A U.S. district Court in Massachusetts recently held that a school district must conduct formal school based evaluations of a student’s functional, vocational and independent living skills at least annually. The Court ordered the school district to fund the evaluation and transportation costs when they found that the school district had failed to evaluate the student annually.

Under IDEA, transition is a “results-oriented process” in academic and functional achievement that supports successful postsecondary training and programs, independent living, recreation and work in the community. Transition services are a coordinated set of services that help students to prepare for post-school activities like postsecondary education, independent and supported community living arrangements and skills, employment, job training and recreation and leisure activities. The IEP transition planning process is not just one meeting. It is an annual process that develops areas of need and interest, identifies skills needed for transition, identifies obstacles, discusses services available, graduation options and determines assessment needs. In the case before the U.S. District Court, the Court held the student may not have been receiving the transition services that she required and she was therefore entitled to an evaluation, funded by the school district, to assess her current vocational skills, needs and interests, particularly in her preferred field of interest.

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