitment to effectively educate students on the autism spectrum remains strong in Indiana with autism leaders identified in almost every school district in Indiana. To date, there are over 200 autism leaders that are supported through IRCA via ongoing meetings, listservs, and repository of resources
Learn more about school autism leaders
Special Education Leadership Program
Beginning in the early 1980s, the School of Education (SOE) at Indiana University and now, the Center on Education and Lifelong Learning (CELL), has offered a 21-credit hour program in Special Education Leadership. This certificate program is open to those interested in a leadership role in exceptional needs at the school and district level and results in a license for director of special education.
Cohort courses are taught by the director of CELL. Non-cohort courses are taught by full-time faculty from SOE who have worked as teachers, principals, superintendents, lawyers, and have published widely in their areas of expertise. Several faculty members have been school and district administrators in Indiana and/or other states as well. To date, over 100 students have completed the course. According to U.S. News and World Report, the program is ranked as the 13th ranked Educational Leadership Program in the U.S. and the highest ranked program in the state of Indiana.
Learn more about Special Education Leadership Program
Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
The Center on Education and Lifelong Learning (CELL) recognizes the need to assist educators in moving beyond prescriptive curriculum which often relegates Social Emotional Learning (SEL) as something that happens at a certain time on a certain day. This is accomplished by deepening educators’ understanding of Applied Educational Neuroscience, including the impact of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. The Center works with two school districts to coordinate their efforts with SEL that includes training, coaching, and technical assistance to school-based leadership. Staff facilitate collaborative inquiry regarding the implications of embracing SEL as a domain for school, particularly the implications for discipline and academic instruction. Educators from various school buildings within each school district are also involved with voluntary book studies, exploring brain-based discipline and reframing challenging behavior.