Transfer of Rights

Thu, Jun 01, 2023 2:18PM
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SUMMARY KEYWORDS
student, parents, special education, majority, iep meeting, educators, age, preparing, educational, develop, transfer, essentials, education, iep, learning, colleges, self advocacy, support, vocational programs, kiddo

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As a mama of 317 to turn eight teen about to leave the nest for college I have lots of feels lotsof emotions about this, but also understanding this concept of age of majority and transfer ofrights. This term this also happens for our students that fall under ide a our federal law, specialeducation and IEPs welcome to the special education strategists Podcast the place where wedive deep into all things special education and develop a effective strategies to support allwhether you're a new parent navigating the world of special education or an experiencedparents sitting at the IEP table. This podcast is for you. I'm your host Wendy Taylor, a dedicatedmom and special educator with over 25 years of experience. I've had the privilege of being on both sides of the IEP table as a parent and a professional. My passion and mission revolvearound helping parents and professionals bid bridge learning gaps, access special educationservices, and create powerful Iaps. If you're hungry for more valuable tips, show us some loveon social media by following at learning essentials. And if you're new to our podcast, make sure to hit that follow button. Get ready to dive into the world of special education strategy. And let's make a difference together. Welcome. So today we're talking about that concept ofunderstanding the age of majority and the transfer of rights. First, let's define the age of majority and its implications for parental rights transfer. Under ide a, the age of majority refersto the legal age at which an individual is considered an adult. According to Ida parental rightstransferred to the student at the point at this point, with some exceptions for a clearer picture.Stick with me, and we're going to take this deeper dive. So in most states, the Asian majority is
18. So when a student with an IEP turns 18, the educational decision making power shifts fromthe parent to the student, and means that the student gains control over their individualizededucation, program evaluation services and access to educational records. So for a parent,understanding the steps involved in preparing their child for the age of majority is crucial. So let's just talk real quick about three steps. First thing I want you to foster self advocacy.Parents, you can encourage your students to actively participate in their IEP meetings,expressing their needs, goals, preferences. This fosters that self advocacy skill and prepares them to take ownership of their education. The second step I want you to think about is toteach decision making, help your student understand the consequences of their decisions andguide them and making informed choices about their educational path. They learn to makesound choices for the future by involving them in the decision making process. I also want youto start developing this independent skills, assist your student and inquiring essential life skillssuch as time management, organization, self care, these skills contribute to the overall successand independence and managing their education. So let's take a moment to discuss the consideration also for special education.

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Sorry, Josh, I wanted to move something on my notes, okay. The age of majority refers to thelegal age at which an individual is considered an adult, we said that so in most states, this age,again, is 18. And at that age of majority, we're saying that the rights and decision makingpower under ID a transfer from the parent to students, which empower them to makeownership of their education. But let's take a second and see how we can as parents start to support our students. You can start and take some of these action items and start way beforeI'm going to give you some ideas and tips starting in ninth grade before your kiddo turns ateam but take what you can and start incorporating what you can as early as possible to buildagain those three takeaways that I just mentioned self advocacy decision making an enddependence those are our goals to build our kiddos for future independence, employment andeducation, thus preparing them for this transfer of right and age of majority. So think about ninth grade, I want you to think about some action steps, building that foundation, andencourage that self advocacy, motivate your students to actively participate in their IEPmeetings and express their needs, goals and preference. This does not mean that your kiddoyour student needs to participate in the entire IEP meeting. It's long, it can be boring, it can becomplicated and can be really hard when you're hearing things about, you know, you're hearingall your gaps that you may have as a student. So you may want your student to come in justthe beginning and introduce themselves, let the team know how things are going on at school,maybe start by saying stay in only for five minutes, and then increase whatever makes sensefor your student and what is appropriate for them. Next thing back to that decision makinginvolve them in decision making processes related to their education. Selecting an electivecourses that are aligned with their interest and career goals could be a great example of that.Introduce transition planning, and initiate discussions about life after high school exploring postsecondary educatio
n options, vocational training, employment and independent living. All of those things come into play. start those conversations early so that you can start planning appropriately. I always tell parents when we're talking about putting your parent inputstatement in for an IEP and this goes for our littles just as much as our bigs meaning that I wantyou to not think about your IEP as a year cycle. Yes, that's when the paperwork comes around.But think about your student where do you see them in six months? Where do you see them ina year? Where do you see them in three years, so that you can start bringing your vision withyour students aligned your student aligned to the team so that each year you're layering? Whatis coming next? What is coming next? Yes, we're focusing how to bridge learning gaps andsupport that student during that school year, but also what can we be doing to build theircapacity for future education, independent and employment. So in 10th grade, I want you to start to expanding your preparations. Expand that self advocacy, encourage your students toadvocate for themselves by meeting with teachers discussing accommodations, participating inextracurricular activities that promote leadership, giving them these opportunities. If you havea student that is uncertain how to advocate start young, start maybe with an email, help themcraft the email and then slowly release the lane reins slowly passed the baton so that they caneventually become independent in that process. explore those post secondary options,research colleges, vocational programs, apprenticeships, visit campuses, attend career fairs,discuss scholarship opportunities together, you're looking at colleges, and you're not even surewhere you're if your students not even sure where they want to go start with. Start with urban, suburban, rural, large, small, so it may not be a school that they're necessarily interested in butget a feel, do they want a big 10? Do they want small, so start that way. Think of where theycould have an possible apprenticeship in the community within where you live or any type ofvocational programs. Look at the resources that are around you and ask the school where the
resources are, and they're in your district. Financial literacy, I want you to start introducingbasic financial concepts, discuss the cost associated with post secondary education, explorefinancial aid options, and teach financial responsibility. If your kiddo has a job, it's a great wayyou guys go out to dinner you see the check, come back. Show your your students show your child like this is how much dinner costs. How many hours of work did it take for you when youare working at your job to earn this much. So start talking about those financial, finances starttalking about financial literacy, those concepts banking, a debit card, what is it? It's never tooearly to learn this so that they can again be prepared for when not only their educational rightscome to them, but then their life rights come to them so to say, All right, what about 11thgrade? You know, I want you to talk about college and career exploration support your studentand researching potential colleges, universities, vocational programs, all align with our interestin career goals. Test Preparation, assist your student in preparing for college admission. shins tasks, providing study resources, considering test preparation courses, or even tutoring ifneeded. And then you're talking about that individualized transition plan. So you want tocollaborate with that IEP team to develop that individualized transition plan that outlines goalsservices, accommodation supporting your students transitions. Again, financial planning helpyour student explore any type of scholarship opportunities, grants, financial aid options, guidethem through the process of filling out financial aid forms, they really understand that capacityand what it takes building learning, leadership and community involvement. Encourage yourstudent to engage in leadership roles and community service activities, which enhance theirresume and demonstrate their commitment. Time management and study skills assist yourstudent developing effective time management and study skills handle the academic demandsteach strategies for prioritizing and balancing responsibilities. Final thought on this andpreparing our high schoolers for this transfer of educational writes, is self reflection an
d goalsetting. encourage your students to reflect on their strengths, their weaknesses, personalgrowth, help them set goals and find a health goals for their final year and beyond. So remember, the transfer of Ida writes is a gradual process start early allow for a smoothtransition. And then that way we can empower our students to be making informed decisions.They're taking ownership of their education, as they are approaching adult Hill adulthood, rightgave a bulk of this conversation in this episode about parents, but I'm gonna shift just for amoment to talk about considerations for my special educators. So let's discuss how specialeducators can support students in parents during this transition. Think about collaborative transition planning, special educators should work closely with their parents and studentsduring transition planning, meetings, collaboration, to ensure a smooth transfer of rights,making sure that parents understand what is going to happen, make sure that the studentunderstand understands what is going to take place to help them align their educational goalswith the students aspirations. So having those conversations early with your students, case manager. And that case manager you guys can also be doing checklists and questions to reallykind of understand where the student wants to go beyond high school, you can really help findresources for the family that kind of brings me to the next one, providing and finding resourcesand guidance in your community and connecting parents with outside agencies or agencieswithin the school district. So special educators, you can offer families those resources, andguidance for available support services, post secondary education options, vocational trainingprograms, to help that student make that informed choice about their future endeavor, orspecial educators. You can also encourage students to develop self advocacy skills by involvingthem in their IEP meeting and even have when I was a special educator and a case managerwithin a school, I would have pre prep meetings with my students to discuss their rights, helpthem understand how to navigate the educational system and develop individually.

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help them navigate the educational system independently, and really have that conversation ofwhere they see themselves again, kind of like that parent input statement, where do they seethemselves in three months, six months, a year, two years. And it's hard, right? Because you'rewe're asking a lot of our soon to be 18 year olds to really have this idea of where they want to go. But we can really start to kind of help them down that path. And of course, that path isgoing to change as it would sometime but at least getting them set up for success. And then thinking about the exceptions and legal considerations. So it's important to mention that thereare exceptions to the age of majority and parental right transfer. One exception is when astudent is deemed unable to handle their own affairs due to a significant disability. So in such cases, parents may retain decision making authority even after the age of majority throughlegal guardianship, or other arrangements. So it's crucial to consult with a legal professional tounderstand your state specific laws and expectations. I hope you guys found this a value.Thank you for joining me on this episode of the special ed strategists podcast. I hope you found this discussion insightful and empowering. I said that Josh, you're correct that before we wrapup here are my three special ed strategy takeaways from our conversation. The age of majoritysignifies the transfer of Ida rights from parent to student empowering them to makeeducational decisions. Parents can prepare prepare their student by fostering self advocacy,teaching decision making skills and developing independence. And special educators play avital role in facilitating collaborative transition planning, providing resources and supportingstudents and developing self advocacy skills.
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Again, exceptions to the age of majority exists for students with significant disabilities whereparental rights may continue through legal guardianship. Understanding the transfer of Idarights at the age of majority is essential for parents and special educators. By working togetherand providing the necessary support, we can help this we can help students successfullynavigate their educational journey into adulthood.
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Once again, I want to say thank you for strategizing with me dedicating your precious time tolisten AI. If you've enjoyed what you've heard, please give us a like and a follow at learningessentials. For more helpful tips head over to learning essentials edu.com. There you canaccess free resources to prepare for an IEP meeting, including bonus questions to ask. I'm your host Wendy Taylor. I'm here to provide comprehensive support for special education at learning essentials. We offer individualized and systematic approaches to helping students with diverselearning needs and differences through academic coaching educational therapy on ourexecutive function support model called Brain camp. If you're a parent seeking IEP coaches, ifyou're a parent seeking IEP coaching, we've got you covered to visit learning essentials formore information. Thank you once again for joining us and remembering and remembertogether we can bridge learning gaps, access special education services and build kick butt IPs.Bye for now.